Loose Talk redux: Anwar Maqsood returns with acid commentary

Satirist Anwar Maqsood and the late Moin Akhtar’s popular TV show Loose Talk is still the show that told us who we really are in Pakistani society. We learnt to laugh at ourselves when we watched it. And we learnt a few things or two in the process.

The celebrated writer has now teamed up with actor Yasir Hussain for another such show Mere Aangan Se. It is a short web series written by Maqsood and exposes social and political stupidities in his signature style.

The first episode, released on YouTube, is a commentary on how Pakistanis have no regard for the coronavirus SOPs. Hussain, clad in a white kurta shalwar, is playing a prestigious man who has invited 2,000 people to his daughter’s wedding.

On Instagram, Maqsood shared the promo of the show in which Hussain plays different characters.

So far, the first episode received mixed reviews. Some people have praised it, while others think that no one can replicate Akhtar’s magic.  

Oh dear God, time to leave Planet Earth 🚀 https://t.co/vzuWcNnjzd

— Usman Bey 🇵🇰 (@MughalBey) November 25, 2020

Anwar Maqsood is coming up with Yasir Hussain.seems great.

— Morning Glory (@Positiv79870303) November 23, 2020

They have uploaded the 1st episode on YouTube and turned off the comments 😂😂https://t.co/bOP3nrmz5h https://t.co/W56Co0JfeE

— Malik (@DesiBurger23) November 25, 2020

The show’s format is similar to Loose Talk in which Akhtar appeared in different roles in every episode. Sometimes he was a politician, sometimes a qawwal. The show was inspired by BBC World Service’s popular show Hard Talk.

The show’s popularity has grown in recent years especially with today’s audience. An episode of the show in which Akhtar had played the role of a harmonium player went viral on social media in 2019. The episode has generated a lot of memes too. It now has 24 million views on YouTube.