Here is what Mohammed Ahmed thinks of drama industry

Actor Mohammed Ahmed in a recent interview opened up about what he thinks of the drama industry!

Veteran director, screenwriter, and actor Mohammed Ahmed has made a mark for playing the fatherly figure on screen with most of the characters he has played having many daughters.

While making an appearance on the late-night comedy show Mazaaq Raat, Mohammed Ahmed shed light on the broader issue of content preferences and creative limitations prevalent in the entertainment industry.

He candidly also addressed the issue of repetitive roles that he has encountered throughout his career.

The seasoned screenwriter has serials including ‘Kuch Ankahi’, ‘Tanhaiyan Naye Silisilay’, ‘Dareecha’, ‘Badtameez’ and others to his credit.

“When, in the serial, the woman was being beaten, the rating was high. In this episode, at the eighth minute, the woman held her mother-in-law’s hand and proclaimed that she will no longer be beaten – the rating fell. This means that our audience, like habitual drug addicts whom you can’t fault, is used to this. You keep giving them an oppressed, beaten woman or a love triangle, and the audience will be happy.”

“As soon as you give the woman power, or show her being strong the audience changes the channel.”

When the host Chaudhry asked whether this pattern was a microcosm of the larger sociopolitical scenario, Ahmed agreed and replied, “It is like this. We have a habit of beating ourselves up. We like crying. The tragedy is filled inside us. Making our people laugh is very difficult. But our people cry easily.”

When asked about his doing and seeing changing roles on TV, Ahmed replied, “I became used to this – in every serial, I had to cry, and then die in the 18th episode. Either the 12th or the 18th.”

His reply prompted laughter from the host Vasay Chaudhry and the audience.

He went on to add, “When I said that I will no longer die, they cast me in a serial in which I wished I was dead.”

Ahmed said that if one is a writer, one should refrain from writing, given that certain approval-giving bodies will not let that content be actualized.

“We must have the habit of saying yes,” he stated.