Hello again and join me as I give you the change makers, the view makers and the simply watchable week in dramas – the ones you’re watching and the ones you aren’t!
Whether you’re a viral Tere Bin fan or more for the gentle moods in Kuch Ankahi – everyone has one verdict and that is – Sar e Rah is hitting it out of the park! So folks, if you haven’t watched yet, are you even watching Pakistani dramas? A question to ask before I kick off, and scroll down for the answer: Is Watching Ankahi Like Giving Up a Big Mac For Your Mom’s Daal Chawal at Home? Find Out & Join in the Tere Bin, MPHT and more conversations!
So onwards to Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha and my question to you is …
Are you Camp Maheer or Camp Saad?
You see, they are both in a kind of ‘situation’, to state is subtly. Maheer due to her lost love and zero idea that every word she utters falls like a hammer on Saad’s heart – but we know that, hence we root for Saad. And Saad because he just found his love and is toying with the idea of letting her go (and can’t reveal to Maheer that every word she utters falls like a hammer to his heart), but we know that, and hence, we root for Saad too.
So poor Maheer loses both ways. But let’s be a bit more empathetic here and realize that Maheer has no idea what is going on in Saad’s mind or heart – and that’s why, she might deserve our sympathy too. Simple. I’ve said it. Also guys and girls, you are allowed to feel sorry for both human beings and not take sides because they are both going though, like I said, a ‘situation’ which is, to be fair, not of their own making!
But the one person my hard heart fails to feel sorry for is, you got it, no, it’s not Areeb, I feel for him too, it’s … did you get it? Yes! Areeb’s mom! The double, triple shaded lady has still not owned up to her toxic phone conversation, or the fact that her son really did love the girl, or that … she is now maligning the girl just to serve her own selfish purpose. Aaah, Pakistani dramas have a penchant and a special skill for giving us mother in law toxicity and this one is no different yeah?
The question remains: Are you looking forward to Maheer falling for Saad eventually? Coz that’s what the drama makers are making a bullseye for (in case you hadn’t noticed). They’ve made us fall for him, multiple times, and in every episode. Now…it’s Maheer’s turn!
And with that thought resting inside your dramatic minds, I can move on to Pyari Mona!
Pyari Mona is surprising me with its perceptive take on sibling relationships
Samiya and Mona share a lifetime of challenges – especially Samiya. Her silence finally broken, she unravels the reason for her depression, her need for perfectionism, the pressure to always do the right thing – oh the pain of parenting on her shoulders – one felt it. I loved the way both sisters stayed in character, Mona, impatient, frustrated, angry with Samiya for not speaking up earlier, and Samiya, forever supportive, saddened, helpless yet, attempting to speak her heart out finally, minus the rage or blame game.
Yawar and Mona meeting up in different circumstances was such a breath of fresh air. Both seemed relaxed, themselves, and agenda -less which makes for such a heartening start to any relationship, whether it is for love or merely platonic. Pyari Mona is giving us food for thought except that poor Irfan really didn’t need that food-bullying with Babar & mom in attendance. Expected Mona’s dad to step in, which he disappointingly didn’t!
Let’s Move On To Tere Bin
We’ll save the best for last while we dive in straight to Tere Bin (not that we’re saying that’s not the best, dare we?) but, just coz Murtasim’s dialogues are on my mind:
Aurat ko pata hona chahiye ke woh aurat kyun hai…mard ki wajha se. Hmm, and there I see all the men laughing out loud, exchanging a quiet wink, a nod here as the dialogue is met with the same taken aback expression from their wives – just like the one Merub throws at Murtasim. Not going into the after explanation from Murtasim, do you think those winking husbands heard it?
But safe to say, the drama is attempting to do both things – re establish the man as the main ingredient in the house whereas the woman will help support his role. If you want to get crass, it’s like saying aaloos exist because of the gosht in aaloo gosht, or the meat in biryani, the sugar exists in your dhabay ki chai because of the chai and the icing on your cake exists because of the cake but – there would be no aaloo, or cheeni or icing if there was no meat, or chai or cake! Hmmm, he goes on to deconstruct his dialogue and tell her how important she really is, but not before lingering on her beauty.
Tere Bin makers are playing it safe. They want the icing and the cake. On the one hand, Murtasim brandishes a revolver in his hand as he cajoles Merub into being coerced, and on the other, he says … don’t ever leave me. There is a formula for hitting those views, it’s called Wahaj Ali x Yumna Zaidi x content that sells, and, it is selling like hot cakes, icing and all! Is this the present and future of dramas? Or is it just one type of drama in a sea of Kuch Ankahis, Jo Bichar Gayes, Sar e Rahs, Raqeeb Ses and hopefully, more?
Let’s get one thing straight. You the viewer decides. Not the makers. If you watch, they make. But one things I’d like to request to all drama makers; don’t get pressured by the views, so don’t stop making the Raqeeb Sesand Jo Bichar Gayes. While Tere Bin type dramas might appeal to our baser instincts, these stories capture our heart & soul – and that is, in essence, why we must make them. They are not for the masses, but they define what we are capable of achieving if we steer our efforts, far from the madding crowd. There I’ve said it, the die hard idealist, and now I can move on to Kuch Ankahi
Kuch Ankahi & Meri Kuch Baatein!
Kuch Ankahi and why the drama might be dropping views and why I love it.
I loved it. I love the fact that the story is giving us so much food for thought. From Samiya finally listening to Meena and none of her family members (coz Meena has been through the story Samiya might tread) to Agha Jaan and Shakeel and Sophia shenanigans, Kuch Ankahi is attempting to shred our notions of what a Pakistani drama in 2023 should look like.
Admittedly, the Sajal-Bilal Abbas pairing is noticeable because of their absence, and many fans have been irked by the fact that the teasers promised something else. This has, maybe, led to a drop in views from a healthy 8 million first episode to about a 2 to 3 million now. But, experiments take time sometimes. Ensemble casts, gripping narratives, compelling story telling is something we are no longer familiar with as most dramas aim to clock in the views with sensational dialogue and actions (thappars), loud OSTs a super star cast pasted all over the screen and repeated flashbacks – can we, the viewers not get over that?
No. it takes time. Sensational dramas are like an addiction. they are the guilty pleasure of the masses. If you have been brought up on a diet of Mc Donald’s, will you go for your mother’s Daal chawal and achar? Eventhough the Daal chawal and achaar is more wholesome, healthy and some would argue, more flavourful? Oh well, the effort could mean many withdrawal symptoms, weeks and months of eating home-cooked meals till your palate learns to appreciate finer flavours and discard the plastic, mass produced Big Mac and fries (though I feel, no harm in having the fries once in a while, they do taste ahem, bl##@@ good)!
And eventually, when you improve your daal chawal recipe and add aaloo gosht to it too (dunno why that’s on my mind so much today), customers might stop craving for Mc Donalds and prefer to eat at home!
So, Kuch Ankahi, march on .. that is not to say that you shouldn’t improve the recipe, but keep trying, you will help change flavours, eventually, one fan at a time!
Sar e Rah – The Gamechanger Amidst Us?
Sar e Rah you are giving us a bite-sized flavour of what it means to be a woman in our society.
From a childless couple and their challenges to male infertility and then adoption, to nothing is as smooth in a woman’s life when she wants to take a decision – Sar e Rah covered the story without leaving loose ends. Both Sunita Marshall and Saba Qamar gelled in perfect chemistry, the attention to detail from prepping the baby’s milk to seeking the birth mom was well executed. Someone mentioned that Saba doesn’t even seem that she is playing a character, so vocal is she about woman’s rights – oh well, I take that as great casting. Yes she doesn’t appear to be playing a part but isn’t that what we want? So, well done there.
I would like Sar e Rah to depict battles that define both sexes and more. I think that’s about to happen. It will then, throw us universal appeal and reach those who are game changers in this battle of ‘us vs them’ – men vs women – we are, in fact, only successful if we both work together (Murtasim’s dialogues just reused here in a different context) and can create magic. It is not as if the men in our society, especially those men who stand up to support their women do not need a voice, yes they do, and Sar e Rah can be that voice, I hope!
It is interesting to note the subtleties with which the drama played out the husband’s role. He was not black or white, but a subtle shade of grey, yet, couldn’t give in completely to his wife’s wishes. She, educated, seemingly independent yet suffering, not able to voice the truth despite wanting to. The couple just became more real and so much more relatable to so many more viewers because the makers realized the sensitivity of the topic they were pitching to audiences – well done there. Just a tiny reservation, adoption with one parent is normally hard to do, not impossible, but hard. In the drama, it seemed like a piece of cake. Admittedly hard to pull off a full story in one episode, but then, that’s the challenge folks, so take it on and we think you can win here too!
And that’s it folks. More on Yunhi next week as I wait for Dawood and Kim to strike a ‘hot’ deal and perhaps, Meri Shehzadi might figure if Dania’s journey finally takes off. And do tell me in comments if you want to listen in on Mere ban Jao? Adios and happy watching!
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