The Week In Dramas – Tere Bin Goes Viral, But For All The Right Or Wrong Reasons?

If the week was a rollercoaster of drama emotion then there would be dips of tragic lows and smiling highs – Tere Bin, Pinjra, Kuch Ankahi & Mujhe Pyaar hua Tha, take A Bow!

Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha & Pinjra would make you weep and Kuch Ankahi force a smile from your lips even as you contemplate that wretched slap across Merub’s bewildered face in Tere Bin- Why? you ask (I do too) would you defend it btw?

So onward with the Drama talk as the show must go on!

First Up Is Pinjra!

Do you think Javed has a way out? Or will his story end in a suicide mission? Yeah, I’m talking straight today because the writer has left us no choice (and Javed either) other than wishing that he would either do a 180 degrees transformation or exit. His final stance where he asks Abaan to toughen up and blames Khadija for her (mis) upbringing was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many viewers.

Abaan’s misery knows no end and Khadija’s inability to take control reflects the challenges of being a woman in a relationship where she’s never ever called the shots! But what seems to be a gaping hole in the narrative is the lack of social media hype that normally accompanies cases such as Abaan’s. From pressurizing the school to conduct a drug test to granting bail for a minor – my request to Khadija would be to take control and mobilize social media with the help of Dua and Azaan, but can she, will she be able to do that or is that a story that spy thrillers are made of?

In any case, Pinjra is a pulling at every cell in my nerves, calling out to parents of teens to just talk – talk to your children, not at them and redesign the way you bring them up, its far cry from how you were brought up. End of discussion!

Since it’s been a very Wahaj Ali week, let’s move on to the drama that went viral, for all the right (or wrong) reasons?

Tere Bin has 13 Million views On YouTube, But I’m Still feeling For Saad!

Aha! Drama fans are divided on Murtasim vs Saad, literally. We ran a poll and they’re neck to neck with 50% on both Wahaj Ali characters! Really? I said to myself, because I’m just all for Saad – the silent majority as usual! Anyway, here’s the poll if you want yourself heard, do it now before it time’s up!

But I digress from Tere Bin and our beloved Merub and Saad. They are hitting it out of the park with their viral love gaze that’s not really a love gaze yet (but Murtasim is getting there) as they decide to stopover at the mazaar for a conversation with the Almighty! That was a scene that took us by surprise, it had all the right feels and pauses, long, dramatic OST feels and the hope that these two will eventually discover each other’s souls, but what took it away for me was; 1. The prolonged scene where merub is hammering at the door and her parents, turned cold hearted for Goodness knows what reason, refused to open, too much drama for me, but apparently the 13 million above loved it. 2.The notorious thappar in the previous episode and Merub’s cold stone reaction after. I mean, why would you even talk to a person who slapped you a moment earlier? Your reaction normalized the action, and Murtasim, your dialogues that you had never physically abused a woman before did nothing (for me) to redeem your unfitting fit of rage – I mean, why? What was the need?

And oh, one thing I can’t keep to myself – why do we have to show strong minded, headstrong women in Pakistani dramas as wayward, rude, out of control heroines who need to be set straight and their spirit reined in? I mean, why can’t a woman be outspoken yet restrained, independent minded, yet courteous?

Is this so you can justify slapping her? And is it even justified at any point, regardless of how misbehaved she is, or anyone is? Next, you’ll tell me it was okay to kill off Qandeel Baloch, so let’s not go there, shall we? The question was purely hypothetical, don’t need answers, thank you very much!

Is this a paradox in Pakistani drama makers minds? Do we have to show Neha in Hum Tum, Miraal and Sabaat and the list goes on, as women who must misbehave in order to make themselves be heard? I mean, we had more Shanaya’s from Ishq e laa and Anaya’s from Sabaat to move forward o the strong female heroine narrative right?

And that out of my system, let’s move on to Kuch Ankahi!

Kuch Ankahi has 3 Million Views On YouTube But Needs 13 Million!

Kuch Ankahi is a breath of fresh air – simple, refreshing, tastefully done, this story has nothing sensational about it and it will, perhaps, embrace the hearts of those who see the finer details in love, life and relationships. I wish the drama gets more people watching because it is an experience in content that is not attempting to trap you into watching, the OST is divine and the messages ring true, relatable and ever so poignant.

For me it was the realization that one can never regard a daughter as an old age reassurance in life, although she is the one who is there for you through thick and thin. Aliya in particular is prepared to move heaven and earth to save her dad from the curse of the greedy relatives but he, in his simple societal conditioning, looks towards an invisible son as the person who could have saved him. And he does it without any rancour or ill will towards his daughters, it’s just that, that’s what he’s been taught to believe and he lives that belief. staunchly

Salman and Aliya’s face offs are entertaining, fun and keep the humor alive in between sharp messages ranging from the pressure on Samiya to tie the knot and Saif’s questionable loyalty has been dealt with in serious-comic undertones to make it digestible without being too didactic!

It would not be wrong to say that Kuch Ankahi is a drama that pulls at our finer sensibility’s vs the loud, in your face messaging we see in many others. for that alone, it must take the fall in fewer views, but we sincerely hope it will pick up, because, why watch toxic heroes threatening to marry a girl against her wishes, and then forcing her to fall in love with him (which she does, 9 out of 10 times) is a wretched formula for wretched souls – there I’ve said it and now judge me all you want! But two thumbs up for Kuch Ankahi, if you’re watching, your life is the richer for it!

Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha Throws Life Lessons Drowned In A Bucketful Of Tears!

If you want to know about what I think on last night’s episode, then click here. else, safe to say that Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha is teaching our youth that love does nit have to be returned no matter how deep, intense or crushing it feels for you. Saad just nailed every scene in last night’s episode and that’s because he showed us too that we cannot blame Maheer for what she doesn’t feel. Are we too, like our love lost audiences, ready to force a girl to fall in love? How are we any better than the toxic heroes who say – aik din, tum mujhse pyaar karogi!

Yes we see Saad the way Maheer doesn’t see him, and open your eyes young girls, there must be at least one Saad in your life that you failed to notice (and grant him the love of his life). So for all those rooting for Saad to get his girl, try turning that into your own love story first, and tell me, can you make Cupid strike you even if you’re not ready for it or rather, for him? But Cupid has definitely struck Maheer, the arrow has deflected towards Areeb though and now that she is head-over-heels in love with the person SHE wants to be in love with, not whom WE want her to be in love with, we want to force her hand. Patience dear folks, Saad might never get his Maheer, but that is something all Saads have to deal with, it’s a life lesson that you don’t always get the girl or guy – a lesson in a selfless kinda love, heartbreak and more, from which many soulful songs were written and hummed by us all btw, so have a heart, Maheer needs to have her day too. Though it remains to be seen if her longing for Areeb is, ahem, an exercise in hormonal disbalance, a sudden crush or ,.. something more?

All said and done, Saad’s tears are being shed at the cost of millions of shattered hearts across the nation – who helplessly and desperately want him to have his Maheer, and no amount of me adding a dose of boring logic to the narrative will mend any of those hearts!

So all the best to the damsels in distress – hopefully, all will be well, but not anytime soon! Till then, adios and tell me if I missed out a drama you wish had made it to The Week In Dramas! Happy watching!

Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha – The Episode That Redefined Unrequited Love For The Nation (We Hope)