When all has withered, will love endure? The trailer of Barzakh raises a poignant question. Lovers of Pakistani shows, however, need not dig too deep looking for an answer as the new fantasy drama series, directed and written by Asim Abbasi, has already garnered critical acclaim from all corners, paving the way for cross-border projects to re-emerge in the popular imagination of Indian audiences, past bans notwithstanding.
Following the Uri attack in 2016, several organisations had called for a ban on Pakistani artistes working in the country. It did not help that the Bombay High Court in an order last year refused to ban them from performing or working in India, with the Supreme Court, too, dismissing the plea and calling the petitioner “narrow-minded”.
All that is changing now, albeit slowly and steadily. Barzakh, which means ‘separation or barrier between the physical and spiritual realms’ in Arabic, marks the ‘reunion’ of Pakistani actors Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed, 12 years after their hugely popular TV show Zindagi Gulzar Hai. Premiering on the OTT platform Zee5 and the official YouTube channel of Zee Zindagi on July 19, the show is already being hailed as a cinematic masterpiece.
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Shailja Kejriwal, the creative producer of Barzakh, says, “Conviction overcomes roadblocks and over time people have begun to realise that stories and collaborations can only make things better. Our content strategy is deeply rooted in inclusivity, believing that a variety of voices enhances the viewing experience. Despite challenges, we’ve consistently witnessed love, acceptance and enthusiasm for cross-border projects.”
“We believe that Barzakh will continue to build on this positive momentum and pave the way for more collaborations in the future,” hopes Kejriwal, who is also known for introducing Zee’s Zindagi TV channel.
Barzakh is not the only show bringing Pakistani actors back to Indian audiences. Come September and viewers will get to stream Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo on Netflix. Besides Pakistani heartthrobs Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed, Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo will also headline Mahira Khan in Netflix’s first Pakistan-themed original.
Khan and Saeed are collaborating for yet another thrilling drama, Shandur, to be aired on India OTT platform SonyLIV.
Cultural collabs
Fawad Khan made his entry into Bollywood with the 2014 film Khoobsurat, alongside Sonam Kapoor, and also played pivotal roles in Kapoor & Sons and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in 2016. After the release of Barzakh, the 42-year-old actor apologised to the Indian audience for making them wait for so long. “I have always been very thankful to fans who have waited for me and I apologise for making them wait for so long. But it was not in my hands,” the actor was quoted as saying by media reports.
Mahira Khan has starred in only one Bollywood project, Shah Rukh Khan’s 2017 film Raees, which was banned in Pakistan. She was also not allowed to promote the film in India. Pakistan had also imposed a ban on Indian films in 2016, which is still on, say journalists in the country.
Meanwhile, Sanam Saeed became a household name in India after the popular show Zindagi Gulzar Hai (2012) that was aired on Zindagi. In a media interview, she said how much love she got from India even though she never made it to the country as the political situation did not give a “nice feeling to go through that tension, risk and fear”.
Shows like Barzakh seem to be opening up the gates for more Indo-Pak collaborations in the near future. While trade analysts in India say this will depend upon the acceptability and reception of these shows among the Indian audience, Pakistani commentators are hopeful that they will provide more opportunities for artistes from the neighbouring country.
Trade analyst and film critic Taran Adarsh acknowledges that Pakistani actors have cultivated a strong fan base in India through the internet and Indian audiences can now see them on platforms like Netflix. However, for them to have a theatrical release is something that is yet to be seen, he says.
“There are restrictions. I keep reading that they are signing up for films or are in talks with people, but how would those be released in India? It’s not viable. We don’t know how these products will be accepted and how they will be met with. We will have to wait and watch,” Adarsh adds.
Girish Johar, producer and film business expert, is quite optimistic and believes that there is a lot of good talent in Pakistan. “Pakistani content has a strong resonance with the Indian audience. They are relatable and a little evolved and nuanced in terms of dramatisation and storytelling, which sometimes strongly resonate with the Indian audiences. So, yes, it’s more the merrier for content consumption over here,” he adds.
On whether the new lot of Pakistani shows will be liked by the audience, Johar says their reception will boil down to the content as, at the end of the day, creativity and art are cherished and a good form of storytelling is always consumed by the audience.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal of Zee says Barzakh’s initial reactions have been “overwhelmingly positive” and has garnered both critical as well as audience appreciation from the US, UK, Canada as well as the Middle-East, apart from the Indian subcontinent.
“Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed with their star power have brought in audiences to watch the show, but Asim Abbasi’s writing and direction, Mo Azmi’s brilliant cinematography, and Aarij Hashimi’s great production design are what is keeping them glued,” she adds.
In the recent past, Zindagi has collaborated with producers on the other side of the border with shows like Asim Abbasi’s Churails (2020) and Meenu Gaur’s Qatil Haseenaon Kay Naam (2021). The channel’s first original, Churails, struck a chord with the audience featuring powerful women across Pakistan’s socio-economic strata who tackle toxic masculinity.
In the pipeline for Zee5 are Kashif Nisar-directed rom-com Pink Shirt, starring Sajal Aly and Wahaj Ali; and Mehreen Jabbar’s Farar, starring Sarwat Gilani, about female friendships.
Pakistani actor Fawad M Khan, who plays the character of Saifullah, brother of Shehryar (Fawad Khan) in Barzakh, and previously worked for Zee5 in four serials including Churails and Qatil Haseenaon Kay Naam, is hopeful that the show will resonate across the border (in India).
“I hope it will open up more doors for collaborations and soften our hearts towards each other. Of course, I can’t predict exactly what is in store for us but this series, I feel, is made with a lot of love, it is about love, and I hope it’ll resonate across the border,” he told FE.
Kejriwal of Zee also believes that collaborations encourage others to explore beyond borders and reckons that stars like Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed coming on board will pave the way for more such opportunities.
Shared history, troubled past
India and Pakistan’s tumultuous relationship has more or less stayed constant with politics and competitive sports such as cricket becoming the medium. However, audiences across the borders have been finding ways to understand each other’s culture, art and life through TV serials, dramas and shows throughout history.
During the 1980s, Indians consumed Pakistani shows through satellite channels in the areas near the border and Pakistanis watched Bollywood movies through VRS tapes as the country became a thriving market for pirated films in the light of bans. The ban on Bollywood films was later lifted in Pakistan in 2006 as a confidence-building measure. Until then, at least two generations of Pakistan were watching Bollywood films illegally, impacting the market and revenue of Bollywood as well as of Pakistani theatres. With the launch of Coke Studio in Pakistan in 2008, the relationship between the two countries in music further matured and it became a haven for mutual appreciation and has a loyal fan base in India since then.
Pakistani journalist Raza Rumi points out that with the rise of ‘www’, the iron curtains that the two states had built were broken down for greater interaction. YouTube became a go-to platform for Pakistani shows as well.
However, as tensions again arose in 2016, bans and restrictions followed, making the environment for Pakistani artistes in India non-conducive. This also led to cancellations of concerts, such as the one by legendary ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, banning of films like Raees in Pakistan, and threatening Pakistani actors who were working in India to leave. Things have since been relatively cold in our cross-cultural exchange through art and cinema. However, now, OTT is opening up newer avenues to collaborate even amid distressed ties.
Pakistani journalist Ammara Ahmad says OTT shows are an excellent way of overcoming the ban and censorship and collaborating. While highlighting the issues of ‘visa politics’, and stressing the need to have people-to-people contact to understand each other better, she says, “This is a slap in the face of everyone who promotes censorship in this region because there is no way around it. This is a loophole. In fact, people have discovered it and it’s an excellent idea.”
She points out that it’s a good exposure for talent in Pakistan as the industry there is struggling and those actors who are popular, especially on the Internet, can monetise their fandom. At the same time, she says it’s a win-win situation for a healthier cross-cultural exchange and understanding each other beyond cliches and stereotypes, with a lot more nuance and complexities as OTT shows, not being big budget productions, providing talent and creative freedom, unlike commercial Bollywood films which are marred by financial burden.
Rumi believes that the path to peace between the two nations can be paved by citizens, artistes and writers even if the respective governments may have their own agendas.
Pakistani journalist Bina Sarwar talks about the Southasia Peace Action Network, an alliance of individuals and organisations for peace in the region, to highlight the huge demand on either side of the border for people-to-people exchanges and cross-cultural initiatives.
“What are they so scared of? If France and Germany could become part of the EU, why can’t we have soft borders between our nations, Pakistan and India, which have far more in common culturally than those countries?” Sarwar asks, adding that if people meet and interact that would help reduce violent extremism within each country too, as the extremists thrive on ‘othering’ and dehumanising.
“The hostility between India and Pakistan holds back the development of the entire region and it’s about time the leaders grew up and stopped this childish behaviour,” she adds.
Popular P-dramas over the years
Khuda Ki Basti (1969)
Starring: Qazi Wajid and Zahin Tahira
A serial based on the novel Khuda Ki Basti by Shaukat Siddiqui
Tanhaiyan (1985)
Starring: Shehnaz Sheikh and Marina Khan
A tale of two sisters who lose their parents and end up without their affluent life
Dhoop Kinare (1987)
Starring: Rahat Kazmi and Marina Khan
A story of private and professional lives of a team of doctors based in Karachi
Zaib-un-nisa (2001)
Starring: Nida Kazmi, Sania Saeed and Adnan Siddqui
The series focuses on the subject of domestic violence
Loose Talk (2002)
Starring: Anwar Maqsood
A comedy TV series in which Anwar Maqsood interviews Moin Akhter who dons various personalities
Dastaan (2010)
Starring: Sanam Baloch and Fawad Khan
Love saga during the partition of India & Pakistan
Zindagi Gulzar Hai (2012)
Starring: Sanam Saeed and Fawad Khan
A series on the issues of class divide and gender through the prism of modernity and orthodoxy
Humsafar (2011)
Starring: Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan
It’s about forced marriage, differences in relationship, separation, and misunderstanding
Sadqay Tumhare (2014)
Starring: Mahira Khan and Adnan Malik
A biographical drama serial based on the life of the series’ own writer Khalil-Ur-Rehman Qamar