Fifty Fifty is a popular Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 television series which was aired on the national television PTV

Pakistan Television Corporation

The Pakistan Television Corporation is Pakistan's national television broadcaster. The first live transmission of PTV began on November 26, 1964, in Lahore...

 during the early 1980s, based loosely on US comedy show Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...

. The programme was a sketch comedy

Sketch comedy

A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...

 considered by many critics as one of the best television shows to be produced in Pakistan. Along with Nazia Hassan

Nazia Hassan

Nazia Hassan was an iconic Pakistani pop singer. Her song "Aap Jaisa Koi" from the Indian film Qurbani made her a legend and pop icon in Pakistan and all of South Asia in the 1980s, where she is admired and loved even today, years after her death...

, Fifty Fifty was one of the pop-culture phenomena of the 1980s in South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

.

The content of the show is based on satire and parody with some healthy doses of slapstick comedy. It is widely considered to be a trendsetter in its genre. One important aspect that may be noted that the content was very ethnically balanced and was written on purpose to make sure that different Pakistani communities are with respected. Although sometimes a mockery of a certain ethnic group was made, similar to prudes or red necks in American comedy, it seemed to empathize the evils in a community, which could be eradicated.

Regulars on the show included Ismail Tara, Zeba Shehnaz & Majid Jehangir. These artistes won considerable fan following during the period when Fifty Fifty was aired. Some golden-era songs of Naheed Akhtar

Naheed Akhtar

Naheed Akhtar is a Pakistani playback singer. She was discovered by veteran musician M. Ashraf in the mid-1970s.Naheed Akhtar was a successful replacement for Runa Laila, who left Pakistan the same year. Her debut film was "Nanha Farishta" in 1974 and that year she climbed to the top with super...

 and Ghulam Ali

Ghulam Ali

USTAAD Ghulam Ali is a Pakistani ghazal singer of the Patiala gharana. He is not to be confused with the Indian singer Bade Ghulam Ali Khan or Chhote Ghulam Ali, who is another Pakistani singer in the Qual Bachon Gharana....

 were also featured on the show. It was produced and directed by acclaimed Pakistani director Shoaib Mansoor

Shoaib Mansoor

Shoaib Mansoor , PP, SI, is an acclaimed Pakistani film and television producer, director, writer, lyricist and composer.-Career:...

.

Fifty Fifty and Alif Noon

Alif Noon

Alif Noon was a comedy series from Pakistan Television written by Kamal Ahmed Rizvi. The cast consisted of Rafi Khawar known as Nannha and Kamal Ahmed Rizvi known an Allan. Allan was shown as a clever business minded person who used to come up with some nasty and immoral tricks to earn fast money...

 are two prominent comedy series in the history of Pakistan Television. Their content was well written by writers who were really dedicated to creativity and patriotic values. Many critics do agree that it took years for viewers to understand the hidden message behind these serials and that is why they are still the best wanted comedy serials till now.

Cast

• Ashraf Khan
• Bushra Ansari
  Bushra Ansari
  -Early Life, education and family:Born in Karachi, Ansari is the daughter of eminent journalist and writer Ahmad Bashir. Bushra studied in Lahore at Lady Griffin School and then she did intermediate from famous Lahore College for Women University, completed her BA in 1977 from Waqarunnisa College...
  
  
• Javed Sheikh
  Javed Sheikh
  Javed Sheikh is a Pakistani actor, director and producer who is involved with Bollywood, Lollywood, and Pollywood films.-Career:Sheikh's first movie as actor was the Lollywood film Dhamaka, released on 14 December 1974. He since acted in over 100 Urdu films from the 1970s through to the early...
  
  
• Ismail Tara
• Lateef Kapadia
• Majid Jehangir
• Pandit Satyanashi
• Salahuddin Toofani
  Salahuddin Toofani
  Salahuddin Toofani was a Pakistani stage and television comedian actor. He was born in Larkana. He was famous for his acting in the series Fifty Fifty.Salahuddin shifted to Karachi and became an actor. He started his career from Radio Pakistan...
  
  
• Zeba Shehnaz

Awards and nominations

First Indus Vision Drama Awards

• Won - Special Appreciation Award (2005).