As if Saturday nights weren’t already happening enough, mega serial Alif premiered to rave reviews last night giving tough competition to Mere Paas Tum Ho which has been ruling that slot ever since its first episode went on air eight weeks ago.
Before the episodes went on air, both ARY Digital and Geo Entertainment seemed to be embroiled in a battle, fighting for the top spot on the ratings chart for their respective dramas. Both channels brought out promo after promo — their usual weapon — with ARY Digital claiming in one that Saturday’s was going to be a ‘Special Episode’ of Mere Paas Tum Ho. Both the dramas, naturally, also began trending on Twitter.
Of course, fans were left fuming as there really wasn’t any twist in the tale or a surprise addition to the cast with many complaining the channel had made a false claim in a bid to increase viewership. Amidst rising tension in the TV world, we thought why not get in touch with Humayun Saeed — lead actor and producer of Mere Pass Tum Ho — and ask him how important ratings are to him and if he really does feel threatened by Alif getting a higher rating.
“Alif is an extraordinary project on so many levels, no doubt. And if it does go on to beat Mere Paas Tum Ho it won’t matter. It is after all produced by my family members and I don’t mind losing to family,” says Humayun referring to Samina Humayun Saeed and Sana Shahnawaz who have produced Alif under their own production house Next Level Entertainment.
“It’s not actor vs actor, director vs director, writer vs writer or even channel vs channel, it’s family vs family and nothing makes me happier than watching my family succeed,” he added.
Asked if he thinks it’s fair Alif has been brought in, in the same slot as Mere Paas Tum Ho, Humayun responded, “It doesn’t bother me when a good serial is competing against mine. It’s always the channel’s call and they always bring their best and strongest serial against one that’s already popular and getting high ratings. There’s nothing unusual or new about this. It might be a little unfair to the audience though because they should be able to enjoy all the serials to the fullest since all the popular dramas these days are airing on different days. So if Alif too had come on another day the audience could have had an entire week full of quality entertainment. But as I said, it’s alright.”
Well, there you have it. It seems that it’s a win-win for Humayun and the fans who — regardless of whichever drama they choose to watch on TV — can always catch up with the other one on YouTube later.
