We are Turkishstanis

By Ali Aftab Saeed –

The arrival of Turkish soaps has altered the media scene

Everything that happens in the world is somehow a conspiracy against Pakistan or an attempt to take down one of our institutions or an industry. These days the Turks are overwhelming us — with their hugely popular soap operas, a garbage collecting firm in Lahore and a recent Turk offer to train our spy agencies.

Back in the days, FRIENDS, the American comedy sitcom, was a massive hit in Pakistan and watched by almost everyone. I started following American sitcoms four years ago. Watching these shows, I thought about getting them dubbed in Urdu to air on a TV channel some day. I thought that if a middle class, thorough-bred desilike me could relate to these shows and enjoy them, so would everyone else. But then I got busy in making both ends meet and never had the time to ask about how to acquire copyrights of already aired TV shows.

The surprise came when our very own Punjabi channel, APNA TV, dubbed FRIENDS in Punjabi. The translation was exact and literal. The accents were, however, pure Faisalabadi, which for some indescribable reason only suited Chandler.

It was traumatic experience for me as someone had stolen the idea right out of my head and actually executed it. The second shock came when I entered an entertainment department of a private TV channel and saw boardrooms filled with people engrossed in watching videos. I inquired what was going on and was told that they were monitoring Turkish soaps to decide which one to buy. And, then I realized that Ask-i-Memnu, the Turkish soap about illicit relationships, had caught Pakistani imagination.

Personally, I found Ask-i-Memnu to be a disappointment, apart from the low cleavages. But thinking more about the reasons of its success, it dawned on me that new, refreshing faces of Turkish actors was making these dramas so unique and compelling. After all, who wants to watch Faisal Qureshi in every Pakistani drama, playing a son in one and a father in another. Next morning, Faisal hosts a morning show and during commercials, he is still present on the screens, making WCs of people’s homes sparking clean with a detergent!

Other reasons, to my mind, of our TV channels jumping on the Turkish bandwagon are: It costs almost nothing to air these dramas as copyright charges are minimal; Dubbing is an inexpensive undertaking; the TV channels are aware that most of their employees are useless. Therefore, they buy content and dramas from Production Houses. You might have heard the designation “Executive Producer”. You must have wondered about the job description too. Executive Producers actually do little work apart from pre-viewing and, consequently, recommending or rejecting a serial or soap. Executive Producers were making extra money by accepting bribes to recommend plays. Now, while dealing with Turkish dramas, the channels don’t have to worry anymore about money siphoned by Executive Producers.

As per PEMRA instructions, channels can telecast 10 percent foreign content only – 6% Indian and 4% from others.  Some time back, our one and only media Papa sued URDU 1 for exceeding the airtime allowed. The case bore no result as Urdu 1 operates from outside Pakistan and, therefore, not under PEMRA jurisdiction. Making use of this lacuna, a media giant decided to launch a new channel that shows only foreign dramas, blatantly under PEMRA’s nose. And, when the authorities decided to clamp a Rs. 100,000 tax per episode, channels claimed exemption, using several techniques to evade the tax, the most laughable being that some of their content was public service message.

Amid this mess, Producers Association started to protest. There were similar protests when Indian dramas were being aired. The only difference is that Turkish dramas are still aired and protests are subdued. The biggest losers in this hoopla are actors. The producers have still managed to get hefty salaries and projects. It must be noted that Punjabi actors and producers did not protest much.

Still, one confusing aspect is that why world acclaimed TV series like Lost, House, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad are not dubbed back here. The arrival of Turks in our media scene has not yet decimated the local industry. I fear if American or British TV series are dubbed then our writers and actors might just give up their work and raise their hands. They are just not up to the mark to offer any competition.

Already, we have seen fierce local competition between Lahore and Karachi. Punjabi actors are paid less and Punjab produced TV series, no matter how good, are not bought by TV channels. The contempt that the Punjabis associated with the industry have for those working in Karachi matches the loathing Karachiites have for the Turks.

The writer is a producer with a leading television network but more famous as the lead vocalist for Beyghairat Brigade. He has an uncanny ability to invite trouble. He tweets @aliaftabsaeed