She’s making us so angry we could rage bait 2025 into Back to the Future Part 4 – unsee the whole year as if it never existed. He’s giving us reasons to troll, she’s obviously not synced into the rest of the world, he’s a walking talking red flag, don’t we know one when we see one…?
Felt that way while watching a Pakistani drama lately? Then you’ve caught the term right where it belongs!
“Rage bait,” is the slang term announced as the 2025 word of the year by Oxford University Press (OUP) – designed to elicit anger and drive internet traffic. Rage bait is the term that does it all, from viral engagement on social media feeds to angry shares, trolling and all – the reward? More clicks, more views and you guessed it, more revenue for online creators.
Hence, rage baiting it is, as the buzz word that gets you into business faster than a college degree. But hold on a sec, the term has manifested itself into the Pakistani drama diaspora faster than you can say ‘Drama’ in characters that challenge our resolve to stay calm, forcing us to comment, criticize, share and hold an opinion on a show or character that goes viral for all the wrong reasons – rage baiting it is then, but do we even know how the term has crept into our daily watch experience and how often we’re exposed to it?
So after a not so long think, and minimal brainstorming (yes it was that easy and the word that rampant), we realized that Pakistani drama characters are perhaps, the best manifestation of the term onscreen – so for all those who are struggling to understand the term fully, this is what rage baiting looks like in a character, and here’s why?
1. Shahida in Jama Taqseem
The lady sits at the top of our list because every time Shahida offers an opinion, she could make the angry dragon spark a million sparks just with a disdainful glance thrown at Laila or even Zubia’s way. From moral policing Laila’s family on religion and the lack of it, to telling us how men rule the roost and women stay at home, feeding their family and reproducing more of the same, Shahida ‘baji’ is a lesson in antiquated mother in-law mindsets, or maybe not quite, (yours truly knows quite a few Shahida Baji’s among us), and even as she triggers us, she urges us to find catharsis in Zubia’s targeted responses.
Shahida inflames with the slightest of judgement drops and rightly crowned as the queen of rage baiting in current Pakistani drama characters.
2. Geeti Ara in Pamaal
When Malika’s mom decides to offer up motherly advice, it’s all about patience, a wife’s perpetual compromises for long term rewards and a lifetime of obedience to her husband’s will. One wonders if Malika’s mom had only met her halfway, understood that her daughter is married to a man who flips periodically, and has snatched away any semblance of self confidence or independence her daughter ever held inside her… life would have been different, for so many women like Malika.
Sigh.
But Geeti Ara has ignited more anger among audiences in her ability to do absolutely nothing except tell Malika to stick it out in the worst of circumstances and never leave her husband’s home – the lesson taught to many a bride even today, thanks to the Geeti Aras of 2025. Hence, where some women dream of stepping into outer space, others still stay home to tend to the Razas of this world, all because of a mother who believes women must suffer in silence with a smile – the online audience rage for this mother’s painful advice is real. Catch the comments section on YouTube and you’ll get the drift.
3. Nuzhat in Biryani
Nisa’s mom has us wondering if ‘Delulu’ should have been recrowned as the word of the year. From reprimanding her daughter to be a good host to Gul Meher, to not quite reacting to news of Meeran’s marriage, and then, holding her daughter up close when she wept miserable tears and still unable to understand her misery – is Nuzhat for real, we ask?
Was this the same mom who invited Meeran over for Biryani, witnessed yet missed the telling glow on her daughter’s face which revealed she’s emotionally invested in the guy, and now, exasperatingly thankful that she’s perhaps, making headway with Rashid ‘bhai’ as a future husband?
Nuzhat deserves the crown if only because she can’t see through her daughter’s unhappiness and repeatedly scolds her for being an ungracious host. Not even Gul Meher’s reveal about an unconsummated marriage made her bat an eyelid, if moms were that oblivious, (we wish sometimes), but this species can see through a brick wall, hence, what are you on dear Nuzhat, we’d like some of that too!
4. Manto and Mehmal in Main Manto Nahi Hoon
This one deserves a double crown because both characters were active participants in a mishap of a romance that never quite took off. Pakistani drama audiences take their love stories very seriously and Main Manto Nahi Hoon never quite delivered on the promise. From spinning a teacher-student love affair to university students bunking classes, asking for the love birds to hold a court marriage, (we mean, don’t y’all need to sit an exam and finish the course?), to Manto denying his feelings for Mehmal to a point that it all looked delusional till it wasn’t, to a total lack of love story feels, we mean, make it appealing at least, even if it is problematic.
Main Manto Nahi Hoon was an exercise in anger management for everyone who watched it from start to finish, just because one had to see it through.
The love story felt strangely unemotional, the feels from Mikail aka chhotay Hazrat delivered more love feels in real, and the failed attempts by Manto to win over Siraj, Mehmal’s father, were equally lopsided and awkward. Zero love feels in a love story is a classic case of the audiences raging over a drama they thought would give them a red velvet chocolate cake but instead, all they got was a few leftover crumbs that too from Farhad, Hazrat and a passing conversation between Suraiya and Siraj – the enmity worked better than the love angle, but that too, stayed half-baked.
The rage was real from fans of a star-studded cast who expected to have their cake and eat it too, and walked away not just hungry, but starving, disappointed and yes, raging over a love story that turned university campuses into a questionable place of learning?
5. Kamyar in Meri Zindagi Hai Tu
From flexing a Cyber Truck to burning down cars, stalking our heroine to announcing he’s the boss of everything at home, he can donate his entire business to charity and then, ask Ayra how dare she refuse his proposal, Kamyar is an exercize in self control for audiences who love the star, but struggle to understand the character. Is he misunderstood, poor guy, just lonely, or a red flag who needs to be red flagged with the brightest of red hues for the rest of Ayra’s living days.
Oh well, one moment Kamyar visits the old home to hand out charity, then shames his domestic for a Rs. 3.5 lacs bill, then takes over his father’s office space, dismisses him from the board then reappoints him, oh, and don’t forget the wild promises to keep Ayra happy ever after without going to work even for a day.
The rage is real for a character that now has to make that incredible jump from a spoilt rich arrogant brat into the hero we all want to see onscreen, worthy of Ayra, and all drama heroines, worthy of being a Pakistani drama hero in the year when we thought we had progressed to more layered characters, progressive story lines and no sensational, forced drama – but it all seems to be happening right here in Meri Zindagi Hai Tu – the stalker who will walk the redemption track and we’ll all be moved to say “Wow” they make such a cute couple!
Rage baiter number 1 indeed! Now we just need to wait for the redemption arc in future episodes and all will be well, whew – all that emption for nothing, as it ends happily ever after.
And that dear folks, is our guide to the Pakistani drama characters who drive online rage – not just a lesson but a master class in rage baiters – it is what it is and we just happen to be living in the same world…
Tell us if we missed some and drop us a comment to add your list below.
Completely agree with you on each point. As for Nuzhat in Biryani, last Tuesday’s episode was especially confusing because I could not figure out what she was upset about during the whole episode. It felt like I must have missed something. And for me, Meri Zindagi Hai Tu is especially upsetting at so many times because Kamyar has so many red flags that even if he appears to change later on, I doubt he would be trustworthy.