A Pakistani version of Glee, titled Taan – the Urdu word for “musical note” – is on the verge of becoming a reality:
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 budding pop stars, representing 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.
Some plotlines that differentiate it from its American counterpart:
One of the characters, Annie Masih is described as losing all her family in the 2009 attack on a Christian enclave in the town on Gojra, a real episode 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.
Marya Hannun notes how the show plans on dealing with materials that might offend the country’s censors:
[A] love affair “between a Taliban extremist and a beautiful Christian girl” promises to give Rachel and Finn’s tortured romance a run for its money. And even more controversial is a planned storyline depicting a gay relationship.
The show’s creators have come up with creative ways to avoid angering authorities. Take the aforementioned plotline of two male lovers. “Let’s say in a certain scene, there are two boys talking to each other, they are not allowed to show their physical attachment to each other,” explains director Samar Raza, particularly since homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan. “So I bring a third character who says: ‘God designed Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.'” This third conservative character will theoretically enable Raza to discuss homosexuality while evading censorship.
The Dish 