TV THOUGHTS: 'Tum Jo Chaho To Suno, Aur Jo Na Chaho Na Suno,' Of Babra Sharif, cable censorship, and my confession.!!

I want to begin with Babra Sharif talking to Muneeza Hashmi, but I am distracted by two stories related to some austere, grim themes. One headline says "PTV under fire for poor coverage" and the other says that "TV channel to be set up for live coverage of NA proceedings." Both mirror obliquely what lies ahead. But I will begin with this Babra Sharif interview that I saw on Sunday. And do I need to apologise for not having seen all of it?
Let me first respond to the format and the presentation of the interview, a series which may have come to an end, Muneeza Hashmi presumably, did all these interviews, and there was something very beautiful about them. Something poetic, something artistic, something elegant, something powerful. And above all something mysterious, for often it was impossible to see the face of the interviewer even in a long shot. It lent a dramatic uncertainty to the interview, and gave to the subject the thrust needed.
I have been seeing these interviews for long now, but without a system or regularity. Interviews on TV can be routine, tame and so stereotyped, but this particular format sustains the viewer interest right till the end. So did the Babra Sharif interview and one wonders whether it was a repeat telecast. In all probability it must have been. But even then it was an absolute delight to have seen this amazing actress of the Pakistani cinema converse so relaxedly, candidly, and with all the charm that she is known for. And it was. so interesting to see the way in which she kept addressing Muneeza Hashmi as "Meezoo Apa"
The name of this series of interview is "Tum Jo Chaho Tau Suno," a line from a Faiz Ahmad Faiz's poem called "Koi Ashiq Kisi Mehbooba Sey" from the collection Merey Dil Merey Musafir. This line has been rendered by Tina Sani, and need one say anything of how beautifully she has done so. In passing one is tempted to recall that other lovely "Nazm" that she has sung which reads thus "Koi Baat Karo Koi Khushbu Jaisi Baat Karo"
And as I am on the subject of poetry I am unable to resist the temptation of quoting from the Faiz poem referred to in the context of the interview. Here it goes: "Tum Jo Chaho to Suno,Aur Jo Na Chaho Na Suno,
Aur Jo Harf Karain Mujh Sey Guraizan Ankhen
Tum Jo Chaho To Kaho, Aur Jo Na Chaho Na Kaho."
Babra Sharif who has been amongst our best actresses ever, has done spectacular work. Even phenomenal, and had she been in another cinema world she would have shown the talent and the class that she had even more. She said that she found comedy roles far more challenging than the tragic /melodramatic ones that she did.
She was equally spontaneous and cheerful while answering questions about her personal and professional life. I don't know when this interview was taken in terms of time.But she appeared young,and Muneeza Hashmi asked her about this Babra Sharif said that she was often asked about this from women who met her. Absolute strangers these women and they seemed to annoy Babra by saying things like "But you haven't changed." Or "how have you managed to stay this way." Or that "But you are so small". She said that never could she understand what these women meant. And what precisely they sought to know.
From what this popular actress said it appeared that she could return to the screen one day,or to the TV screen .One is reminded of her films that we have all seen and enjoyed,including the TV commercials that she did in the seventies.There was an inevitable question about her future,when she hinted at marriage..And the answer indicated that she did want to marry,and so far it seemed that things had not gone well in this direction.And significantly she was both smiling,and being dignified when she handled this theme.And let me tell you that she has the face to have gone with these feelings.
Now the news about the TV channel that may be set up for live coverage of the proceedings of the National Assembly. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Chaudhry Amir Hussain, said in Islamabad that it was possible a channel would be set up for this coverage in particular. It makes one wonder about it. Can it really happen? We would then be able to see the performance, and the vision of the elected representatives of this country.
Addressing a one day workshop for journalists on parliamentary reporting organised by the National Assembly and the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press club he said that presently the Pakistan TV is covering the Assembly proceedings, but if any private TV channel applied for a coverage of the proceedings it would be considered.
It is relevant to mention here that with time there has surfaced an interest in the performance of the members of the assemblies ,because there is a growing the realisation that these institutions do affect the people ,even directly.
Having said this let me mention that the PTV came under fire in the Punjab Assembly last week for poor coverage. A member from the PPP complained about the poor quality of the coverage and said that private TV channels be allowed to cover the proceedings. He even said that the PTV should be banned from coming to the assembly.
A news report on this subject said that some of the members said that the Federal Information Minister should be approached so that the coverage of the Punjab Assembly be improved and the Deputy Speaker, Shaukat Mazari, said that the time given to the Punjab Assembly was less than the time given to the smaller provinces.(It reminds me of the inability of the provinces to settle their differences on the National Finance Commission Award).
The Deputy speaker has said that he would direct the PTV officials to improve their coverage and at the same time consider the possibility of the private channels covering the Punjab Assembly. When viewed in perspective it is evident that the television channels in the country would be under pressure to provide news coverage to the assemblies. Democracy getting deeper into Pakistani society
It is pertinent to mention here that the Federal Information minister has said that the government was pursuing" a free media policy and he said this journalists after a first ever introductory meeting of the Standing Committee " on Information and broadcasting held at the Parliament House. The Chairman, Nisar Memon presided. The Information Minister spoke about the plans of the government and we hope to look at some of them later .Here one would like to mention a news report which has quoted a Pemra member as having said that "there would be a potential of 36 satellite channels in the country by 2010,according to estimates based on existing and prospective subscription and advertisement revenues. "He further said that the country currently had the potential to generate investment in satellite TV to the tune of Rs. 2600 million, and the potential to employ around 4000 people in the coming years some. More statistics that this member, Sagheer Khan, gave indicate that Rs7.28 billion have already been invested in the cable TV in this country in recent years ,that the growth rate was 132 percent in the last 3-4 years ;that cable TV employs about 30000 people today and that 4 million homes are watching cable TV. And he also talked of the decoder , that expensive gadget.
Finally some more news on this theme. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has directed all cable operators in the country to stop relaying any sort of CD, VCD, DVD, or VCR carrying any Pakistani or foreign movie, stage programme or advertisement. Another news report says that Pemra has banned "showing objectionable pornographic content by cable TV operators in Pakistan." The channels mentioned are Teletrack, MM, MM2, M-Net, and series channels, PEMRA said that these were not the channels eligible for Pakistani audiences. This reminds us of the censorship issue in Pakistani society, which does exist in a very powerful and controversial way, and which is carefully pushed into the background, with the wishful thought as if it does not exist.
With reference to the above ban, does it mean that cable TV Indian films, new and old, will stop screening Indian cinema.? Until the time of writing these lines Indian cinema was very much on.
I must write about my Sunday TV, which besides being focused on the Wana had two other themes that mattered. There was the death of Ronald Wilson Reagan about whom Time weekly has said: What made Ronald Reagan the greatest US President of the second half of the 20th century? All of Sunday and until one writes these lines on Wednesday the Reagan theme continues. It was interesting to see the way Geo and ARY had differing perspectives on Reagan.
The other international theme that was also telecast live (CNN and BBC) was the world paying tribute to the D-Day heroes and the Allied forces "who stormed the Normandy beaches in the D-Day landings 60 years ago, to liberate Europe from Nazi occupation." It made one realise the time mankind has travelled and how Television has made it possible to show these commemorative ceremonies live. It was time for some viewers to get philosophical.
I want to make a kind of a confession .Or an apology perhaps. Every week I realise that I have failed to include in this column all that I had originally wanted to ,on the basis of the TV that I have watched, often to my pleasure. It is an impossible task to overview 45 channels that I have, and I suppose others may have more. Even this week I have seen so much, and so much has happened in the country, including the change of the Sindh Government. All week there has been the Wana situation getting worse, speculation about the federal government, focus on the federal budget that comes today (Saturday) Religious programmes with a sense of urgency, Shadi on Line,(Geo)Jeevan Sathi (ARY)and Geo"s Alif focusing on extra marital affairs, and Kamran Khan injecting a renewed sense of the dramatic in my routine. Believe me ,I cannot deal with them here today, and will try and pick up some of these themes next time. I am unsure of whether demanding readers will forgive me.