Pakistan screenwriter, actor and director Yasir Hussain is currently busy promoting his recently released film Taxali Gate, directed by Abu Aleeha. In a recent interview with Something Haute, Yasir spoke about the Indian TV industry. As per the 39-year-old, Indian TV shows “have zeher drama [poison drama].” He made this comment after the host asked him why Pakistani TV shows are popular, especially in India. Yasir said, “India ke drama dekha hai aapne? Matlab woh nations jinke paas ghatiya quality ka drama hai woh humare drama zaroor dekh rahe hain. Uske alawa kon dekh raha hai aapka drama? Aapka drama sirf wahi log dekh rahe hai jinke paas apna drama behtar nahi hai. India mein toh intehaayi zeher drama hai. Hamara drama unse toh behtar hai isiliye woh dekh rahe hain, [Have you seen the Indian dramas? Nations with low-quality and disgusting content are watching our dramas. Who else is watching Pakistani dramas? Indian drama is poison. Pakistani dramas are better than the ones created in India, that's why people are watching them.]”
Yasir Hussain also criticised the Pakistan TV industry. He said, “Hamari industry koi achi industry nahi hai. Mein nahi chahta ki mera beta iss industry mein aaye. Mera dil nahi hai ki woh actor bane. [Our industry is not a good industry. I don't want my son to join this industry. I don't want him to become an actor.]”
He continued, “Yeh koi kaam hai? Actor ka kaam hai ek achi acting karna. Ek field hai na apne craft ko manwaana, lekin musalsal aapko bura kaam he offer ho raha hai. TV mein bura he kaam offer ho raha hai. Jo dramein hit ho rahe hain, jinke aap reviews karti hai, woh kahan ache draamein hai? [Is this a job? An actor's job is to do good acting. It's a field where you should promote your craft, but consistently, you are being offered bad work. Bad work is being offered on TV].”
Yasir Hussain, during a segment in the interview, also claimed that the Pakistan film industry can make films at a low budget in comparison to India. Pointing at Rishab Shetty's Kantara, Yasir said, “Kantara was made with a budget of rs 13 crore. In Pakistan, we can make the same kind of film with a much smaller budget. Because here things are cheap. The director of photography, in our country, doesn't charge a hefty fee and it's the same with the actors in Pakistan.”