Framing of Urdu Drama Serials: From Social Religious Values to Family Catastrophe

Abstract

            The current study has been designed to examine the plot of the televised Urdu drama serials in pre-cable era (1964-2000) and in post-cable era (2000-2019). Since its advent, Urdu televised drama considered to be the sole source of entertainment. Urdu dramas of pre-cable era (1964-2000) not only entertained the audience of the country but also helped a lot in educating social religious values to the masses. The plots of the pre-cable Urdu dramas were so alive that not only they depicted the religious values but also guarded these values in true senses. However, after the advent of cable television network, television came in the hands of the private media conglomerates. With this change, the plot of the Urdu drama serials also altered. The drama producers focused more on the domestic quarrel and cheap love stories and micro level issues regarding the family problems and ignored the social religious values. It is apparent that media producers in the post-cable era focused to grab the attention of the audience and getting the highest TRP. Grounded theory has been used to analyze the plot of the Urdu drama serials.