10 things I hate about Hasbe Haal

Hasbe Haal is one of the most-watched program in Pakistan right now. Personally, I love the work done by Sohail Ahmad on it. Still, there are many things not to like about the show. I have made a list of the 10 things I hate about the show. It is necessary to mention that I do not hate the show as a whole.

1. The Advertisements

Advertisements take up as much time as the program itself, which is extremely annoying. The show starts after almost 5 minutes of advertisements and after every 6 minute interval we get to delve into the dumb word of marketing.

2. Junaid Saleem's rants

The program used to start for a long time with Junaid Salim, lecturing the audience on political matters (this format has changed now and the 'views on news' segment precedes it). Mr. Junaid often talks about controversial issues and his bias is clear for all to see. He rarely presents the 'other' side of the case and goes on and on regarding a certain aspect. He has a vivid pro-rite wing, anti-liberal, antifeminist bias. He recently badmouthed senior journalist, Najam Sethi in the show. 

3. Najia's ignorance

Najia beg's only job in the show is to laugh. Of the 35-38 minutes of the program, she spends around 25 minutes in laughing. She also opines on some issues at times and her lack of General knowledge or that of Social norms is clearly exposed.

4. Funny videos

A recent addition to the format of Hasbe Haal has been that of funny videos. Playing a funny video on national media is not savvy. The can do it like the 'Moment of Zen' is done on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as playing a viral video on loop is not really funny.

5. Over-emphasis on traditionalism

Yes, we get it that our younger gen is facing moral decadence, that we need to respect our elders and give them ample time, or that taking unnecessary risks is not cool but can you please stop sounding less like Talqin shah and more like Junaid Salim and Azizi. If joint family system was that good, why are you people living as 'nuclear families'(defend as having only 1 bread-owner) yourselves.

6. Lack of Interviews

There are no external interviews on the show(they did interview Ch Shujaat once and Shehbaz Sharif once). Instead of parodying, why not interview the “real” Firdaus Ashiq Awan.?

7. No competition

Hasbe Haal started as a groundbreaking program which provided a nice mixture of humor, knowledge and critical analysis. Since its inception, it has gathered high ratings and managed to push many shows in its time slot, off the air waves. This lack of competition has meant lesser efforts on part of the Hasbe Haal management to improve the show. Even then, it’s the most watchable show on network television. Remember the golden saying, excess of everything is bad.

8. The 'intellectual' debate.

J.s thinks he is an intellectual. Azizi insists n him being one. This debate has been repeated ad nauseam. By definition, an intellectual is someone who uses critical or analytical reasoning in a personal or professional capacity. This means both Junaid Saleem and Azizi should stop scoring points and admit graciously that they are not intellectuals.

9. The absence of literature segment

Aftab Iqbal, the previous host of Hasbe Haal (the son of a widely acclaimed and prolific poet of Urdu) used to have a segment to discus common mistakes made in Urdu language. This was probably the only occasion in history of television in Pakistan that people got to know what linguistic mistakes they were making in daily lives. Since his departure, that segment has been scrapped.

10. Depiction of third gender.

Stereotyping is a pre-requisite for comedians and the same is done by Azizi in different segments of the show. The group subjected to the harshest stereotype is the mixed gender people.