RAWALPINDI: Agreeing with the view that Pakistani television dramas are currently going through a slump in terms of quality of content, leading playwright Amjad Islam Amjad said that he stopped writing for television in a protest against commercialisation in the genre.

He was speaking to audience members at a Muqalma (Dialogue) arranged by Rawalpindi Arts Council (RAC) in collaboration with Punjab Council of Arts Lahore, on Monday.

Amjad Islam Amjad is well known as a prose and poetry writer and his drama ‘Waris’ was made into a television play which was a huge hit in the 1980’s.

The playwright began the lecture by presenting a history of drama.

He said: “There are broadly two types of values, universal and local and while making dramas, local values should be given special consideration.”

He said current Pakistani dramas are losing their true essence and being geared towards attracting advertisement.

“Advertisement is the oxygen of dramas but it does not mean that we ignore the social role they play,” he said.

“Dramas should reflect all aspects of society and also inspire young people to work for the betterment of society. Our present is in their hands and they have the capacity to change the future,” he said.

Amjad Islam Amjad said that he was happy to have had an opportunity to meet Amitabh Bachchan at an event. “Bachchan praised our television dramas and said that Pakistani dramas should be watched with the whole family,” he said.

It was followed by a question and answer session and a poetry recital which was highly appreciated by the audience.

A member of the audience asked: “Isn’t it the need of the hour for you to come forward and start writing dramas that reflect our cultural values and change the trend of commercialisation in plays?”

In response, Amjad Islam Amjad said that he can’t do it alone, as commercial plays are the only kind financed by producers.

PML-N’s former MPA Ziaullah Shah asked Amjad Islam Amjad about the flood of foreign dramas on television screens in Pakistan, to which the playwright said that the government of Pakistan has failed to promote an appreciation of Pakistani culture.

The lecture was attended by PML-N MPA Lubna Pirzada, former MPA Ziaullah Shah, Naheed Manzoor, Punjab Council of the Arts Lahore Deputy Director Khawaja Nazar, RAC Resident Director Waqar Ahmed and people from other walks of life.

Resident Director Waqar Ahmed thanked both the audience and Amjad Islam Amjad for their participation.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2014