Mannat in Mannat Murad and many other girls (and Pakistani drama heroines), are still deemed to be requiring the ‘Shaadi Vaccine’ as soon as they begin to gain control of their lives. We ask why?
Mannat Murad is bringing to us a young love story, complex familial relationships, the troubles on the path to love marriages and possessive, overbearing mothers and brothers but mostly, the drama is centred around our favourite, all-in one desi weapon, saviour, vaccine, hobby, pre-emptive measure – the one and only, yes you guessed it – Shaadi.
Talha Chahour plays Chaudhry Murad Hashmat Ali, his mother’s “lion” the apple of her eye, her only son, he seems to look at life through rose tinted glasses but he has a feisty, overbearing (and comical) mother who he has sworn to, that he will marry ONLY as per her wishes. She is perpetually paranoid of him being around girls and wants to marry him off as per her choice.
Iqra Aziz who is playing Mannat is her brother’s life and soul, the only sister of 3 brothers from a well-to-do family. She is adored, loved and spoilt by all around her. She is also feisty in nature, has a penchant for adventure and prefers to live and think independently; she says she has all the right to take her own decisions. But does she? Is she even given the right to decide her life choices and weirdly, still continues to be an anomaly for desi girls; to be able to actually freely decide who she will marry?
Mannat & Murad Find Themselves In A Precarious Situation
As Mannat and Murad’s love story begins, it soon encounters trouble, an imminent parting, a challenge. Well, they sure did give us a fun lesson in playing hard to get but it didn’t take them long to end up failing at their own game as they both cracked smiles and blushes while speaking to each other for hours on end, the very first time. Little did they know, the very next day they would find themselves in a precarious situation. Mannat maybe more so than Murad…
The Travesty, Suspicion & Emergency Declared!
As it turns out, her rather sensitive and presumptuous elder brother had eavesdropped on her conversation last night. He is suddenly suspicious and soon thinks: “Oh no, how is it that my young adult sister who is now independent and a working professional is talking to somebody at 11 in the night on a weekend and refused to play chess with me. Who else could it be other than a guy she might elope with or worse, get fooled by! What a travesty! What an emergency! How suspicious!” He just happens to foresee (does he secretly have a genie we don’t know about?) how she is about to ruin her life. It could have been anybody on the phone right, a friend, a colleague, a cousin but not somehow, his genie tells him it’s a dubious boyfriend ooooh.
So now just because she locked her room, was talking to somebody over the phone and slept in (on a weekend, we may add), he is now worried about her marriage, He says he can foresee an issue because she now has a job, working outside the home and will have to deal with and meet both good and bad people in the outside world, what if she makes a wrong decision, what if she gets ruined, barbaad, so, quick fix – let’s get her married! And then Mannat’s bhabhi adds to the conversation how yehi sae age hoti hai larkoiu ke shaadi kernay ke.
Is Shaadi The Vaccine Desi Girls Require To Live?
We wonder just like Mannat, do young girls in similar situations and age brackets, somehow NEED to get married as soon as they start to take control of their lives? Are they susceptible to a deadly virus of bewaqoofi and barbaadi when they become independent, explore the world on their own terms just as guys do, begin to figure out their life’s purpose, passion, freedom, relationships, what they want in someone and what they don’t?
Is shaadi the vaccine they oh so desperately require to be saved from oblivion? Is this special shaadi vaccine set to protect them from the bad people out there and from making stupid decisions because ugh, girls are just seriously dumb, have no sense, education, understanding of the world, ability to judge people or plain logic?
Have We Not Had Enough Of This Archaic Narrative?
We really are tired, of this archaic, regressive narrative. Are our lives only meant for and to revolve around Shaadi – the end of all happy endings? When will we finally stop seeing this narrative hammered in every other Pakistani drama? Because the thing is, to progress forward, break free, gain true independence and literally get on with the rest of the world, we need to stop depicting, showing and reaffirming shaadi being the ultimate solution for girls.
Why does this cliche and beaten narrative in Mannat Murad matter so much? well because the drama casts hugely popular actors whom audiences dearly love and follow, they not only serve their role as characters in a story but are hugely influential for many young minds in our society, who might base their life choices on how Mannat deals with her life. Moreover, Mannat Murad carries a rather fun and interesting storyline garnering views crossing 3 million or more per episode! So, with such a bound-to-be-hit project, a refreshing tweak in the storyline with regard to this Shaadi vaccine would have been great.
What do you think about the desi Shaadi vaccine and its ever present role in Pakistani dramas? Do you think it is fair on Mannat how her brother is plotting her marriage and judging her actions, in fact, suffocating her daily life choices in the name of love and care?
Tell us your view in comments below.
