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Monday, April 2, 2012

The ‘Actual’ Humsafar, We Missed


By: Muhammad Saqib Tanveer
I am not a TV serial guy. I don’t watch TV soaps or series until they are Prison Breaks, Entourages or White Collars and that too recommended by friends. I and many of my friends take the Pakistani and Indian dramas as girly habits. However, Dhuwan & ABC etc are the dramas that are in the league of their own. And since that vintage time, we have never been able to replicate those serials.
I explained earlier that I am not a serial guy but on top of that, I don’t write or review TV or cinema for a whole host of reasons. Obviously I won’t budge on them here. So, why am I writing about Humsafar?
Frankly, I never followed Humsafar. When my friends used to discuss Humsafar, I felt pity for them that they are wasting their time on these girly kind of dramas. My first real surprise about that drama came when I read the blogs and news stories discussing the drama. That incited, in fact triggered the curiosity inside me to find out about all the fuss.
Luckily, one day a friend of mine brought all the episodes of the drama, except the last one, downloaded from youtube and offered me. Being free from office, I took the episodes in my flash drive and went home. I remember that at that point in time, the last episode was about to be broadcasted in a couple of days.
That night, after doing all the necessary stuff on internet i.e. news, blogs, facebook, twitter and howzat, I turned towards my flash drive and started watching the drama. I didn’t sleep all night. The next night, I didn’t do the basic internet stuff and jumped straight towards the drama and finished the drama in just two nights. Just in time to watch the last episode with all other my fellows.
I was engulfed in the Humsafar hysteria.
I think, the majority of people have some common likings in the drama that glued them to their TV screens. I also followed the blogs about the drama and the consensus was over the way they acted, the chemistry between Ashar and Khirad, how the drama ended bla bla bla.
The reason why I loved that drama is much more different than others and unfortunately many people have missed those dimensions. For me, Humsafar has proved to be a great addition to our society. A society where there were typical dramas, Humsafar has provided a breath of fresh air. Besides being original and tempting, it disclosed and expounded on certain aspects of our society, which I will try to breakdown here.
First of all, I have to admit that Sarmad Sultan Khoosat evolved from Cheeko (The Shashlick Guy) to a full-fledged man. The way he directed the drama was fabulous, to say the least. I would give kudos to him over the way he presented romance. In an age, where romance is all about cuddling and hugging, he taught others how to keep the essence of romance intact and portraying the feelings without crossing the boundaries.
While the whole of Pakistan was enjoying the chemistry of Khisher (as Ashar and Khirad are pronounced on youtube), we missed the delicacy and gracefulness of the institution of marriage. Our contemporary dramas show the concept of first getting acquainted with your fiancée and then marriage, but the writer depicted the point that love can be harnessed without even texting and knowing your wife-to-be. One of my very close acquaintance has stopped texting his fiancée, just because he wants to enjoy the marital life more than the life before marriage, as the life after marriage matters more.
Being a 23 year old, I know how much of a nuisance I am for my father. Humsafar, literally, makes one think twice about his behavior with parents. Most of our modern dramas show that parents and their kids are not on the same page and paint a picture of disobedience by the kids. The way the character of Ashar was written, was not less than classic. Ashar always painted a picture of obedience and love towards his father. He was a portrait of obedience and even in the climax, he doesn’t leave her mother, after all she has done to him. I think the youth, including me, has a lot to learn from this, a lot.
For me, this drama can have huge positive impacts on our classic societal standards that are almost diminishing. Obedience towards parents, sanctity and gracefulness of institution of marriage and family bondage are the things that we actually missed from Humsafar. My advice to anyone, who is ready to take, is to deduce these points first and foremost.
I know I am going to get a beating for writing on Humsafar from a lot of my close friends but I really felt the need to point out those points.

2 comments:

saifkhan said...

Good analysis :)
Saif Khan

Zeeshan Riaz said...

You depicted society truly but i can't say about drama coz i havn't seen.
Zeeshan Riaz