Here is a disclosure of a new vice I have picked up over the past month or so. I have been reading the online edition of a couple of popular Pakistani English dailies. What at first was my idea of a joke has gradually evolved into a daily habit after getting intrigued by the kind of news that is reported there.
I have to make it clear that about the time I first started reading it, the protests in Srinagar were a boiling issue and Jammu had cut off the road to Srinagar. I was hooked like a fish because it was a brilliant drama that played itself out on the Pakistani and Indian newspapers. And if you think Kashmir gets too much newspaper space in India, you must take a look at the Pakistani newspapers.
That apart, I was surprised by the extremely low percentage of entertainment news in both the dailies. Jang has a small link which leads to its fashion section and then there one may find something about its movies. Dawn is completely devoid of any such content. It has links to other magazines published by the same group some of which have Lollywood (?!) news.
I have to admit I cannot really call myself a true film buff. I must have watched about ten movies in my entire life in a theater. After coming to law school, I've been to a movie theater once in second year and before that I had seen MIB 2 in 10th standard. I also keep cribbing about ToI making a big issue out of every star wedding/pairing/new projects of directors, actors etc. However, it does worry me that the entertainment in a country should be so removed from the mainstream that it finds no mention in its largest newspaper. Wikipedia blames the moral police for the dismal cinema scene there and perhaps if we keep bending to the whims of MNS in Mumbai/ KaRaVe in Karnataka this is where we are headed.
This hasn't been the only vice... The other one is also internet related. Will post about that soon.
I have to make it clear that about the time I first started reading it, the protests in Srinagar were a boiling issue and Jammu had cut off the road to Srinagar. I was hooked like a fish because it was a brilliant drama that played itself out on the Pakistani and Indian newspapers. And if you think Kashmir gets too much newspaper space in India, you must take a look at the Pakistani newspapers.
That apart, I was surprised by the extremely low percentage of entertainment news in both the dailies. Jang has a small link which leads to its fashion section and then there one may find something about its movies. Dawn is completely devoid of any such content. It has links to other magazines published by the same group some of which have Lollywood (?!) news.
I have to admit I cannot really call myself a true film buff. I must have watched about ten movies in my entire life in a theater. After coming to law school, I've been to a movie theater once in second year and before that I had seen MIB 2 in 10th standard. I also keep cribbing about ToI making a big issue out of every star wedding/pairing/new projects of directors, actors etc. However, it does worry me that the entertainment in a country should be so removed from the mainstream that it finds no mention in its largest newspaper. Wikipedia blames the moral police for the dismal cinema scene there and perhaps if we keep bending to the whims of MNS in Mumbai/ KaRaVe in Karnataka this is where we are headed.
This hasn't been the only vice... The other one is also internet related. Will post about that soon.
