Thakur
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Tired of saas-bahu sagas, Indian viewers are
lapping up realistic Pakistani serials backed by
strong writing on the new channel Zindagi,
prompting Indian producers to do a rethink on
the content they churn out, says Yogesh Pawar
A still from Pakistani TV serial Maat, soon to
be aired on Zee Zindagi
A rain break prompts Pratima Prabhune, 63, a
resident of Vile Parle in Mumbai to take her
granddaughter Juhi to the garden to play. The
retired Marathi lecturer seems as pleased as
Juhi to meet her friends. Talk soon veers to TV
serials. "Did you watch Zindagi Gulzar Hai
(ZGH) yesterday? What happened?" her friend
Neela Prabhudesai asks her.
After the details of the episode are shared, talk
on the show continues. "Kashyap is a strange
name for a girl. It's more like a surname," says
Prabhune, who also wonders why the
characters keep talking about "missiles".
In ZGH — based on a novel of the same name
by Umera Ahmad — the female lead is called
Kashaf and not Kashyap, while the "missiles"
Prabhune refers to are actually massail, which
means hardship in Urdu.
While ratings are yet to be made public, the
interaction above underlines how critics and
audiences across India have been swept off
their feet by Zee Entertainment Enterprises
Limited's (ZEEL) new channel Zindagi, launched
less than a month ago. Though most of the
exclusively Pakistani content is in chaste Urdu,
it is not only popular across north India where
many understand the language, but also in
other parts of India where it is not.
Cultural historian Mukul Joshi says he is not
surprised this is happening. "We share a
common historical legacy, social norms and
values, food, sartorial sense and most
importantly, culture. We suffer from the same
problems on both sides of the border like
poverty, abuse and exploitation of women. So
content which resonates with such concerns
obviously does well." Warm reception to Zindagi prompts Indian producers to change content | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis
lapping up realistic Pakistani serials backed by
strong writing on the new channel Zindagi,
prompting Indian producers to do a rethink on
the content they churn out, says Yogesh Pawar
A still from Pakistani TV serial Maat, soon to
be aired on Zee Zindagi
A rain break prompts Pratima Prabhune, 63, a
resident of Vile Parle in Mumbai to take her
granddaughter Juhi to the garden to play. The
retired Marathi lecturer seems as pleased as
Juhi to meet her friends. Talk soon veers to TV
serials. "Did you watch Zindagi Gulzar Hai
(ZGH) yesterday? What happened?" her friend
Neela Prabhudesai asks her.
After the details of the episode are shared, talk
on the show continues. "Kashyap is a strange
name for a girl. It's more like a surname," says
Prabhune, who also wonders why the
characters keep talking about "missiles".
In ZGH — based on a novel of the same name
by Umera Ahmad — the female lead is called
Kashaf and not Kashyap, while the "missiles"
Prabhune refers to are actually massail, which
means hardship in Urdu.
While ratings are yet to be made public, the
interaction above underlines how critics and
audiences across India have been swept off
their feet by Zee Entertainment Enterprises
Limited's (ZEEL) new channel Zindagi, launched
less than a month ago. Though most of the
exclusively Pakistani content is in chaste Urdu,
it is not only popular across north India where
many understand the language, but also in
other parts of India where it is not.
Cultural historian Mukul Joshi says he is not
surprised this is happening. "We share a
common historical legacy, social norms and
values, food, sartorial sense and most
importantly, culture. We suffer from the same
problems on both sides of the border like
poverty, abuse and exploitation of women. So
content which resonates with such concerns
obviously does well." Warm reception to Zindagi prompts Indian producers to change content | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis
