Doosra Chehra, a 4-episodic series aired over Eid. The story, short and sweet, super relatable and super uncomfortable. At many points in the drama, one saw oneself gazing right back, whether it was in Komal’s sense of emptiness, Zara’s moment of realization, Salman’s helplessness yet positivity and Hamza’s personal challenges. The story by Rida Bilal with notable direction from Shehrazade Sheikh, had us doing a double take on most conversations. Read on.
The story is simple. Social media pushes picture-perfect lifestyles, flawless appearances and crease-proof relationships upon us and even as we know that it’s all made up to an extent, we fall for it every single time – that’s Komal’s cross to bear. Watching Zara and Hamza live out a perfect existence is making Komal’s deprivations harder to deal with, that coupled with Zara and Hamza’s influencer lifestyle, where the pressure to share every tiny bit of information, accentuated to evoke a certain reaction from audiences is something that literally sends shivers down your spine.
Picture this: Hamza, the loving, caring young husband, prepares breakfast in bed for his wife on the first morning after their wedding – and it’s all captured on camera, a dreamy reel to be posted on social media. The couple smiles for the camera then switch back to their previous no-smile mode, argue, bicker, and attempt to communicate their points of view, but they often get it wrong.
Komal and Salman on the other hand, live a simple life. Komal is trying to get pregnant and her mother in-law’s expectations are weighing upon her. Salman works hard as a car salesman but obviously cannot provide her the lifestyle she dreams of, or watches unfold on screen via Zara and Hamza.
Thus begins the yearning for something more, something grander, more perfect in a life where reality strikes all too often. In Komal, we see many young women struggling to keep their feet on the ground yet watching another woman, another couple live a dream life online. In Salman, we see a loving husband who cannot meet all of Komal’s demands overnight or perhaps ever. But what shines through in Salman is his caring, supportive nature, his patience for Komal and yet, his grounded interaction with her, gently snapping her back to reality ever so often.
Their conversations (or lack of them) at the dinner table, she, phone in hand, scrolling through social media, not totally present in the moment, him, wanting her to be with him, and not her phone, mirrors the life of so many young people who are caught up in the social media bubble, either scrolling their feed, or posing for the camera. Whether you are consuming it, or creating it – handle social media with care, that’s the message from Doosra Chehra!
There are moments in the drama that hit the alarm button multiple times. For instance when Hamza mentions that Zara must be taking a bathroom mirror selfie, Zara, scrutinizing her appearance in the mirror, looking out for a sagging jaw line, or gradually appearing wrinkles, Zara feeling overwhelmed at the meet and greet, deciding she can’t do this anymore, Zara telling Hamza that their life within the 4 walls of their home should be theirs alone, away from the camera and then Hamza, posting on social media about her pregnancy.
Doosra Chehra is a reminder that the picture you see on social media has a before and after to it. Before that perfect pose, is a real story and real people who argue, fight, disagree just like us. And after that picture is taken and posted with a catchy caption, there might be more of the same. In fact, the lives we see onscreen might shoulder more friction, more pain and more pressure because, unlike us, they have to uphold a certain public image onscreen – and that pressure alone, as Zara realized eventually, can be overwhelming.
Lastly, Komal’s journey revealed that her sense of deprivation and the pressure on her to not conceive had made her likely turn to social media and her phone as a reprieve from her present situation. She could not stay without her phone even for a second and experienced withdrawal symptoms much like one addicted, when she was without it.
Doosra Chehra must be commended for showing us positive male characters. Hamza was not a toxic husband, but merely caught up in his social media survival game. In the same way, Salman was one hundred percent there for Komal and gave her patience and understanding. He explained the same to his mother who had perpetually pressurized Komal to conceive. Not just that, but Hamza’s boss at work gave him a second chance despite a gross mistake. In this case, humanity won, and yet the execution was so onpoint that one did not for a second feel that the storyline had turned preachy or overly didactic at any point.
The performances added to a crisp script – from Sanam Saeed and Adeel Hussain gelling as an influencer couple and totally fitting the role, Saboor Aly and Arez Ahmed also stood out with a heartfelt performance.
Doosra Chehra is a winner, especially as the creators showed us how a 4-episodic series can be wrapped up with all strings tied, nothing left unsaid or said too much and the messages laid bare, for audiences to turn over in their mind before they turn back to their social media feed and scroll some more!
The takeaway? Hopefully, they’ll leave their phone on the side at dinner time and ask their spouse, children, or both – How was your day? And this time, we hope everyone will be listening.
Dramas like Doosra Chehra and Jannat Se Aagay convey critical messages in stories that speak to the viewer. It is essential that creators keep reminding us of the perils of our presnt lifestyle choices and how it affects our mental health, relationships and sense of reality. The fact that this is done in a non-preachy, engaging manner, yet keeping it real, must be applauded.
So if you haven’t already, go watch Doosra Chehra over the weekend and drop a comment below with your thoughts on the drama.
Produced by Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi, the drama is directed by Shehrazade Sheikh and written by Rida Bilal. The cast includes Sanam Saeed, Saboor Ali, Arez Ahmed, Adeel Husain, Saba Faisal, Nida Mumtaz, Majida Hameed, Behroz Sabzwari, Tara Mahmood, Agha Mustafa Hassan, and Ahmed Majeed Agloria.
