Rawalpindi Arts Council (RAC) in collaboration with Punjab Council of the Arts, Lahore organized a lecture on “drama, its past, present and future” on Monday.
The guest speaker at the occasion was renowned columnist, poet and drama writer, Amjad Islam Amjad. The lecture was attended by Punjab Assembly member Lubna Pirzada, former MPA Zia Ullah Shah, Naheed Manzoor, PUCAR Deputy Director Khawaja Nazar, RAC Resident Director Waqar Ahmed and the people from different walks of life.
Famous poet Dr Abrar Umer formally welcomed Amjad Islam Amjad and highlighted his contributions towards Urdu drama and poetry. Amjad Islam Amjad is distinguished for his poetic work, but his drama ‘Waris’ was a huge hit in the 80’s.
Amjad Islam Amjad started his lecture with the history of drama. He said, “Values are broadly of two types, universal and local. Universal are for every human being whereas local values vary from society to society; while making a drama, the local values should be given special consideration.”
Amjad said that he was blessed to have had the opportunity to meet Amitabh Bachan at an event. Amitabh praised our TV dramas and said that Pakistani dramas are worth watching with family. Amjad said the current Pakistani dramas are losing their essence by running after advertisements.
“Advertisements are the oxygen of dramas, but it does not mean that we neglect the social role that they play,” he added.
Dramas should show all aspects of the society and at the same time, should give the youth a positive spark to work for the betterment of the society. “Our present is in their hands and they have the capacity to change the future,” he added.
The lecture was followed by a question and answer session and then a poetry session which was highly appreciated by the audience.