HYDERABAD, May 9: Deliberating extensively on the falling standards of audio-visual capability of the Pakistani silver and small screens, Amjad Islam Amjad, a name to be reckoned with not only in Pakistan and Sub-Continent’s literary society but also by Urdu literature lovers the world over, was a mere picture of bereavement for the loss of fictional glory in movies and television plays.

He went at length in search of the rationale behind the lack of focus on social issues which once were the pride of television plays and idol of millions of viewers across the globe. Perhaps, he thinks, the culprit behind the dud is non-adjustment of new concepts and ideas along with over-commercialisation in TV channels which goes in determining the mood of spectators to decide for their aesthetic appetite.

Another aspect, which he accounts for, is portrayal of real life dramas in lessening crave for fictional footage and for the revival of drama culture he said academies should on war-footing churn out trained and talented artists.

He blamed the Pakistan Television for current downfall in its plays which once captivated viewers by deserting roads and leaving hosts of functions in total disarray on the day and at the time when it was on air.

Amjad Islam Amjad expressed his feeling during a chat with Dawn in Hyderabad where he had come to attend “3rd Aalmi Mushaira”, organised by district government at Unit-6 Latifabad Nursery on Thursday night.

He hinted at self-censorship during live coverage as not each and every issue has the culpability to be aired in black and white. The mushroom or unchecked growth of real life dramas is responsible for brining murkiness in visualizing and imaginative powers of a creative mind and weakening the cognitive strength which throws into limbo the social issues of a society.

He was not all spikes for the live coverage as he disagreed that such issues have had a total negative impact because of their overemphasizing rather he advocated for new thoughts and concepts to encourage scriptwriters.

Quality writers are becoming a rare commodity, he opined with firm belief on concentrating more on serious and urgent social topics. What we need now are matured and experienced writers with a knack for fictional note.

Recalling the downfall of television plays in late 90s which created a huge gap in broadcasting and quenching the aesthetic thirst of its viewers, Mr Amjad whined at late establishment of academies by about 25 to 30 years.

He questioned the modalities of the PTV and its preparedness in dealing with the mushrooming of channels though it had the honour of being a monopolistic entity for a pretty long time. What made it slumber over the fierce competition, the future had in store for it he said adding why it failed in grooming the budding artists and writers, and performers?

Pinning hopes on the establishment of institutes like the National Academy for Performing Artists and the National Council of Arts, he said similar moves in a broader way will go a long in mitigating the dearth of art and artists from the PTV channels.

Mr Amjad was both polite and reverent while answering as to why artists of his calibre couldn’t be produced. “It certainly takes time when an era of any institution or personality comes to an end” was his humble note. He was all praise and regard for Noorul Huda Shah and Asghar Nadeem Syed among his contemporaries.

Regarding the onslaught of western-inspired culture on national plays, he said playwrights can keep alive the cultural values and traditions by transferring it to the youth of today through their dramas. The sensitivity with which we take up the issues today over new themes and ideas needs to be handled with utmost care as was done in the past, he added.

The reservations among the cultural strata of our society and the unavailability of technicians was not letting the available tools to be utilized at the maximum, lamented our national hero.

In view of the inundation of private TV channels, he said time is not far when only the strongest among them would survive. He did not underestimate any channel as they provided new vision and broader spectrum to their viewers.

Emotions depicted through dramas play an important role in opinion-building and changing the outlook of life – a role which now is being played by other actors, Mr Amjad stated.

Of Indian soaps, he said they are no parallel to our depictions as each episode of their play is deceptive and based on fantasy – a far cry from the realities of life. These revolve around high society with no place for an ordinary man, he said adding their previous addiction on the audience is dying a natural death.

Mr Amjad rejecting the one-sided exhibition of Indian movies in Pakistani cinemas approved it on reciprocal basis for creating a healthy competition in our film industry. He asked as to why quality films cannot be produced now while these were in 50s and 60s?