Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: May 05, 2022 | 
| 中文
Amjad Islam Amjad
It is not possible to make a list of Pakistan’s premier playwrights without the name of Amjad Islam Amjad. His reputation as a leading literary figure of Urdu spans over six decades, as his first book was published in 1974. Born in 1944, Amjad Islam Amjad received his early education in Lahore, graduating from Islamia College Lahore, going on to get a masters in Urdu literature from Punjab University. He started his career as a lecturer in M.A.O College Lahore, followed by a short stint as a director at Pakistan Television Corporation from 1975 to 1979, before returning to teaching. While associated with the teaching profession, Amjad Islam kept writing regular columns and essays for leading Urdu newspapers, translating literature from other languages into Urdu, writing some of the most memorable dramas for Pakistan Television, and popular poetry with his own unique style in nazms (poems). Dramas such as Waris, Dehleez, Samandar, Raat, Waqt and Apnay Log are still remembered as his contributions to the golden era of Pakistan Television.
Amjad Islam Amjad with his grand children
Since his first book, Amjad Islam Amjad has published more than 50 books in different genres of literature. Amjad Islam Amjad has also served as Director General of Urdu Science Board and as project director of the Children Library Complex. Since 2008, his column ‘Chasham-e-Tamasha’, has been carried regularly in the Urdu newspaper ‘Daily Express’. He has received many awards for his contribution to literature, including Allama Muhammad Iqbal Award, 16 Graduate Awards and 5 PTV Awards for best drama writer, and President of Pakistan’s Pride of Performance Award in 1987 and the Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Distinction) in 1998. In 2019, Amjad Islam Amjad also received the Necip Fazil International Culture and Art Award in Turkey. His first drama serial for PTV, ‘Waris’, which ran from October 1979 to February 1980, is considered iconic and having broken new boundaries. It is based on the themes of feudalism, traditional familial and social structures crumbling under the weight of urban development, with power paradigms shifting as new generation takes over. ‘Waris’ has the distinction of being the first, and perhaps the only Pakistani drama serial to have been translated into Chinese and telecast twice on China’s national TV Channels. Youlin recently sat down with Amjad Islam Amjad to specifically discuss his creative journey as a playwright, and his take on the overall decline in the standard of television drama in the country.
(L to R) Drama series Waris, Munawar Saeed and Mehboob Alam in a scene of Waris, and Waqt
“Television came to Pakistan when there were a lot of people working in different creative mediums such as cinema and theatre, but were still wanting of a more impactful medium. Television provided them that medium through which they could reach a wider audience. When television arrived in Pakistan in 1964, we did not have even a single professionally trained television producer in the country. People from radio, advertising industry and films joined television such as Asrar Ahmed, Aslam Azhar, Yawar Hayat, and Mohammad Nisar Hussain. They were all very talented people. A lot of the earlier producers were not even hired initially. Nusrat Thakur was hired as a clerk. Rafique Warraich was initially hired in the security department. They all eventually played a key role in strengthening the foundations of the television drama in Pakistan. Similarly, in music Sohail Rana, Khwaja Najam ul Hassan, Farrukh Bashir, Syed Amir Imam and Arshad Mehmood really did some splendid work during those years. Similarly big writers quickly associated with television, and within a short span of time television drama in Pakistan achieved a high creative standard. The first generation of drama writers included big names such as Ashfaque Ahmed, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Intizar Hussain, Bano Qudsia, while Hasina Moin, Munno Bhai, and myself formed the second batch that emerged. While we got a got a good head start, television drama in Pakistan was still in its formative years. In 1976, color television was introduced in the country and technology kept improving. The previous generations were trained on the job and their short-comings were ignored. As viewers were exposed to international content, we all realized the shortfalls that we had. Where we fell short is that we could not pass on the same standards to the next lot. Screenplay writing is a craft. In more developed countries, students study it as a formal academic discipline. No one focused on preparing a new breed of writers and producers. As the first and the second batch of producers and writers started to fadeout, there was no pipeline to fill the void. Having said that, PTV must be given credit for a wide representation of Pakistan’s various languages, cultures, communities, music, and stories that exist within Pakistan,” Amjad Islam Amjad admits.
Amjad Islam Amjad and Yawar Hayat
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