Zara Noor Abbas says Pakistan’s showbiz is a community, not an industry

Actor Zara Noor Abbas said that the Pakistan entertainment sector is not developing enough to be classified as an industry and must be considered a small community where a handful of people drive the whole business.

Speaking about the broadcast of Ramadan on the private television channel, Zara pointed out the lack of proper recognition to support crew members, arguing that a true industry recognizes the contribution of all professionals, by camera graphic designers.

“Instead of an industry. It is more like a community where some people meet to do dramas,” he said. “An industry is the one where every creative professional is respected, recognized and nominated for awards. This is not the case here.”

Her observations came during a discussion with the host and actress Danish Taimoor, who disagreed with her estimation, stating that the Pakistan dramatic sector has increased significantly over the last decade. He claimed that the industry flourishes compared to what was 10 to 12 years ago.

However, Abbas argued that while progress has been made, structural weaknesses still prevent Pakistan’s entertainment sector from reaching the level of a complete industry. He points out that while there is plenty of creative talents, opportunities remain limited to few selected.

“In today’s scenario, we have a huge offer of creators -actors and digital influences from Lahore, Faisalabad and other Punjab cities.

Zara Noor Abbas is a prominent Pakistani actress known for her flexible television and film performances. She received widespread recognition for her roles in popular television dramas such as “Khamoshi” and “EHD-E-Wafa”. In 2019, she made her debut with “Chhalawa” and “Parey Hut Love”, both of which were well attributed to the box office.

Her latest work is “Standup Girl”, a television series of comedy-scoring aired from December 2023 to 2024 at Green Entertainment. In this series, she depicted Zara, a young Islamabad woman who aspires to become a comedian and begins a journey to Lahore to continue her dreams.