Ramadan Shows
Religion has become a commercial commodity which everyone is trying to sell. Media in Pakistan has seen new lows this Ramadan where Geo tv bought back Amir Liaqat just before Ramadan and some channels have drama actors as anchors of religious iftar shows to maximize viewership and commercials. One unknown tv channel even hired Veena Malik for their iftar programme! Now everyone knows ‘Hero tv’ and their advertising plan worked BUT at what cost???
Everyone from politicians to media owners are enjoying the helplessness of the people of Pakistan. When the former betray our country for personal gains these media gurus are the first to accuse them and claim to represent the people of Pakistan but when they get a chance they leap on it and play with the emotions of the people in their own ways.
It was disgusting to hear that Veena Malik will be hosting a show called ‘Astaghfar’ on Hero tv. I am not being judgmental here but if and when a person seeks forgiveness from Allah then it should be done in solitude. These artificial tears in front of the camera and that too for huge amount of money cannot be called Astaghfar. I did not see any episode because I did not want to be one of those who added to the popularity of her show. I have not forgotten and will never forgive her for what she has been doing in recent past in India (being a Muslim woman). We deserve more pious people hosting ramadan shows who understand the religion and are not crowd pullers. For God sake this is not a ‘tamasha’ it needs serious understanding and knowledge of the Islam. No one hires a tenth grader to take a class of physics in a University but when it comes to Islam everyone is a scholar!!!
Coming to the ‘must awaited’ show by Amir Liaqat Hussain on Geo tv! I did not get the chance to see tv at iftar in the first seventeen days of Ramdan because that is the busiest time for the ladies in the kitchen and the most precious time for all who are fasting. This is the time when Allah listens to all the duas made by people fasting. Today I caught few last minutes of Amir’s show and saw him running around on the stage, cracking cheap jokes, playing with the hair of a participant, throwing away gifts and felt sorry, not for him or for the channel but for the people watching. It took me a few minutes to explain this to my children that what this man was trying to do at an iftar show! It seemed like a market place and not a decent Islamic show. The way this whole program is carried out is in bad taste !
These two channels have gone too far to cash the sentiments of people. In doing so hey forgot the whole essence on this month. All they remember is that Ramadan i s the month of maximizing profits by exploiting the sentiments of people. That can be done asking class one Islamiat questions and throwing ‘pillows’ in the form at the poor participants or by inviting the most notorious lady ( who does not deserve to be called a Pakistani/Muslim anymore) to do a religious program on local tv. Our help people do not have any way of stopping this offence against their sentiments and those having authority (PEMRA) are silent spectators as always. Waiting for for a suo moto (LOL)
The best selling faces in Pakistan are Shahid Afridi and Fawad Afzal Khan then why didn’t any channel think of inviting them to host a Ramadan show because no religious qualification is required! Only criteria is that “it should sell”
With due apology to the other channels…. I did not get a chance to see any other Iftar shows or you may say this was enough for me.
Best of luck for the last ten days of Ramadan, stay away from the idiot box!
