With Islamabad requesting New Delhi to lift the ban on its TV channels, soaps from across the border may just return to entertain us as they did in the ’80s and ’90s. Sunday Times takes a peek at what’s airing on Pak prime time

Anahita Mukherji | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; July 22, 2012)

 

For two countries separated by a common culture and language, the idiot box can bridge the gap. But, with both governments often taking each other’s satellite channels off the air and often using the state TV for propaganda against each other, television has reinforced stereotypes — mostly in India where channels from across the border have been banned. This may all change now as the government proposes to open India to Pakistani TV channels, something that may change our perception about the neighbouring country.

Pakistan, like India, is addicted to the ‘family drama.’ Indian viewers would be tickled pink to see the first episode of the Pakistani serial Dil Diya Dehleez, which opens with a bunch of young women singing the Bollywood number “Mehndi laga ke rakhna.”

That Star Plus is amongst Pakistan’s most watched general entertainment channels may have something to do with the fact that many Pakistani serials are inspired by Indian soaps. For Indians, this is akin to watching a reflection of a reflection. “You have to understand that they (Pakistani serials) are based on the Star Plus formula but are now breaking away from it,” says Kamal Siddiqi, editor of The Express Tribune, a Pakistani More >