There have been various TV programs on different Pakistani TV Channels discussing the undesirable/threatening influence and infiltration of Indian culture and "content" In Pakistani's day to day life, especially on TV & Films.
Talat Hussain, one of most respected journalists on Dawn Tv did a full show on 11th July,12 on the subject and sounded so paranoid and alarmed over the cultural invasion by India!
Simple things which moralist pontificators like Talat fail to understand :
a) Indian films and film music have always been popular in Pakistan ever since partition. It is not just today.
b) Once , the normal flow was blocked by jingoist regimes,and anti-India hysteria people were starved, and soon as Video Cassettes came out as a technological revolution, plagiarisation of Indian films for Pakistani market became a big Vndustry in 80's which even started feeding Indian market!
c) Demise of Pakistani film industry, decadence and decay of TV entertainment shows vis-a-vis vastly superior content/fare offered by Indian films & TV shows which could be accessed thanks to satellite TV networks, Pak audiences got attracted to Indian films & TV shows, nobody forced them to do it.
d) With the internet revolution, now the content is universally available for anyone and everyone, there is no way, one can build fences and boundary walls to bar free flow of information and audio-visual content, Pakistani authorities or so -called conscience keepers cannot stop cultural influences to cross borders.
It is a very welcome development that this so-called " Cultural Invasion". Technology has brought people of India & Pakistan much much closer. People have been poisoned with hatred agenda by politicians,vested interests and unfortunate hostility caused by 3 wars and some unresolved disputes which have been allowed to fester.People in India who cannot watch Pak TV, watched superb TV "dramas" on smuggled video tapes. Who can forget Tanhaiyan, Dhoop Kinarey,Teesra Kinara and the whole lot! Now we watch TV shows and talk shows as well as read Dawn & Express Tribune on internet.
I watch Pak TV shows, especially the talk shows everyday for 2 hours on Internet. Similarly , Pakistanis watch Indian TV shows on Starplus & other channels accessible in Pakistan, and on internet. Of course Hindi films are super hits in Pakistan as always, now they get to see the latest bollywood hits in their swank multiplexes.
I find that so many Hindi words are used so well and so frequently by Pakistanis in their day to day lives, and they understand and are aware of many things Indian such as Hindu rituals/religious rites etc. which they never bothered to do earlier!
Pakistan's conscience keepers should also appreciate the fact that Hindi film music today is dominated by Muslims, and many of them are from Pakistan.Almost every second hit song is copied from a Pakistani composer and sung by a Pakistani singer. Many singers from Pakistan have become super stars in India. Every second song has deep Islamist influence- there is Khuda, Rabba, Maula, etc. in every song and Sufi Music influence is increasing day by day as well as ever increasing popularity of Ghazals inspired by the Maestro Mehndi Hassan and developed by Jagjit Singh ( both equally revered and popular in India & Pakistan)
I wish Pakistani intelligentsia and conscience keepers to realise and appreciate the good effects of the India's cultural influence on Pakistan and vice versa. These things in addition to the people to people contacts will help us shed the hatred and wipe out decades old hostility and enmity for a peaceful co-existence and much closer friendly relations between the neighbors.
Talat Hussain, one of most respected journalists on Dawn Tv did a full show on 11th July,12 on the subject and sounded so paranoid and alarmed over the cultural invasion by India!
Simple things which moralist pontificators like Talat fail to understand :
a) Indian films and film music have always been popular in Pakistan ever since partition. It is not just today.
b) Once , the normal flow was blocked by jingoist regimes,and anti-India hysteria people were starved, and soon as Video Cassettes came out as a technological revolution, plagiarisation of Indian films for Pakistani market became a big Vndustry in 80's which even started feeding Indian market!
c) Demise of Pakistani film industry, decadence and decay of TV entertainment shows vis-a-vis vastly superior content/fare offered by Indian films & TV shows which could be accessed thanks to satellite TV networks, Pak audiences got attracted to Indian films & TV shows, nobody forced them to do it.
d) With the internet revolution, now the content is universally available for anyone and everyone, there is no way, one can build fences and boundary walls to bar free flow of information and audio-visual content, Pakistani authorities or so -called conscience keepers cannot stop cultural influences to cross borders.
It is a very welcome development that this so-called " Cultural Invasion". Technology has brought people of India & Pakistan much much closer. People have been poisoned with hatred agenda by politicians,vested interests and unfortunate hostility caused by 3 wars and some unresolved disputes which have been allowed to fester.People in India who cannot watch Pak TV, watched superb TV "dramas" on smuggled video tapes. Who can forget Tanhaiyan, Dhoop Kinarey,Teesra Kinara and the whole lot! Now we watch TV shows and talk shows as well as read Dawn & Express Tribune on internet.
I watch Pak TV shows, especially the talk shows everyday for 2 hours on Internet. Similarly , Pakistanis watch Indian TV shows on Starplus & other channels accessible in Pakistan, and on internet. Of course Hindi films are super hits in Pakistan as always, now they get to see the latest bollywood hits in their swank multiplexes.
I find that so many Hindi words are used so well and so frequently by Pakistanis in their day to day lives, and they understand and are aware of many things Indian such as Hindu rituals/religious rites etc. which they never bothered to do earlier!
Pakistan's conscience keepers should also appreciate the fact that Hindi film music today is dominated by Muslims, and many of them are from Pakistan.Almost every second hit song is copied from a Pakistani composer and sung by a Pakistani singer. Many singers from Pakistan have become super stars in India. Every second song has deep Islamist influence- there is Khuda, Rabba, Maula, etc. in every song and Sufi Music influence is increasing day by day as well as ever increasing popularity of Ghazals inspired by the Maestro Mehndi Hassan and developed by Jagjit Singh ( both equally revered and popular in India & Pakistan)
I wish Pakistani intelligentsia and conscience keepers to realise and appreciate the good effects of the India's cultural influence on Pakistan and vice versa. These things in addition to the people to people contacts will help us shed the hatred and wipe out decades old hostility and enmity for a peaceful co-existence and much closer friendly relations between the neighbors.
