Dawn Images

Senior artists of television and films have reacted strongly to screening of dramas produced by private sector on Pakistan Television and urged the federal government to restore the previous policy and save local artists from starvation.

Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, Hamid Sheikh, president of Screen Actors Guild (SAG), a movement of TV drama artists and film producers, said that thousands of artists dedicated their lives to PTV but the incumbent government rendered them jobless by preferring private sector.

“PTV has stopped Urdu serials and neglected the regional languages by preferring the substandard dramas of private producers. One cannot watch the dramas of private producers with family because they don’t reflect our culture rather ruin our cultural values and traditions,” he said.

Flanked by senior TV artists Asif Shah, Khalid Khattak, Murad Awan and Zulfiqar Quershi, Mr Sheikh said that dramas produced by private companies disappointed the artists and viewers. He said that drama of private sector being screened on PTV didn’t match the local culture and traditions.

He said that a conspiracy was hatched to ruin PTV. He added that people paid Rs30 as television fee in utility bill but they were not provided the required material to watch.

Mr Skeikh demanded of the government to take steps to ensure screening of Urdu as well as regional languages dramas on PTV to promote local culture and traditions.

He said that PTV Peshawar station had stopped production of Urdu drama serials for last 11 years while dramas of regional languages were either telecast by PTV National or their duration was decreased. Mr Sheikh said that senor artists had launched an awareness campaign across the country to force government and PTV management to telecast Urdu serials and give due coverage to programmes in regional languages.

“It is need of the hour to market the artists instead of neglecting them by offering them monthly stipend of Rs30,000. The artists want promotion of their work and art,” he said. If government wanted to support the artists then it should take steps to ensure production of Urdu and local dramas, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Asif Shah criticised the privatisation policy of the government. “We want solution to our issues otherwise all the artists are ready to hold protest in Islamabad,” he said.

Originally published in Dawn, May 11th, 2016