It is a win-win for all – unbelievable salary packages for the hosts, hours-long holy entertainment for the viewers, great gifts for the audience, massive advertisement for the manufacturers and over Rs 1 billion in business for the proprietors. A whole month of religious entertainment has begun on television.
Mixing religion with entertainment turned out to be such a successful model a few years ago that no TV channel can now afford to miss the opportunity.
The channels with the largest resources installed the most impressive sets. The ones with meager resources just bought a new couch. All of them will get a slice from the pie, subject to the size of their mouth.
“We stand united with our soldiers. We pray for their lives and success. We want them to eliminate the militants and get us rid of this menace,” popular talk-show host Aamir Liaqat said in his emotional opening speech on the first day of the holy month. The title song showed Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif boosting the morale of his soldiers. The anti-Taliban political leadership was nowhere seen.
[quote]Mixing religion with entertainment turned out to be a successful business model [/quote]
The host shed light on the importance of Ramzan, explained facets of the massive set and finally talked about different segments of the show. The marathon transmission would continue for hours during Sehr, Iftar and mid-day.
Last year, he did the program on another channel the ratings skyrocketed. And the shows of other
genres saw their ratings plummeted. Because of an unfortunate episode that culminated in suspension of his previous channel for 15 days, the rumors were rife the popular host would join a rival channel. They proved correct when the deal was made public just before Ramzan. Some say it cost the channel more than Rs 100 million just for the holy month.
During last year’s Ramzan transmission, he was bitterly criticized for striking a deal with an orphanage to telecast child adoptions live. Others criticized him for mixing religion and entertainment. He responded by saying they were jealous. “We have made our religion extremely difficult. It seems there is no concept of happiness in Islam, which is utterly wrong. I give people an opportunity to smile. And we promote the true message of Islam which is peace,” said Dr Amir Liaquat defending his unorthodox style of hosting.
Aamir Liaquat hosts his 2013 show Amaan Ramzan
The other channels are not sitting idle. Religious scholars and reciters are having a field day. Telephone exchanges of TV channels are jammed with calls from those who wish to participate in the shows. After all, they offer gifts, free food, and you can be on TV.
“It’s alright to be part of Ramzan transmissions. We are media-men and we have to be flexible according to the demands of our viewers,” said anchorperson Waseem Badami. He co-hosts a Ramzan show with Junaid Jamshed, who was once a pop singer.
Mufti Naeem of Jamia Naeemia believes the religious debates and problems are a very serious subject and could not be discussed in a leisurely manner. Some critics reject debating critical religious problems on television altogether. They argue that a slightest slip of tongue or misinterpretation could create a dangerous situation.
But the audience seems to love it.
Sources in big media houses reveal the poaching of famous religious scholars and reciters was underway long before the holy month began. Assurances were given, offers were made and contracts were signed.
Gone are the days of breaking fasts with sherbet and Pakoras after hearing Azan from a nearby mosque or sirens from a close-by fire-brigade office. Those sirens had an inexplicable aura of romanticism, when the state-owned Pakistan Television monopolized the television screens. Sehr and Iftar used to be purely a family affair.
I recently overheard a some children talking about their favorite television show on Iftar. “Finish your food quickly, the quiz show is about to begin,” one said. “Let’s see how many mobile phones and motorcycles will be given away today.”
