Pakistan’s answer to Glee will combine singing, dancing and country’s dark side

ROB CRILLY
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Finn (Cory Monteith, centre), Ryder (Blake Jenner, left), Sam (Chord Overstreet, third from left) and Artie (Kevin McHale, right) perform in the Feud episode of Glee that aired on March 14, 2013 on FOX. Some of the characters on Taan, Pakistan’s answer to the hit U.S. show, will include a Taliban commander, persecuted Christian and Muslim holy man.  Adam Rose/FOX

LAHORE — Pakistan’s answer to Glee, the American television program, is a musical spectacular starring a Taliban commander, persecuted Christian and Muslim holy man.

The cast and crew of Taan, “musical note” in Urdu, hope that it will unite the country in front of the television as families sing along to their favourite hits.

Set in a music academy, the 26-part serial tells the story of budding singers and musicians as they try to become famous. Nabeel Sarwar, the show’s producer, said it would not shy away from tackling Pakistan’s big issues, but would offer an upbeat alternative to the despair and misery peddled by most channels.

“I thought what are the two things that Pakistanis all unite around – the cricket team that doesn’t perform or the music that does perform,” he said.

Pakistan’s divisions have dominated the headlines so far this year. The country’s Shia minority has been targeted in a series of bomb attacks and in Lahore, where Taan is being filmed, a mob set fire to 100 Christian homes last weekend. Mr Sarwar said the programme would tap into the dreams of Pakistani teenagers and feature some of their parents’ favourite songs.

About 100 Pakistani hits have been re-recorded for the series, to be performed in energetic dance routines or as ballads. They range from the devotional Sufi songs of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to the soft rock of the band Junoon, once described as Pakistan’s answer to U2.

Filming has already begun and Sarwar is in talks to sell the show to Pakistan’s state-run terrestrial channel.

“I want a hit show that the whole country loves, that they bop along to, that they buy the soundtrack to, that they feel united behind, so that they feel at one with everyone when they watch this because there’s something for everyone,” said Mr Sarwar.

The show revolves around the fictional Hayaat Haveli musical academy in Lahore. At its heart is a tension between a traditional music teacher and his younger rival, who trains pop stars, representing the different faces of Pakistan.

Among their pupils are the offspring of well-heeled bureaucrats and a talentless “wannabe” who dreams of becoming a Bollywood actress. But some of Taan’s plot lines differ from the coming-of-age tales and happy endings of Glee or Fame.

Instead, they attempt to engage with the darker side of Pakistan. One of the characters is described as losing all her family in the 2009 attack on a Christian enclave in Gojra, a real incident in which seven people were burned alive.

Another storyline involves Fariduddin, a member of the Pakistan Taliban intent on blowing up the academy before he is eventually seduced by music.

Hassan Niazi, who plays Zaki, the pop music teacher, said: “Music is the only thing that can unite this country.”

Tags: dancing, Glee, Music, Pakistan, singing, Taliban, television