Zard Patton Ka Bunn: Sawaal Karnay Kay Bajae Dua Karo
In a country where the infant mortality rate is 56. 888 infant deaths per 1000 live births (one of the highest in the world), and about 154 women lose their lives for every 100,000 live births, Pakistanis needs to look more at what they can do to save lives. Zard Patton Ka Bunn aims to focus on the human element of a tragedy that can be easily avoided in the year 2024 – when lives that can be saved, are lost, merely because of lack of awareness, knowledge or education. But despite these glaring statistics, how the drama creators can make the narrative gripping enough to get traction from a population of over 235 million (over half of these men), is going to be an intriguing task indeed. The makers have done it before, and we have no doubt they can do it again, but how they do it this time, is the question on everyone’s mind!
Zard Patton Ka Bunn features the talented Sajal Aly and Hamza Sohail in lead roles. The drama, a collaboration of Kashf Foundation and Momina Duraid Productions, soon to be aired on HUM TV, aims to navigate the trials and multi-pronged challenges faced by a rural society where women experience multiple child births, often in areas where trained medical help is not at hand. One has only to remember the recent flood hit areas of Pakistan and the plight of pregnant women at the time to recall the trauma and utter devastation that the population endured in the times.
Population Growth In the World Of Pakistani Dramas
But how will a Pakistani drama audience choose to focus on a narrative that addresses population growth and childbirth in an age where stories like Ishq Murshid, Tere Bin and Rah e Junoon earn viral views?
Oh well, drama makers know best it appears and it is reassuring to know that Zard Patton Ka Bunn seems to have done its homework because, well, not only is the team helmed by celebrated director Saife Hassan and writer Mustafa Afridi (whose Sang e Mah and Ehd e Wafa days still ring glorious memories), but also carries the star power of Sajal Aly and Hamza Sohail – the nation’s sweethearts!
While many Pakistani dramas might take a lighter approach to tell a message-driven story, with a slice of poignant moments and conversations to layer the narrative – case in point, Kuch Ankahi, the drama teasers for Zard Patton Ka Bunn seem fairly intense.
Latest Promo Reveals
The latest drama promo tackles the issue of unchecked population growth in three relatable flashpoints: Our religious and cultural conditioning, lack of medical and healthcare facilities and social awareness.
Sajal Aly’s character hails from a village where maternal health is a challenge and rapid population growth with families birthing many children within a household, seems to be a norm. The fight is real as she asks the local maulvi sahab a million dollar question:
“Zyada bache paida karne ka zimmedar mard hain ya aurat,” and the response she gets: “Sawaal karnay kay bajae dua karo…“
She subsequently responds: “Yehi tou humaara masla hai maulvi jee, keh hum sawaal karne se rokte hain…“
The villagers welcome a new doctor in the area, hoping to change their fate, such is the divide between the haves and the have nots that precious lives can be saved if only proper medical assistance is available … and lost, if not.
The frame transitions to a group of village men playing Ludo, a scene familiar to the locals, but it was in the juxtaposition of the scenes before and after, the scenes of local unrest and a village funeral, that depicted normal life alongside everyday tragedy – the realities that make up our world, that we might even have brushed past as viewers – so normalized are the everyday high and low moments amidst us, that we just take them in our stride.
A Challenging Narrative
While audiences await Zard Patton Ka Bunn with bated breath and anticipation riding high on the hopes that the story will give us moments of cute romance with an onscreen pairing that should hit it it out of the park, the heart is apprehensive – how will the drama make us feel deeply for ordinary people facing situations many Pakistanis live through daily.
The question that confounds many drama makers (and audiences): Does television offer an outlet from the everyday realities we are forced to live with, or do we have to watch the misery play out on prime time TV too?
This is the challenge that modern day creators face when they put out a message-driven drama such as Zard Patton Ka Bunn in an online entertainment arena bursting at the seams with competitive, mind-boggling, TikTok streaming content – attention spans shift in a matter of seconds and instant laughter or sensationalism is what wins the views. Can we strike a chord, a hope, an emotion that speaks out to the millions who are just fine playing Ludo in the neighborhood while their women fight for their lives and the lives of their unborn child in a world where they are often not the decider of their fates?
Reaching A Hugely Male Population
There are over a 100 million men in Pakistan. Can Zard Patton Ka Bunn reach even a percentage of this population and change the narrative for the 100 million women who live alongside them? That, dear folks, is the million dollar question. Ask a doctor, a politician, a maulvi sahab, or ask your local villager, they might all have a different answer.
But ask a mother, and she will be surprised that you even bothered to ask her – changing the narrative is often, not in her hands. Or is it? The drama might just show us the way!
But ask the average Pakistani drama viewer, if he or she is willing to watch the story unravel on Sunday May 12th. One that is not based on extra marital affairs, saas-bahu shenanigans, a love triangle or even, a second marriage? (or is it?). We hope the story garners views in a fast changing drama landscape. Because Sajal and Hamza plan to weave a gripping tale, and one that will hopefully drive change, in baby steps, one drama at a time. Hopes for the project also ride high as audiences expect no less from the makers of Udaari, Aakhri Station, Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi, Kuch Ankahi and more – Kashf Foundation has made quite the dent in its past narratives and we expect this one to be no different.
Zard Patton Ka Bunn is penned and directed by the talented duo of Mustafa Afridi & Saife Hasan. The project is produced under Momina Duraid Production & Kashf Foundation. The cast includes Sajal Ali, Hamza Sohail, Rehan Sheikh, Samiya Mumtaz, Ali Tahir, Adnan Shah Tipu, Saad Azhar, Syed Tanveer Hussain, Chaudhary Muhammad Usman, Mubashir Mehmood, Adeel Afzal, Najma Bibi, Zaryab Haider & others.
The drama will air every Sunday at 8pm on HUM TV
