When the TV channel showed “Zindagi Gulzar Hai” it was a treat! So many Pakistani serials to choose from! The script, actors, costumes everything just to my liking. I had seen only one years ago with the video cassettes to be rented. It was sometime in the 90s. So just switching on the TV & having a treasure was beyond my imagination!
With Fawad Khan’s ” Humsafar” I watched ‘Zindagi…’ & fell in love with Kashaf. From her unusual name I liked everything about her. Watching it again I felt the same satisfaction of watching a good show. The dialogues are very well written & the feelings get across effortlessly!
The effort of the mother taking care of three grown daughters & also fending of her friends who talk about her husband & the second wife. The rich boy-poor girl story has many facets. Without pointing out the faults it moves to correct them. The high society looking down on those who have to do everything by themselves, the small luxuries they come to take for granted, the morals that they leave behind trying to show that they are different or more liberal.
It is also about having your way, the right way & assertion in marriage that not everyone is at a liberty to do so or unaware of. Some things that change with education & being fruitfully employed! Without being preachy it handles many issues with ease. The condition of women is the same all over the world. They need to be alert & aware at all times. They have it in them but forget about it. Only adverse situation brings it to the fore.
I would say like Hanuman they need a nudge here & there. To remember that they are powerful & can do anything once they set their mind to it! Not inspirational but simple stories like these remind of not taking anything for granted. We need to strive to make our own space.It is there for grabs!
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