Ali Rehman Khan stars in Guru – a story that is not just about Khwaja Siras, but also about us. Get the first episode review here.
Story
The story opens with a narrative we’ve seen played out all too often – Trans-people being invited to perform at local weddings as the onlookers shower them with bank notes. Sometimes the scenes stop there and sometimes there is a bit of poking, prodding, curiosity to peak beneath that layer of heavy makeup or hairdos to discover more of what lies under those painted faces. Often, the performers will ignore it as part of their daily grind, but some might get offended too. It is interesting how we don’t acknowledge the personal space for these people – are they even supposed to have one?
Cut to a lonely place, where these 4 Khwaja Siras live together – a shabby, humble abode, sharing their food, shelter and of course, both tough and brittle emotions under one roof. Guru opened with a first episode that was not pretending to be anything more or less than the story.
Real Feel Direction
We have often seen Khwaja Sira narratives painted in a light that is overtly dramatic or overtly crude – Guru was neither. From Ali Rehman Khan’s aka Guru’s subtle body language and demeanour to his cronies’ natural feel dynamics with him and each other, the gang felt like they had been doing this, living there, carrying on their sad existence forever. Direction by Bilawal Hussain Abbasi can get brownie points for this one – sometimes, you just need to play it real, and viewers will get it!
Khwaja Sira narratives took a giant leap forward with Sar e rah and now it’s time to carry it forward. The stories can be told in so many ways and through so many lives. What is significant is that every story will be interlinked with the stories of humans like us, who make these people live on the peripheries of society, where we like to keep them.
Khwaja Siras And Us – An Age Old Connection
From the neighbors who wait to turn them out of the area, to the wedding guests who turn them into objects of entertainment, Guru sent out a loud message even in the very first episode, without being didactic – an art indeed. These people might not be exactly what you consider normal, but then, what are you, a conduit for their miserable existence?
The story of the woman who gives birth to yet another daughter and how the baby ends up with Guru’s lot was well executed. Again, direction played a critical role here by taking a nonlinear approach where the nurse attempted to first hand over the baby to a childless couple.
Storytelling
The storytelling was fast paced, and we see the drama taking a turn towards the investigative where the parents of the baby might be traced – but the script does this astutely along with reminding us how we label and suspect trans-people of stealing/ getting hold of newborn babies to make them their own. Tell me the thought didn’t cross your mind when you saw Guru picking up the baby?
Performances
Ali Rehman’s performance in the first episode was, for sure, credible. He played the right balance of tenderness towards, and panic for, the wellbeing of the baby, anger and crude rage towards his house mates, yet all this conveyed without exaggerated, over the top feels. He had us fully invested in Guru’s tempered emotions – of feeling an inner pull towards the baby, yet holding himself back. Perhaps the most tragic dialogue uttered (and true) might have made many realize a sad truth:
Shukar karo Suraiya, humein usne apna pyaara toh samjha. Humein toh koi apna samjhta hi nahi hai.
Guru
Zhalay Sarhadi added a touch of intense tragedy, in her walk, expression, her misery and her panic. For those who have never seen this story play out in multiple households, where have you been? She represented all those women who have undergone the torture of multiple births, often in poverty, only to eventually want to desperately fulfil the desire for a male child by their in-laws – don’t say it’s a cliched topic, it’s very much alive and kicking today!
Guru seems to be a promising tale, albeit it carries a tragic feel to it. Yet tragedy related in a fast-paced, suspense-thriller mode can really get the heart going.
The drama is screened on Express TV with production by Shazia Wajahat and Wajahat Hussain, written by Likhari, direction by Bilawal Hussain Abbasi and features Ali Rehman Khan in the lead with Zhalay Sarhadi, Hira Khan, Mohsin Ejaz, Omi Butt, Ahmer Hussain, Hasan Kamal, Raweeha Fatima, and Umer Aalam (yet to be seen) and others in an ensemble cast that seems to be belting out believable on-point performances!
