Pardes is getting our attention, for all the right reasons! Fast-paced, realistic and not OTT! This drama is hitting the high notes under Marina Khan’s stellar direction. So I am listing reasons that are making it a hit and unfortunately, some misses also.
The Hits
1. Must Watch For Families With Bread Winners Abroad
It is a really trying situation, as overseas fathers miss their kids’ growing up. At the same time, kids miss precious time with their dads! It is also a test for the spouses, as the marriage has to withstand a forced separation. This impact on the whole family is shown with much sensitivity. Kudos to team Pardes!
2. You Connect With The Scenes
Ahsan (Sarmad Khoosat) can be seen sharing a tiny room with 4-5 other people in Muscat. This is a spot-on depiction of how Pakistanis survive in Muscat and elsewhere in the Middle East. As Sarmad sits down to eat daal and roti for dinner with his roommates, he is shown eyeing the daal, while wistfully remembering the delicious food his wife would prepare with love. Who was sacrificing, what for whom?
3. Pardes Is Fast-Paced
The story is not dragging at all. In fact, in the next few episodes, judging by the promo looks like we are already doing a time-lapse onto the next generation. Way to go!!
4. The Actors
Would we be watching Pardes, if Shaista Lodhi as Zoobi or Sarmad Khoosat as Ahsan were not there? Let’s also not forget Bushra Ansari, Gohar Rasheed and the others to come in the next few episodes. Kudos to the brilliant casting by Marina Khan! Since it’s not a new topic, the treatment and the casting are making all the difference.
So What’s The Miss?
1. Same Old Boring Female Characters?
Zoobi does stand up for herself and her children, more than our typical sacrificing self heroines. But is that enough? Could she have been shown more empowered? Why did Zoobi, not find a way to communicate, how badly she was being treated, to her husband in Muscat? Should she not have protested when her MIL took the jewellery that her husband had bought for her?
2. Where Are The Big Issues Ex-pats Face In The Middle East?
Scenes in Muscat could have been expanded further to show the serious issues, the sub-continental ex-pats face. The list of issues that overseas Pakistanis face include:
- Rampant discrimination
- Low Wages
- No or very few benefits including Sick Leave etc.
- Sub Standard Living arrangements
- No Access to recreational activities
- Laws and Legals rights
- Travel and Visa Restrictions
All in all, Pardes hits close to home, for most of us. We all know or have someone who is home, away from home. If not, we ourselves are living far, far away, for that shining thing called money.
The question that Pardes, is forcing us to ask, is it all worth it?
With that, catch up on the latest Drama Gup on Pardes here:
