Sabaat – The Drama that was. Did it make you cry?
I felt my eyes water up in the last 2 minutes as the OST wrapped its lyrical arms around my emotions – when Dr. Haris helped Miraal walk into a beautiful sunset … and I wept (a tiny bit), because I thought, THIS was a man!
But let’s start from the beginning. The good parts first!
Writer Kashif Anwar has penned some heart-touching thoughts on screen and he must be lauded for taking on the issue of working women, workplace harassment, aging parents, estranged couples with great sensitivity.
Enaya’s mother adopting a child was a teary-eyed moment – an unpredictable, welcome move that underscored a burning issue in our society. What do parents do when their children fly the nest, get married or live/work faraway from home?
Of all the characters in Sabaat, the 3 that stood out impeccably were Dr. Haris – the embodiment of a perfect life partner. Dr. Haris was mature, yet so much in love, that he was willing to sacrifice anything for his wife -exemplary husband goals where he has to fight male (and female) mindsets that have yet to accept a husband in a conciliatory role. Less macho and more understanding is not a sin ladies, it is the golden rule to long lasting happiness!
Enaya when she stood up to Yasser Qureshi was a landmark moment for all women who have faced harassment at some level. For all those wondering why she seemed submissive in the previous episode when she let him in her room – this was the proverbial smack we wanted and we got it!
Well done you Enaya, and that’s what we mean by retribution – Atif needed a bit more of that too!
And finally, Enaya’s parents, especially her mom, endeared us to the end!
The lady defied all norms of a self pitying parent who pines after her daughter. Enaya’s mom showed us why parents need to let go, yet be there for their children, advise them selflessly and continue to be a part of their lives on their own terms. This character won our hearts and a special shout out to Seemi Raheel for giving us the best role model ever!
And back to the tears – it was perhaps the ‘absolutely to die for’ OST that will keep this story close to our hearts forever. OSTs serve to enhance a scene, moment or impactful dialogues. But the Sabaat OST super-achieved. It blended within our senses beautifully to gift us one of the best musical memories ever. A heartfelt thanks to Ali Sethi and composer Naveed Nashad for a soul stirring rendition.
There is no doubt that Sabaat last episode gave us some precious moments. Moments we wanted to witness, dialogues we wanted to hear, and evil deeds we wanted to be avenged.
BUT
We never anticipated all of the above to wrap up in 50 sweet minutes. Disappointed much? Maybe. Happy with the happy ending? Maybe. So what do you want then, I asked myself. What’s the catch?
Sabaat was a journey. And a journey should not come to an abrupt end.
It’s like Shahid Afridi walking into the ground to make a 50, but the umpire declares bad light, play is halted, Pakistan wins on run rate…
You love the victory, you wanted the victory, BUT you wanted to watch a MATCH! You were looking forward to Shahid Afridi on the crease, except, it didn’t happen. Get it now?
So when Miraal made the U-turn from super B#%@!!! to Super Submissive sister and wife, begging for forgiveness, we, the audience felt like we just got a push, and a big one!
Just like you jump from one level to another in an online game, we cleared a level with bonus points, but seemed to have missed out on the fun of shooting down our opponents – we couldn’t savour the victory. There was no inert anger, days of puzzling over her destiny, being confused, enraged at the cards life had dealt her – Miraal seemed to have snapped out of it as if she had been in a trance through out the 20 odd episodes in the drama!
We Wanted to Forgive The Characters Too!
We wanted to understand and be a part of her awakening. We wanted to witness her journey from unexplainably evil to truly remorseful – but we were just gifted a happy Dr. Haris instead. Fast forward at double the speed?
When Hassan walked into Enaya’s home, her rage was justified, on point and oh, so deserving! And just when we thought she’ll bide her time ( we all wanted the lovey dovey (slightly, ahem, boring) couple to get back together, but not before she put up a valid fight, made Hassan grovel, apologize, pay for his horribly inexcusable behaviour – but we see the 2 of them (3, plus baby) sharing the screen – a tad too soon, we ask?
When we spot Fareed sahab finally capitulating to his eccentric ego and granting Enaya the respect she rightfully deserved, we wanted to see him grovel too! But we were spared the retribution, as he seemed to have done a Miraal on us as well. A leap from the dark side into the light at the speed of lightening – we sure missed it!
So here’s the thing. Audiences demand payback for the evil doers. They wait for it, they suffer their favourite character being beaten up, slapped around, cheated on, because they KNOW there will be retribution. But when that retribution is taken away from them, oh well … it’s like eating sugarless ice cream, or worse still, no ice cream at all!
That’s why iconic series like Batman, Starwars, Harry Potter wait for the good vs evil battle to wage out and the good to not only triumph, but the evil to suffer!
Sabaat failed to cross the ts’s and dot the i’s for us. And when it did, it all happened so fast we wished they had taken their time. We, the audience needed to join them in their life journey – both Miraal’s and Hassan’s. We would have wanted Enaya to have Hassan back, we would have desperately wanted Miraal to fall for Dr. Haris, this time, more deeply, we would have wanted Fareed Sahab to apologize to Enaya and his wife for all his high handedness. But we were left with a chocolate cake for dessert, without savouring the 5 course meal!
And that, my dear folks, is why we can’t be happy with a happy ending!
However, this cannot take away from the fact that, despite the lows, Sabaat has done a phenomenal job in raising social issues, initiating conversations & making us question! The drama has taken on issues with unfathomed maturity and incisiveness. Sabaat has given us many moments to smile, reflect, and love. We thank you for that.
Goodbye Sabaat – till next time!
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