Dawn Images

If you loved Urwa Hocane’s performance in Aap Ki Izzat, then make sure not to compare it to Netflix, because she might find it ‘lame’ because she doesn’t believe the streaming service is better than Pakistani dramas.

The actor, who recently received widespread praise for her role as Beena, made the comments during an appearance on Gloss Etc by Maliha Rehman.

Hocane said a lot of reviewers, while meaning well, often use the adjective “Netflix-quality” to describe a good project.

“I find that so lame. We’re doing better than that. It’s just because there was a portal or an app that just came out and it worked for a couple of years,” she said, adding she doesn’t think Netflix knows “what they’re doing anymore”.

“The stories that we’re telling and the quality that we’re showing, we don’t need no Netflix and why are we comparing ourselves to that anyway?” Hocane continued.

The actor said the Pakistani drama industry doesn’t prioritise “glam” over the story, which, she believes, is “the soul” of a project.

“We’re really narrating stories and then we’re like let’s commercialise it. That’s a cherry on top,” she added.

Citing Aap Ki Izzat as an example, Hocane said Pakistani dramas attract audiences without any pomp.

Hocane’s comments are the latest addition to a discourse that has been simmering across the industry for a while, with celebrities such as Faysal Quraishi, Shamoon Abbasi, and Usama Khan — all offering a wide range of opinions.

In July, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal also announced that the government was “in talks with Netflix and other global streaming giants to adjust the regional framework”.

Cover: Muhammad Azeem Sani for Dawn