It is not that Pakistan didn’t produce drama serials based on social issues before Kashf Foundation stepped in. Why Kashf Foundation needs to be discussed in this regard is because it came out, besides being an organisation helping the oppressed and the needy, as a production house that went far ahead in tackling social issues.
This house made its appearance with a bang in the drama industry because it discussed those taboo issues of the Pakistani society which had never been discussed before.
Kashf released its first drama serial in the year 2013 by the name of ‘Rehaai’. It was aired on Hum Television and was written by Farhat Ishtiaq, the writer behind popular plays like ‘Humsafar’ and ‘Mata-e-Jaan’. ‘Rehaai’ was directed by Mehreen Jabbar and addressed the issue of girls being married to or to be directly sold to lusty men of mature age desiring children. Since ‘Rehaai’ was the first such project to go on air which discussed the issue in bold language and scenery, it was highly objected to and was not praised as much as other Mehreen Jabbar works. But its real achievement was the fact that despite all the dissatisfaction with the content, the play succeeded in running all of its episodes.
This gave motivation to the team and then came ‘Udaari’ in 2016, which was far bolder than ‘Rehaai’ in the sense that the issue tackled was taboo-er than child marriages and hence, more challenging. ‘Udaari’ was also written by Farhat Ishtiaq and directed by Ehteshamuddin. It addressed paedophilia with a tincture of incest in the manner that the girl acting as the protagonist is raped by her own step-father. It succeeded in gaining more popularity than ‘Rehaai’. Although objected to and warned by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority, ‘Udaari’ also went on air with all of its episodes and when it came to an end, it gained a lot of appreciation and won numerous awards as well. It convinced people in learning the message it strived to give and being the foundation’s second bold project, was rendered digestible because when ‘Udaari’ came to an end, the people realised that the production house’s endeavours were positive and were targeted at inculcating a sense of humanity and respect among the people.
The third production of Kashf Foundation released in 2018, was ‘Aakhri Station’. Directed by Sarmad Khoosat and written by Amna Mufti, it was a miniseries based on issues even more snubbed than those discussed earlier, but all the same, more hot and prevalent on a large scale. These issues included prostitution, AIDS, depression, acid-throwing and labour etc. This series had no comic relief and was hard-hitting through and through, and even included invectives in its script used commonly in the Pakistani society.
Kashf can be considered as a new entry in the drama industry of Pakistan with an admirable perspective, that of infusing mannerisms and humanity in the society and of bringing about a change on a practical level. It keeps us curious what other topics are in the pipeline of this production house which has already handled a lot of taboo issues of the society. The house is very choosy in the team it chooses, be it the writers, the directors or the cast and keeps improving year by year.
The writer can be reached at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, February 15th 2019.