Tag: BBC Urdu

  • Shaista Lodhi wants more dramas about older people falling in love

    Shaista Lodhi wants more dramas about older people falling in love

    Dr. Shaista Lodhi spoke to BBC Urdu about her on-air drama ‘Samjhota’, which revolves around an elderly man getting married for the second time to a divorcee, after his first wife passes away.

    Lodhi revealed that she wanted to do this drama because it explored the kind of stigma elderly people face, and encouraged them to remember that they can restart their lives after retirement.

    “Whenever I’m offered a project, I try to make sure that it is on a subject that can be relatable for a lot of people…So when I heard about this story, I felt like I should do it because we need to address this issue in our society…It showed that at a certain age when we think our elderly mother and father are only around to take care of our children, but instead you’ll witness the love story between these two main characters in the drama. I thought this was such a great example being set. The other thing is in our society at a certain age our parents are left lonely while we get busy building our own lives. We seem to think that our parents can’t find a new partner after their own spouse and they don’t have a life of their own. We are busy with our own life, we aren’t able to give them any time, or the responsibilities we have as their child. We also can’t imagine if our father gets married for the second time. So I thought this would be food for thought for our society, and I liked the script and decided to take it on.”

    She also talked about the ways ‘Samjhota’ breaks away from formulae drama, and brings the love story between an elderly couple to the forefront.

    “It’s incredibly important that we remind our elderly that life doesn’t end when you grow old. Once they age, we restrict them in a box, and I don’t think any other drama has taken a step to discuss this topic…If our father is coughing, why do we want to send our house help to get him a glass of water and cough syrup? Instead, why don’t we show our father getting up and keeps working in this age so he can prove that he is an active part of the social set up. We snatch this energy from elderly people by telling them that they’re retired so they must sit at home…Don’t you think that as a society we are cruel to the growing segment that we call ‘elderly’ because we completely ignore them? We ignore children the same way we ignore our elderly. We only cater to the middle ground because that is the only way we can get ratings.”

    On the feedback she has been receiving on ‘Samjhota’, Lodhi said a lot of people meet her on planes and continuously ask her questions about her dramas, and have praised her for her performance.

    Listen to the full interview here:

  • ‘Jam Awais returned my brother in kafan’: Nazim Jokhio’s brother speaks out against PPP MPA

    Nazim Jokhio’s brother Azam, while talking to BBC Urdu’s Riaz Sohail, revealed: “I blindly trusted Jam Awais and took my brother Nazim to meet him and he [Jam] returned my brother in kafan (shroud).”

    Jokhio, the youngest one of his siblings, was allegedly tortured to death for recording Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MPA Jam Awais’ hunting expedition of a highly rare bird species along with his Arab guests.

    Azam told the media outlet that after repeated calls from Jam’s people, he asked his brother to delete the video. He said he was not “afraid”. After this, Jam’s manager reached their home and asked for Nazim.

    “My brother had refused to go with him but I insisted,” he said while adding that he had been elected a member of the district council and he had confidence in them.

    Upon reaching, Jam’s people started torturing Nazim with sticks and butts of the gun.

    “I pleaded in front of him [Jam] and apologised but he didn’t listen and said that you have insulted my guests. They kept beating him and locked him in a room. They asked me to leave and come in the morning. At 5am, I got the news that they had beaten him to death”, Azam said.

    MPA Sindh Assembly along with two suspects, Haider and Mir Ali, have been remanded to police custody for three days.

    During the hearing, the investigation officer informed the court that the prime suspect had surrendered to the police. Later, the judge ordered to present a progress report in the case at the next hearing and granted a three-day remand to the police.

    Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah had also taken notice of the incident.

  • ‘Our industry is very hypocritical,’ says Yasir Hussain

    ‘Our industry is very hypocritical,’ says Yasir Hussain

    Yasir Hussain has addressed all controversies surrounding him and has opened up on why he feels he ends up in one.

    Speaking to BBC Urdu, Yasir said: “Our industry is very hypocritical – it has always been. The actors in our industry are hypocrites. Whenever I get into a controversy, they call me. Why do they call me? Who are they to talk to me about the controversy if I have done something right or wrong? They talk to me for like 15 minutes over a phone call and then just hang up.”

    “Why don’t they speak about it on social media and say they support me?,” questioned Yasir, adding: “They will not because they know if they will support me or say that they support my point of view, they will get bashed as well. I don’t care about the backlash, but they do.”

    Talking about his “controversial” comments, Yasir asked why don’t people question the talk show hosts or the channels for asking silly questions.

    “I went on a show and was asked some controversial questions. They told me that if I will not answer the questions then I have to drink some spicy drinks. I had no other option but to answer those questions – it was either that or I give myself a stomach ulcer. I even took my name or their name to play safe but they told me saying that taking our or your name is not allowed. So I had to take some names.”

    The actor further said: “I took Azfar Rehman’s name because I knew he won’t mind as he is one of my closest friends in the industry. Even he said in an interview that I am overrated. This is because we know each other and we won’t mind passing such comments on each other.”

    “Why am I always wrong? Why aren’t the hosts, the producers or makers of those shows are not wrong?,” asked Yasir.

    “People say that I am controversial and share only controversial stuff. I also share good things but no one shares that,” said Yasir. “No one talks about my good things, they only share my controversies because they know that no one will read anything which is not masalaydaar.”

    Meanwhile, talking about his comments on Diriliş: Ertuğrul being aired on Pakistan Television, Yasir said that he was not against the series being aired but was pushing for a joint production venture between the two countries.

    Hussain is well known for speaking his mind and passing statements which often evolve into controversies. Recently, his comments on a television show erupted a clash between him and Shahroz Sabzwari. When Yasir was asked to name an actor who should have stayed on television instead of doing films, the actor had named Shahroz.

  • PML-N leader thinks BBC Urdu is more credible than BBC News

    PML-N leader thinks BBC Urdu is more credible than BBC News

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hina Pervaiz Butt seems to think that BBC Urdu is a credible source of information compared to BBC News.

    The PML-N leader was talking about the number of people present in the Lahore jalsa during her appearance on Mansoor Ali Khan’s show on Express News when she made this faux pas.

    According to Hina Butt, independent media outlets, such as Al Jazeera and BBC Urdu, did “good reporting” on the jalsa compared to the local news channels.

    At this, Mansoor said if she has no qualms about the credibility of the BBC then its programme HardTALK, wherein Ishaq Dar was grilled for allegedly owning assets beyond means, was credible too.

    Hina quickly cut her off, saying no, she only “meant the BBC Urdu“, prompting laughter in the studio. Firstly, I didn’t call BBC’s English channel credible or compromised,” she said, adding that she only raised questions about the ban on Dar’s interview on the Pakistani media.

    DAR ON HARDTALK:

    Last month, Ishaq Dar, who is in a self-imposed exile after corruption cases were filed against him, had said that he and his wife owned only a single property that’s located in Pakistan.

    Dar had made these comments during his appearance in BBC show, HardTalk.

    During the show, the host had asked Dar: “Is it your contention that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has no integrity? To this, Dar had responded that NAB has lost its integrity. “It is an institution that has been used against political opponents.”

    Dar, 69, is currently in London, “undergoing medical treatment”. He is absconding from several cases in Pakistan since 2017 and has been declared a proclaimed offender by the courts. He is facing charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income.