Famed Pakistani game show wins record Ramadan ratings despite inflation bite

KARACHI: The audience erupted as Fahad Mustafa, one of Pakistan’s premier actors and TV show hosts, rode off the studio stage on a motorbike behind an excited contestant who had just won the two-wheeler.

Mustafa’s show “Jeeto Pakistan,” which translates as “Win Pakistan,” on the ARY Digital channel, is arguably the most avidly watched television game show in the country, with contestants, urged on by rowdy studio audiences, competing for lavish prizes that range from cars, motorcycles and plots of land to gold, cash and vacation packages.

But as Pakistan reels from multi-decade high inflation, even “Jeeto Pakistan” has suffered. In the run-up to the launch of this year’s daily Ramadan edition, both the host and the management of the channel were constantly asked if the show would even take place.

It did — but with downsized prices and reportedly smaller television advertising and sponsorships, which typically spike during Ramadan but this year have slowed down, along with the economy.

“The challenge we faced was inflation because everyone started asking us if it (the show) was going to take place or not,” Jerjees Seja, CEO of ARY Digital Network, told Arab News earlier this month in Karachi, where the show is shot.

And when it did take place, the bills piled on. Motorcycles that used to cost $121 a piece two years ago were sold for $347, and the price of gold, which used to be about $138 to $173 per tola (11.66 grams), had now soared to $746 per tola.

“Imagine, we used to play with 50 tolas of gold every day, but now we are playing with 10 tolas.”

Even so, Seja said, the show was still sticking to its philosophy to let people win — and win big.

“Undoubtedly, it’s one of the biggest game shows in the history of Pakistan and the beauty is that we want people to win,” he said. “During Ramadan, every second day, we are giving out gifts worth at least one crore rupees ($34,625).”

Mustafa, who has hosted the show for a decade, agreed with Seja that inflation had affected “Jeeto Pakistan.”

He told Arab News ahead of the start of a show earlier this month: “There are so many brands in our country that shut down due to inflation and (some) were quite associated with our show.

“A lot of things stopped being a part of the show. I used to give away six to seven cars in a single show a few years back. This Ramadan, I have hardly managed to gather 15 cars. Earlier, a car used to cost $1,790 to $1,970, but now the same car costs as much as the price of four cars.

“There have been a lot of challenges,” Mustafa added, as a makeup artist applied loose powder to his face. “The campaign I made for this year’s launch was called ‘Hoga Ke Nahi Hoga’ (Will it take place or not) because wherever I would go, everyone asked this.”

But despite the difficulties, the series has still broken records.

“Getting a massive response this year and breaking records makes me very happy,” Mustafa said. “The show has picked up this year.”

Volunteer Nimra Khan, who helps control the audience, said that despite inflation, the show was running at “peak capacity.”

She said: “This year, we have a lot of new games. The way inflation is rising, our show is running the same way.

“Happiness is being spread among people, so that feels very good. People of all backgrounds come and win a lot of things — it feels nice.”

Speaking on rising inflation and poverty in Pakistan, Khan added with a smile: “There are so many people who are needy. When they win, it feels really great.”