In addition to revolutionizing the world of entertainment, the “magic box”—also known as the TV—has also channelized a new set of resources for language-learners. Who would doubt the world-wide viewership of different TV shows? From reality shows, to music videos and game shows, the world of television has something to offer everyone. Similarly, Pakistanis find themselves entranced with the many TV serials and talk shows on channels such as GEO TV Urdu and Dunya TV Urdu.
Keeping this in view, you can explore the realm of Urdu TV channels, along with some other online resources, to fulfill your language-learning needs.
This article will guide you on how to benefit from different Urdu TV channels, and other resources, to achieve excellence in the Urdu language. By the end, you should come away with a new perception of what it means to learn Urdu—no longer by constantly burning the midnight oil, but through supplemental Pakistani TV series to include the fun element!
Table of Contents
- Why Watch Urdu TV Shows?
- Accessing the Most-Watched Urdu TV Shows and Drama Serials
- Top 10 Most Viewed TV Shows and Dramas
- Conclusion
1. Why Watch Urdu TV Shows?
1 – Improving Your Urdu Listening Skills
As you learn a new language, you probably prefer listening to native speakers carefully before adding to a conversation. Therefore, listening takes precedence over the other integrated language skills in terms of its practical real-world application.
As an Urdu-learner, if you’re really interested in improving your listening skills, watching Urdu TV series can bring you the best results. This is because you’ll spend much of your time listening and watching, without the hassle of recording a response.
Start watching Urdu TV shows and other programs to tune your ears to the Urdu language.
2 – Catching the Native Urdu Accent
Naturally, speaking a language in a native or near-native accent gives you confidence and compels locals to invest their confidence in you.
When used together with other methods, watching Pakistani serials can familiarize you with how the locals speak. While you might never achieve a perfect accent—having not grown up in Pakistan—hearing the language spoken often enough can help you improve upon your accent over time.
3 – Improving Your Urdu Comprehension and Sounding Natural
An added advantage of learning the Urdu language through TV shows and dramas is that it gives you something to watch while you listen.
Looking at the scene, characters, and settings of an Urdu drama will enable you to understand the cultural values and other embedded specificities of the Pakistani culture. It will also empower you to select and use the appropriate phrases and sentences in real life, based on the context.
2. Accessing the Most-Watched Urdu TV Shows and Drama Serials
Thanks to the rapid growth of technology, accessing your favorite Urdu TV shows or dramas is no longer a problem. With a single button-press of your remote control or a touch of your laptop pad, you can reach your heart-favorite Pakistani dramas or shows from any corner of the world. Some popular ways of accessing them are:
- Satellite
- Live streaming
- YouTube
- CDs
- DVDs
3. Top 10 Most Viewed TV Shows and Dramas
During the first decade of the twenty-first century, Pakistan received a new wave of technological advancement. That time-span allowed the media industry to boom, and consequently, a vast variety of Urdu channels flourished. Geo TV Urdu, Samaa TV Urdu, Geo TV Urdu News, and Dunya TV Urdu are some examples of that development.
Below, we’ll introduce you to some of the best Urdu TV shows which are top-rated and highly popular. We’ll also show you some other Urdu TV programs, broadcasted on different Urdu channels.
1- For Infotainment Followers
If you’re an Urdu learner in search of both information and entertainment, you’ll never want to miss these two Urdu TV shows.
Khabarzar
Khabarzar is an Urdu comedy show hosted by the famous Urdu journalist and anchor person Aftab Iqbal. It’s broadcasted on the AAP News Channel from Thursday to Sunday at 23:05 PM PST. Farhange Asifia is one of its most popular segments.
This Pakistani TV show introduces viewers to different Urdu words. It includes the etymology, pronunciation, and use of multiple words. The host invites many well-renowned national celebrities and discusses various socio-political matters.
Hasbe Haal
Hasbe Haal is a politico-comedy show that airs on Dunya TV at 23:05 PM PST from Thursday to Sunday.
Sohail Ahmad, a famous Urdu comedian, is the lead cast member of the show, which is hosted by Junaid Saleem. To specify, this Urdu TV show is a satire comedy as it offers interesting satirical commentary on national and international current affairs.
An interesting fact about the show is that Aftab Iqbal—the host of Khabarzaar—started it in 2009 as its host. However, he left the show after a couple of years to start another program of a similar genre.
2- For News-Lovers
Here, UrduPod101.com brings useful information for Urdu learners with an interest in news and current affairs.
Capital Talk
Hosted by senior anchor person Hamid Mir, Capital Talk is a frontline program of GEO TV in which different expert analysts are invited to comment on a given topic.
Since its launch in 2002, it’s been one of the top-rated Pakistani Urdu TV talk shows, and it’s also listed among one of the earliest Urdu news talk shows in Pakistani media. The program has been banned many a time due to its uncontrolled criticism of several governments. Mr. Hamid Mir is credited with interviewing a long list of high-profile political and official personnel in this program.
It’s broadcasted from Monday to Thursday on GEO News at 20:05 PM PST.
3- For Drama Viewers
Pakistani Urdu dramas are unparalleled in the whole Asian region. For this reason, learning the Urdu language by watching Pakistani dramas will be an enjoyable experience. Below, you’ll find some details about a couple of hit Urdu dramas that are airing in Pakistan at the time of this writing.
Mere Pass Tum Ho
Mere Pass Tum Ho is a love story highlighting the eternal love triangle. The main cast includes Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, and Ayeza Khan, and it’s written by the well-acclaimed Pakistani Urdu playwright Khalil-ul-Rehman Qamar. The director of this Urdu drama—Nadeem Baig—is another big name involved in its production.
The plot undergoes several twists to emphasize the themes of love, marriage, betrayal, and revenge. Its first episode was aired on August 17, 2019, on ARY Digital.
Bulbulay
Bulbulay is a very popular sit-com Urdu drama serial in Pakistan, revolving around an unconventional Pakistani family. Telecasted daily on the ARY Digital Channel at 19:00 PM PST, this show is directed by Ali Imran and produced by Nabeel (who’s also the lead actor). Other main actors include Mehmood Aslam, Ayesha Umer, and Hina Dilpazeer.
The crisp dialogues blend with comic settings and situations to impart a true comic hue and bring laughter to its viewers.
4- Game Show Lounge
Below are some interesting facts and figures about some widely watched reality game shows of Pakistan.
Bazm-E-Tariq Aziz
Originally started as Neelam Ghar in 1975, Bazm-E-Tariq Aziz is a reality game show based on the quiz format. It’s been running since its start with very few interruptions. The show was renamed as Tariq Aziz Show in 1997 and then as Bazm-E-Tariq Aziz in 2006. Tariq Aziz is the show’s host.
The program has various segments to evoke the interest of viewers. For Urdu learners, it’s an ideal reality game show as Tariq Aziz is a very learned person with an impeccable Urdu accent. He’s also a poet and conducts the competition of Bait Bazi, in which contestants compete with each other on their knowledge/memory of poetry (such as Urdu poetic couplets).
Jeeto Pakistan
Jeeto Pakistan is considered to be the most popular reality game show in Pakistan. Hosted by Fahad Mustafa, it was first telecasted in 2014 and has been equally popular among various age groups and social strata since then.
The show consists of multiple segments offering contestants various challenges and tasks in order to win prizes ranging from household items to gold and cash. Due to its sumptuous prizes, it attracts a huge chunk of participants and viewers in Pakistan.
5- For Music Maniacs
Music is thought to be the food of the soul in nearly all cultures. Let’s peep into the storehouse of Urdu musical programs!
Pakistani Idol
Pakistani Idol is a part of the international franchise of Idol, introduced by Simon Fuller. It’s a competition of live Urdu singing, which makes it a reality singing competition. This show is aired on GEO TV with the title of Pakistani Idol: Jo Hai Dil Ki Awaz. It can be translated as Pakistani Idol: The Voice of Heart. Mohib Mirza is the program’s host, and the judges include famous Urdu singers like Hadiqa Kiyani, Ali Azmat, and Bushra Ansari.
Coke Studio
Started in 2008, Coke Studio is a Pakistani musical program. It’s a combination of various genres of music: classical, traditional, folk, Sufi, ghazal, bhangra, pop, rock, etc.
Coke Studio is frequently aired on different TV channels in Pakistan. Some of the major channels include ARY Digital, GEO TV, Dawn News, Dunya TV, TV One, etc. A total of ten seasons of Coke Studio have been aired to date. Each of these seasons consists of approximately ten to twelve episodes.
All Coke Studio songs are also available on YouTube, making the program easily accessible to international audiences.
6- Popular Food Corner
Nowadays, there’s an abundance of food channels airing a variety of indigenous and continental recipes for foodies. In the following section, you’ll learn about a famous Urdu cooking program.
Tarka
The show Tarka is broadcasted on Masala TV and hosted by Rida. It’s one of the most popular Urdu TV cooking shows, in which Rida brings some heart-favorite recipes for viewers. This show can be watched on Masala TV from 15:00 PM to 16:30 PM from Monday to Friday.
Chef Rida interacts with various housewives to choose delicious recipes for those with low budgets. Her fan-following is quite huge. Among her tasty recipes are Makhni Machli, Bhopali Achar Gosht, Moong Daal, Cream Cheese Faluda, etc.
7- Bonus: Some PTV Classics
No doubt that after watching these contemporary Urdu TV shows and drama series, you’ll want to know more about such programs. Here are a few further suggestions of must-watch TV shows and dramas to improve your Urdu. These are also repeatedly termed to be the classics of PTV, the mother-academy of all the actors, writers, and producers in Pakistan.
- Waris
- Dhoop Kinaray
- Tanhaiyan
- Rahain
- Alif Noon
- Aangan Terrha
Since it’s impossible to enumerate all PTV classics, we’ve only chosen a few of the best here.
4. Conclusion
This article has guided you on how to improve your Urdu by watching TV shows and has outlined for you some must-watch shows for every Urdu speaker. Furthermore, we’ve addressed your question of what the best TV shows to learn Urdu are by briefing you on great TV series to learn the Urdu language, Urdu vocabulary, and Urdu grammar.
UrduPod101.com has brought a complete guide on the best Urdu TV shows, but if there are any good ones we missed, let us (and your fellow Urdu-learners) know in the comments!
In addition, always remember to surf through UrduPod101.com to satisfy your thirst for Urdu language learning.
Very Happy Urdu Learning!
