Let’s face it, Pakistan’s film and TV industries haven’t been producing fresh talent. Leaving aside films (for they’re hardly worth discussing) the TV scene is becoming stale and seems way past its sell-by date. The leading men of the TV fraternity have the likes of Ajaz Aslam, Humayun Saeed, Farhan Ali Agha, Faisal Qureshi and Adnan Siddiqui. These guys have been around since donkey’s years, and there’s nothing to mind about it. The problem is it looks terribly odd when they act like spring chicken romancing away with heroines uttering soft, mushy lines. They say after 40 men turn naughty; but our men seem to have turned dotty.

No different is the case with the women. Sadia Imam, Naheed Shabbir and the two Javerias have been acting their eyes out for Lord knows how many years.

They’ve become so predictable that you know when a droplet will trickle down their cheeks or how they’ll exhibit their affection for their love interest(s).

What compounds the problem is that the new talent that has recently emerged is nothing to write home about. There are young men like Fahad Tunio and Yasir Shoro, and actresses such as Ayesha Khan and Sanam Baloch who’ve shown promise. But with the kind of mediocre work that’s being produced nowadays, it’s feared that they too might fall by the wayside. Pull up your socks, people!