Web Desk: Pakistani actor and television host Faysal Quraishi says the country’s television industry is now competing directly with global streaming giant Netflix, arguing that Pakistani dramas have built an international audience that rivals premium digital content despite operating with significantly smaller budgets.
Speaking on Fahad Abid’s podcast, “Fahad’s Den,” Quraishi said Pakistani television productions have evolved into a global entertainment force, attracting millions of viewers across digital platforms.
“Our competition today is directly with Netflix series,” Quraishi said. “Pakistani dramas are being compared with Netflix productions around the world.”
Quraishi said the comparison is particularly notable because Pakistani television dramas are produced with far lower budgets than many streaming originals.
He said even the country’s most commercially successful dramas are made for a fraction of the cost of high-profile Indian Netflix productions. Despite that financial gap, he argued, Pakistani serials continue to attract remarkable viewership.
Referring to audience engagement on YouTube, Quraishi claimed that individual episodes of Pakistani dramas often generate more views than entire seasons of some internationally acclaimed streaming series.
According to him, the popularity of Pakistani content demonstrates its growing appeal among viewers worldwide.
Quraishi also maintained that Pakistani actors can compete with performers anywhere in the world, attributing the industry’s expanding influence to strong storytelling and widespread audience acceptance.
He further suggested that restrictions on the availability of Pakistani dramas on streaming platforms in neighboring India reflect efforts to promote domestic content.
“If it wasn’t competition, then why aren’t Pakistani dramas available on Netflix in India?” he said, adding that every country naturally seeks to strengthen its own entertainment industry and cultural narrative.
Highlighting changing viewing habits, Quraishi recalled an experience at a cinema where he noticed a fellow moviegoer watching a Pakistani drama on a mobile phone instead of the film playing on the big screen.
He said a friend later shared a similar observation, reinforcing his belief that audiences increasingly consume Pakistani dramas on mobile devices, allowing local productions to reach viewers well beyond traditional television broadcasts.
Quraishi, one of Pakistan’s most established television actors, has appeared in numerous hit serials over the past three decades, including “Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan,” “Main Abdul Qadir Hoon,” “Bashar Momin,” “Muqaddar,” “Khaie” and, most recently, “Case No. 9,” for which he received widespread critical acclaim.
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