Pakistan, July 9 -- For those of you harbouring the impression that a career in the Pakistani television industry equates to a thriving bank account, director and producer Mehreen Jabar is here to burst that bubble.

"Our drama industry has progressed a lot, and there has been a very high viewership," conceded Mehreen during a virtual interview with Drama Pakistani. "But behind the scenes, there is a lot of compromise and this industry operates in a very unprofessional way. That is the sad part."

The New York-based Ek Jhooti Love Story director, who has accrued a rich catalogue of work over her three-decade career, lamented that actors and crew have a constant struggle extracting payments out of Pakistani production houses.

"You know, i...