New Delhi: Fans of the Pakistani hit show Tere Bin are outraged over reports of ‘soap queen’ Ekta Kapoor remaking it for the Indian audience.
The buzz has now reached the show’s producers in Pakistan. “We wish to clarify that no consent or permission has been sought from the producers or the channel regarding this matter,” Abdullah Kadwani, Tere Bin’s producer, wrote in an Instagram post. So far, Kapoor has not confirmed reports of the remake.
Kadwani expressed gratitude toward fans for their admiration of the show but warned that any remake should consider the legal, ethical, and moral aspects. But that has done little to allay fans. Social media is flooded with memes and reactions to the rumoured remake.
Pakistanis are concerned; some worry that the Indian version of the show may drag on for “4589 episodes”, while others dread the casting choices.
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Poking fun at Indian dramas
Tere Bin (2022-2023) is one of the most popular dramas in the history of the Pakistani television industry. The story revolves around cousins Murtasim and Meerab who have to marry each other due to property laws that favour men over women. Their journey from animosity to affection had fans hooked, Haya, the cunning yet entertaining antagonist, adds depth to the drama.
One of the users took a dig at Hindi TV dramas for unnecessarily dragging storylines for years. “It is good that you didn’t give permission for the remake. They would have recreated very badly and made the show infinitely very long,” said one fan in the comments section to Kadwani’s post.
Another fan wrote that Tere Bin has got global recognition and shouldn’t be remade, as nobody can replicate the charisma of the original show.
Earlier, Pakistani actor Fawad Khan spoke about the popularity of Pakistani TV dramas across borders in an interview. The finite nature of Pakistani dramas makes them more engaging.
“I am not commenting on the quality of the writing but if you do the math, 26 episodes vs 500 episodes, if the content is small then obviously the quality will be better,” he said.
Directed by Siraj-ul-Haque, Tere Bin ran on Geo TV for 58 episodes from 28 December 2022, to 6 July 2023. With Yumna Zaidi and Wahaj Ali as lead actors, the show quickly became famous. The chemistry between Zaidi and Ali was a huge draw.
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Remakes across the border
Indians aren’t strangers to the craze around Pakistani dramas. The Indian television channel, Zindagi, has aired many of them in the past–Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Aunn Zara, Noorpur Ki Rani, and Maat–which became equally popular on both sides of the border.
After the 2016 Uri attack, Zindagi took down all Pakistani shows from their lineup.
Remakes of several Pakistani films, television dramas, and songs have resonated with the Indian audience in the past. It’s because of the shared cultures of the two countries. However, they have also disappointed fans of the original work.
Indian playback singer Arijit Singh’s version of the Pakistani song Pasoori by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill received mixed reactions on the internet. While some loved it, others accused Singh of ruining the song. The original version has received over 718 million views on YouTube.