Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, known for his successful stint in Pakistani television dramas and brief but impactful roles in Hindi films like Khoobsurat and Kapoor & Sons, recently discussed the popularity of Pakistani dramas in India in a recent interview.
During an interview Ahmad Ali Butt, Fawad explained the distinction between Indian television shows and Pakistani dramas and shed light on the factors that make the latter resonate with the Indian audience. He said. “They make soap operas. They don’t make mini-series. They don’t make a 10-20 episode series. They used to make it in the past. Many actors, including Shah Rukh Khan did a series called Fauji, he did one or two TV projects. I believe Nana Patekar also did TV before entering films. I think during that time we also used to watch their dramas. Tab Doordarshan pakda jata tha thoda thoda in some places (We used to get signals of Doordarshan in some places). I am not saying that they evolved into a 24 hour The Bold And The Beautiful, Santa Barbara television presence… long episode soap operas…we finish the series in 26 episodes.”
When the interviewer asked Fawad if that means that the Pakistani dramas are superior to India drama, the actor said, “I am not commenting on the quality of the writing but if you do the math, 26 episodes vs 500 episodes, if the content is small then obviously the quality will be better and the story will be engaging. If you stretch the same characters to 1000 episodes, you will get bored of them after a point. That’s the difference.”
Fawad Khan’s Pakistani TV shows, including Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Humsafar, and Behadd, gained significant popularity among the Indian audience. The actor’s recent film The Legend of Maula Jatt also received heaps for praises from the audience and critics alike.