It’s no surprise that web series have now become one of the main sources of entertainment for audiences across the globe. In 2018, Netflix Originals – content produced by the streaming giant itself – had over 100 web series and films under its name. Some of the most successful ones include House of Cards, Stranger Things, Narcos, The Crown and Black Mirror which later went on to earn several accolades including Emmy and BAFTA awards. Sacred Games starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Saif Ali Khan managed to capture viewers’ attention and is now considered to be one of the best Netflix Originals produced from Bollywood.
While films such as Chalay Thay Saath and Janaan and hit TV shows like Humsafar and Zindagi Gulzar Hai now available on Netflix for international viewers, why hasn’t Pakistan picked up on creating a web series for Netflix? But after Film-maker Jami Mahmood’s recent interview, seems like Pakistan may be ready for its original web series now.
He said, “Stories like Black Mirror or Sacred Games cannot be played in cinemas. It has nudity, it touches up on religious issues and has a lot of inappropriate language, which can be a problem for the censor board. In order to make a good web series, you need a professional writer who can handle the content. I’m not sure if we have any such writer in Pakistan because I haven’t come across any. You have Sindh’s folk tales and political stories which can be like Pakistan’s version of House of Cards or Rajneeti,”
Jami Mahmood shared that one only needs a good script and a proper budget in place to approach Netflix after which they finance the original series or the film. He said: “I’m working on something with Netflix right now but I can’t reveal any details yet.”
It seems like we might have a Pakistani Netflix Original soon!
Not just Jami but Wajahat Rauf also revealed that unlike TV, web does not limit a creator to the same kind of plots. He stated, “Hence I’ve branched out with it and will be shooting my first web series with Mehwish Hayat as the lead. You will find audience anywhere as long as you make engaging content and you know how much is consumed on the web. So if the intention is to make your content accessible to the maximum number of people, no other platform is better than the web.” However, its not confirmed if his web series will be aired on Netflix or another medium.
