Daily Times

After removing geographic restriction for Pakistanis, ALTBalaji – Ekta Kapoor’s answer to digital entertainment – has recently started advertising the platform to the Pakistani audiences.

With Netflix and iFlix already operating here, Balaji Telefilms’ ALTBalaji has become the third Video on Demand platform to launch in Pakistan unlike most of its rivals such as Voot.

The reinvented platform boasts a range of ‘modern’ entertainment shows that have completely different storylines, acting and production styles. Not to mention the format is more 10-episode-per-season as opposed to Balaji’s traditional saas-bahu (daughter-in-law and mother-in-law) daily soaps.

While Balaji’s daily soaps have been famous for reinforcing traditional Indian family values – with many shows depicting outrage for eating non-vegetarian food and having extra-marital relations, the ALTBalaji shows push boundaries in every sense.

Ekta Kapoor, the joint managing director of Balaji Telefilms and daughter of prominent retired Bollywood actor Jeetendra Kapoor, said while launching ALTBalaji, “Hopefully there’s something for everyone. There’s a big world between Narcos and Naagin, and we hope to capture that.”

One would have hoped it would takes years to see two men and two women kissing on an Indian TV, but it’s all happening on the ALTBalaji shows.

One talk of the town show is Romil and Jugal. A show that is promoted as modern and gay adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet”. The show revolves around two college-going men who fall for each other and have to face struggles and challenges surrounding their ‘unconventional’ relations.

The show also features some steamy scenes including kissing and much more. Some of that can’t be printed in a Pakistani newspaper!

Other shows include ‘Dev DD’, ‘Karle Tu Bhi Muhabbat’, ‘Bewafa Si Wafa’, ‘Boygiri’, ‘The Test Case’, ‘Ding Dong Bell L-O-L’, ‘Nursery Rhymes’, ‘Happy Lucky Ki Katti Batti’, ‘Moe Doe’.

Now this is a pretty big leap from Balaji’s traditional entertainment but one has to wait and see if how the audience receive it.

ALTBalaji offers five out of 10 episodes to be viewed for free and to continue watching, one has to buy subscription which is pretty cheap compared to iFlix and Netflix. For as low as $4.99, one can subscribe to unlimited shows and movies for three months.

With more digital entertainment platforms launching in Pakistan at an affordable price, viewers can finally enjoy the quality they deserve instead of having to wait for the buffering circle of doom and endure endless ads on pirated entertainment websites.