If you’re watching Dastak, you might find more than one character a big turn-off—or, in Gen Z terms, a red flag. But who’s the real one?
If a girl gets married and her marriage doesn’t turn out to be a bed of roses, who do we see people blaming in dramas? Either the girl herself or her fate, right? But sometimes, it’s not just fate—it’s the people who make decisions for her. Yes, we know that parents never want to see their children in a terrible situation, like the one Kiran is in right now. But why do we always ignore the signs that scream danger? And why do we silence those who try to warn us, just like Sajjad —Kiran’s father—did to Kabir Mamu before her marriage? When Kabir Mamu said, “Saif doesn’t seem happy with this marriage,” Sajjad dismissed his reservations.
And then came Saif—a man who was not strong enough to fight for the one he loved. Instead, he chose to marry an innocent girl just to avoid being disowned by his father. Apparently, he couldn’t let go of the property and business his father would pass on to him, but he could easily let go of the “so-called love of his life.” And who suffered in the bargain —or, more accurately, is still suffering—the consequences of this mess? Kiran. But instead of breaking down, motherhood has made her stronger. She is now standing up for herself, which is a rare narrative in Pakistani dramas.
But here’s the questuon: Who is truly responsible for everything that happened to Kiran?
Sajjad or Saif?
Who’s The Real Red Flag?
Saif, who rightfully asked his parents to marry him to the girl he loved—Faryal—but his parents, being the typical brown parents trope, refused to do so and married him off to Kiran, a girl who never knew what was coming next? So, who made the wrong decision here? Saif’s parents, who thought, “Shadi hojaegi tou sudhar jaega, Faryal ko bhool jaega”—the classic mindset that marriage will magically fix a man. Our society is still stuck in the belief that a girl will “fix” a son when even his own parents couldn’t.
What we’ve seen so far is that when Saif isn’t around Faryal, he tries to get close to Kiran and even treats her with a relative degree of care. Was it because she was carrying his child—oh sorry, his “son“?
But wait, if Saif is a red flag who married Kiran under the pressure of his parents or, if we say, due to the “dhamki” of his father that he’d disown him and not let him have his business, home, or property, then Sajjad, Kiran’s father, is perhaps scoring higher on the red flag radar?
Kiran’s father repeatedly, before her wedding till this date, kept saying, “Mujhe apni beti ka ghar basana hai,” almost as if it was a Shakespearean dialogue he had to recite in Literature class? By asking her to compromise, to wait for Saif to understand his “apparent mistake” and come back to her. Or to stay at her husband’s house because “luckily” her saas is good to her? So, is it enough for a woman that her mother-in-law is nice to her and then to spend the rest of her life waiting for her husband to come back?
“Main tumhain, tumharay ghar mein khush dekhna chahta hoon” is a dialogue often used in “red flag parenting” that Dastak is compelling viewers to paysr and take note.
Kiran’s unfortunate story is relatable to many, as is apparent from the comments under the YouTube episode.
Is Kiran’s father the real red flag, responsible for whatever Kiran is going through? Sajjad keeps trying to shut others up when they say the “right” things, whether it’s his wife, Kabir Mamu, or even Maham! He saw the signs, chose to ignore them because, “Shadi ki tayyari hogai hai, log kya kahenge?” He got to know the truth, chose to ignore it because, “Mujhe apni beti ka ghar basana hai.” And now because, “Tum ek bache ki maa ho.” Why do we see a child as a weakness instead of a strength for a mother? Well, accordumg to us, Sajjad is the biggest red flag in terms of being a father—yes, he wants to see his children happy, but according to what is convenient for him.
And, following up with the parent debate, Saif’s parents are next to blame. Because they too, forced their son to marry against his choice, not just ruining three lives – Faryal, Saif and Kiran, but now, four, as their child will suffer the consequences of this decision.
So, who is really responsible for the chaos in Kiran’s life?
Saif, who did what he wanted?
Or Sajjad, who saw the disaster coming but chose to ignore it—just because a divorced daughter is too big of a burden in our society?
Or Saif’s parents, who were fully aware of the entire situation, but chose to ignore it for their own selfish reasons.
Drop your comments below & let us know what you think!
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Dastak is written by Sarwat Nazir and directed by Marina Khan. It is a project of Six Sigma Plus Production. The cast features Ali Raza, Sohai Ali Abro, Feroz Kadri, Syed Tanveer Hussain, Asma Abbas, Sohail Sameer, Perveen Akbar, and more.
