Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: July 26, 2023 | 
The family scene in Baby Baji
One of the most loyally watched daily soaps ridding the airwaves “Baby Baji”, is nearing its end. Besides boasting of the supremely talented septuagenarian, Samina Ahmed in the titular role and veteran Munawar Saeed making his comeback after a long hiatus, Baby Baji also has many prominent actors putting in remarkable performances as characters, few that viewers love and some that they love to hate. What has contributed much more to the charm of Baby Baji is the fact that its story highlights the average life of almost every middleclass household of Pakistan.
Baby Baji is the heart of the Siddiqui clan, where a self-made father has set up his family and earns a livelihood by establishing a shoes manufacturing and retailing business. Eldest son of the family is Jamal, a role essayed by the film star Saud. Jamal is a genteel soul. Unfortunately, his wife Azra, played by Saud’s real-life spouse Javeria, is his total nemesis. Azra is loud, cunning, comical, greedy, and capable of making a scene at the drop of a hat. The second son, Naseer, played by Hassan Ahmed, is angry and hard-hearted but married to a demure and kind Asma. Hassan’s real life spouse Sunita Marshal plays Asma and completely owns her character. The third son Wasif is played by Junaid Niazi. Wasif gets married after few hiccups to Farhat, played by Tuba Anwar. Farhat is someone who finds it difficult to live in a joint family where everyone is bonded together for better, but mostly for worse. Youngest son of Baby Baji is Waleed, shown to be in late teens, played by Fazal Hussain. Waleed secretly aspires to marry his childhood sweetheart Saman, played by Aina Asif, daughter of a family living in the neighborhood. Thankfully, every actor does justice to their role as the familiar traditional family structure is shown to be crumbling after the demise of their father. Every middle-class Pakistani family felt Baby Baji’s pain as her house, where she hoped to live with her four sons and their extended families, is sold. The business her husband devoted his entire life to is divided, and she is made to live at each son’s house on a rotational arrangement. Directed by Tehseen Khan and produced by Abdullah Seja, Baby Baji has been written by Mansoor Ahmad Khan, who previously has Bubban Khala ki Beetiyan (Daughters of Aunt Babban) to his credit.
(L to R) Saud Qasmi, Hassan Ahmed, Fazal Hussain and Junaid Niazi
According to Tehseen Khan, who previously directed a few serials besides co-directing Ishrat – Made in China for the silver screen, and worked for almost nine months on Baby Baji before it started airing in May 2023. “We knew that this would resonate with viewers but never imagined this kind of following. There are now memes based on each character because viewers are relating with each one of them. While most dramas focus on female characters, the familial challenges that middle-class men face is rarely highlighted. I mean just look at Jamal. He is torn between being a dutiful son and a brother and the negativity of his wife. Similarly, through teenage love between Waleed and Saman, we have shown that youngsters can also be empathetic and reverential towards the older generation. Situations such as holding a milad before a wedding or the whole week centered around Friday, when the head of the family would take children to a mosque for namaz made audiences connect with Baby Baji’s family as their own,” Tehseen says.
Javeria Saud and Tuba Anwar
Hassan Ahmed, who plays one of the few negative characters in the serial, feels the hate Naseer is getting as his success. “In a serial where there are very few negative characters, playing a central antagonist was a lot of burden. Naseer is not inherently evil, but angry because his mother did not let him marry a woman of his own choice. This is a very relatable arc for a lot of viewers. There are many layers to Naseer’s personality. Once I understood that, it was easier for me to internalize his character. People often stop me in real life and say, ‘Naseer Bhai aap Asma kay sath aisa kyon kar rahay ho? (Why are you doing this to Asma?)’ I think Sunita too has portrayed Asma’s character very well. I once immersed myself so much in my character that when I had to push her, I didn’t realize that I did that with such force. Thankfully both of us are professional actors so she understood. After Baby Baji I would like to do something different. May be a comedy role is something I should try,” Hassan declares with a laugh.
Samina Ahmad and Sunita Marshal
Samina Ahmad who plays the role of Baby Baji needs no introduction. With an acting career spanning over five decades, Samina Ahmad credits the vision of the director for the success of Baby Baji. “Every drama is its own challenge. The whole team of Baby Baji gelled so well that the ease made every actor put in their hundred percent. There was a particular scene where I had to slap Naseer. I was reluctant to do that as I am against showing violence on television screen but the way the director explained to me the need for this, and the sensitivity with which the writer handled that situation convinced me. It is rare that we get a chance to portray layered characters. The sequences of innocent romance shown between Baby Baji and her husband were also very endearing, and I am glad that our television channels are offering more nuanced roles for actors of all ages,” she said over a phone call to this scribe. We hope that drama and filmmakers come up with more characters essayed by the likes of Shabana Azmi and Meryl Streep, because our seasoned actors such as Samina Ahmed are no less in their craft and skills.
Samina Ahmad and Munawar Saeed in Baby Baji
Speaking about his script, writer Mansoor Ahmed Khan shared, “I grew up in a middleclass neighborhood of Karachi and all these characters were around me. The realism of Baby Baji has reminded viewers of the Pakistan Television dramas of 20 years ago. I started by writing these characters and after a few episodes each character started driving his or her own journey. Took me almost one and a half year to complete this script. This is one of the few dramas in current times where full script was ready before shoot began. Usually, popularity of a certain character leads to writers giving that character more screen time. In my view that skews the arc of the overarching story. We pushed our boundaries by showing men crying due to their failings. We depicted love and bonding between brothers which is rarely talked about. Some people objected to depiction of teenage romance. Actually, they felt uneasy because the actors playing these characters were child actors till recent past. They have grown up now and their characters are very positive. We also showed how arranged marriages are still a reality in our society and eventually lead to a bond of love between the spouses.” Mansoor counts Fatima Surraiya Bajiya and Haseena Moeen as his inspirations. In recent times he considers Zanjabeel Asim and Faseeh Bari Khan as his mentors. “While writing Baby Baji, I really enjoyed the process of creating a large spectrum of characters. I am glad that this script was able to capture the conflicts, contradictions, and a sense of loss prevalent around us as the old social order is coming to an end making way for nuclear families,” he says.
Fazal Hussain and Aina Asif
Baby Baji can be seen on ARY Digital every evening at 7:00 pm.
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