Personal or National?

How morning shows became mourning shows…

I am a work-from-home (bedroom, to be precise)‘exective’ (lol). In my workplace on one side my wife enjoys her favorite and not-so-favorite tv shows and on other I struggle to keep myself immersed in my laptop. In these circumstances I got a chance to watch morning shows being aired on Pakistan’s entertainment channels.

Although I do not have any interest in those circuses, still, both of us (me and my wife) prefer to watch Good Morning Pakistan hosted by Nida Yasir on ARY Digital, as we find it better-among-worsts.

Today she has invited her younger sister, Swera Ali. Swera is also an entertainment professional (host and actor), though she couldn’t make her mark. Almost a year ago Nida added her sister’s marriage into nation’s memory by broadcasting it live from her show set. I was lucky enough to watch that almost a week long celeberations telecasted from 9 to 11 AM where every religious and cultural ritual was performed live on tv (except wedding night of course ;)); a woman making her sister’s marriage a grand national event!!

Today Sawera is again on the show, this time along with her husband, mother and another sister (except Nida). And guess what’s the ‘topic’ of the show? Celeberating the birth of Swera’s first baby girl!!! If a nation watched her marriage how that very nation can forget to celeberate birth of her first child…come on guys…how can you let go these delights these actors throwing to us;)

During the last few years, I’ve watched our morning shows turning into ‘mourning shows’, not only in terms of content but literally. TV channels regularly choosing guests and topics which makes their viewers cry watching their MORNING SHOW. Sad music and a crying host…what a way to make our morning good!!!

Even two days ago Nida had two families with medical complications as guests. She was crying and begging for help from afluent people as her guests describing their miseries. Helping people is a good thing but it doesn’t make sense to make your viewer cry by showing plight of people deprived of health facilities and financial resource while you have named your show as “GOOD MORNING PAKISTAN”; I wonder what is good about this morning!!!

This is not a critique of GMP of ARY Digital but almost every morning show is running on the same lines; celeberating marriages, births, anniversaries of their friends and family memebers. When they run out of their soon-to-be-married celebrity friends they celeberate ‘re-marriage ceremony’ of old married couples in the name of reviving old memories!! WTH. Where’s the creativity, ingenuity of exective producers, producers, script writers (if any) and even hosts? Why they are unable to see beyond their personal events or making personal events national event?

I hope Nida would have been a much more matured TV personality by the time her niece would reach age of marriage and would avoid showing the celeberations…let’s hope for the best ;)