What may be a stone’s throw away can just as easily seem miles apart between India and Pakistan. However, the two countries are intertwined culturally with the Pakistani audience feeding on Bollywood films, and Indians gorging on Pakistani dramas.
In the recently concluded superhit Pakistani drama Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum, the lead pair Mustafa (Fahad Mustafa) and Sharjeena (Hania Aamir) are kicked out of home by their parents and are left scrambling to find a roof over their heads. In a curious turn of events, an Indian fan wrote to Fahad Mustafa saying, “Mustafa bhai, mera Delhi mein flat khali pada hai. Aap Sharjeena ko le kar yahan aa jao (Mustafa brother, my flat in Delhi is empty. You and Sharjeena can come and live here).”
The comment won hearts on both sides of the border.
Stories like these tell you how short the distance is between Delhi and Karachi, both literally and metaphorically. With the same language, norms, food, music, and customs, there is little that separates the two countries other than a man-made border.
Indian fans of Pakistani dramas have been able to enjoy Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum on the official ARY Youtube channel, flooding the comments section with love. “Divided by politics, united by Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum” read one such comment on the first episode’s video on YouTube.
Pakistani dramas are often compelling to Indian viewers because they are starkly different from the saas-bahu sagas that crowd Indian television. From love stories, family dramas, college comedies to social commentary, Pakistani shows offer viewers a wide selection of storytelling that is not always available on Indian television.
Also read: ‘Zindagi Tamasha’: A Gem From Pakistan That Shows Us the Dogma and Hypocrisy in ‘Upright’ Society
“It’s the stories, culture and the conservatisms that resonate with Indians. I think contemporary web series don’t appeal to everyone. There is an audience that wants to see family dramas or rom-coms. This audience might be more conservative but likes to watch classic romances and melodrama. And because there is a cultural overlap, these stories could very well be set in India,” says Surbhi Gupta, South Asia editor at New Lines Magazine.
It is no wonder then that, Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum, like many other Pakistani dramas — Humsafar, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Parizaad, Suno Chanda, Mere Humsafar, Zard Patton Ka Bunn, Tere Bin, Sunn Mere Dil, etc — has a significant following in India, driving its views up to 20 million on YouTube. Curiously, GenZ has also been tuning in and posting their reactions on Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, and in the comment sections.
While the younger generation’s viewership might be new, older audiences have been watching dramas from across the border for years. The popularity has seen its heyday in 2014 when Zee had launched a channel called Zindagi that aired Pakistani dramas for Indian audiences. Intertwined culturally, while the Pakistani audience feeds on a healthy diet of Bollywood films, Indians gorge on Pakistani dramas.
Familiarity breaches borders
For Indians, the appeal also lies in the fact that Pakistani dramas break the monotony in the way Bollywood fetishises Pakistanis. Once you watch Kabhi Main Mabhi Tum, for instance, you realise that people on the other side speak, dress, behave and think a lot like Indians. Given that most shows are Punjabi-speaking or set in Punjabi households also adds to the sense of familiarity.
The way everyone dresses in kurta pyjamas or saris, cracks silly jokes, eats biryani or samosas, drinks endless cups of tea, and respects their parents only solidifies the notion that people in the two countries are not very different from each other.
In Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum, you see Sharjeena’s light hearted attempts to make their dingy little house into a loving home. You also see Mustafa’s cool and breezy way of living life, taking nothing too seriously. Ultimately, you are left with these two characters falling in love over the simplest of things that ordinary life has to offer. These are universal experiences that reveal just how indistinguishable the everydayness of life is in both countries.
Reference Link:- https://thewire.in/film/watching-pakistani-television-in-india