6 Pakistani comedy shows that need to make a comeback

Laughter is the best medicine they say, but in a country like ours where real life is often more ridiculous than reel life and everyday news stories make you ROFL, comedy shows don't stand a chance.

Or do they?

The recent surge in comedy-based shows like Bulbulay, Dugdugi, Namak Paray and Ye Meri Family has one wondering whether humour is just another avenue for misogyny on TV. The punchline of every joke is usually centred around a husband bearing the brunt of his wife's or in-laws' ire.

Although it is true that post-shaadi jokes, especially those involving a second marriage, are oh-so-loved by our audience, that doesn’t necessarily mean that shaadi jokes are the pinnacle of our comedic achievements. Previously aired comedy shows have shown that humour can actually be about anything and everything.

Shows of yore explored satire, made use of parodies and even musicals to make their point. We feel they're worth a watch again, and we wonder — maybe today's comedy shows can learn a thing or two from them!

Here are six super funny shows that need to be re-aired:

1. Teen Bata Teen:

Featuring a trio of roommates — played by Faisal Qureshi, Adeel Hashmi and Ali Tahir as Shafoo — certainly got lots of laughs, as the background score of ‘Can Can’ was the perfect complement to their attempts to make money or get the girl. Salman Shahid as the ‘kharoos buddha’ trying to woo an older woman and getting chased by an invisible dog became the highlight of almost every episode. This kind of light comedy is perhaps what all of us need as an escape from the the seriousness of real life.

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It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the show launched the careers of actors like Ali Zafar and Ayesha Omer. Also starring the likes of Ahmed Ibrahim, Ali Arif, Anjum Shahzad and Noorul Hasan, KJ showed the all the elements of typical university life in its under 30 minute episodes: relationships, assignments, rivalries and NCA’s famous ragging.

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