Written by: Dr. Saba Noor
Posted on: September 20, 2022 | 
| 中文
Danish Taimoor as spoiled rich-brat Shamsher and Durr-e-Fishan Saleem as Mehak in Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi
The obsession of Pakistanis for Pakistani dramas is increasing day by day. Be it a home, a dormitory, a shop or any place, the characters of virtually all dramas are known to almost all individuals. Despite the hype and trending of Pakistani dramas both inside and outside the country, there is an increasing decline in the storyline of Pakistani dramas. Media plays a vital role in the elaboration of culture and shapes people’s thinking. It has both good and bad effects on the society, in the molding of mindset of the youth and in shaping of public perceptions. Hence, media can play a vital role, bringing radical changes in society which can be positive or also be a force for reinforcing negativity.
The fictitious content and illusions manifested in most of the dramas can drag the viewers far away from reality. The increasing display of male leads as arrogant, ruthless, spoilt characters; whereas, the female leads being innocent, beautiful, shy and calm who has to tolerate the cruelty and has to be meekly acquiescent for her to be a good female lead. Take an example of Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi, the Danish Taimoor starrer drama, which is raking highest ratings on TV, where the protagonist Shamsher, played by Danish, forces the girl and her family to marry him. And when he gets her, he miraculously transforms himself. The control freak male lead having a number of girlfriends, partying and hanging out with friends in clubs ends up marrying a shy, poor girl who would spend her life loving her husband unconditionally. The girl, however, stays quiet and ends up loving her abusive husband who devastated a number of lives just to fulfill his demand of marrying that girl. Is there any point in normalizing, and for some reason, romanticising such male chauvinism?
Danish Taimoor as Shamsher in Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi
Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi comprised of around 30 episodes, and in all those episodes, the male lead has been brutal, aggressive, involved in illicit relationships, but in the last episode, he finally comes on the right path, becomes a ‘good man’ and the family lives happily ever after. Inspired by such dramas, young boys emulate aggressive so-called heroes, proudly talk about their relationships, waste time on parties, become controlling and dream of marrying a pious woman who would stay silent and obsequious to him for the rest of her life. Moreover, young girls have internalized these scripts and accepted male hegemony as some sort of fait accompli. And if this trend continues, the day is not far away when our young girls would give up their ambitions and would fall for such angry young men.
Women are shown as docile and obedient in Meray Hamnasheen, barring the female lead
In the idea of portraying a female lead as a good daughter, wife, mother or daughter-in-law: the male lead is presented as the exact opposite. It’s high time to abolish lopsided scripts and realize that both male and female characters have to be homemakers.
Ahsan Khan as a spoiled man in Meray Hamnasheen
On the other hand, the ‘family politics’, which is the hot talk of every other drama, is making the public confused. There’s the excessive portrayal, indeed, a caricature of the typically ‘wicked’ mother-in-law, wily sister-in-law and the trickster daughter-in-law, which makes a mockery of the notion of a joint family system. Is it really mandatory for all the dramas to show the dark side of a joint family system? To some extent, the villain in the character of sister, sister-in-law ruining their sister or brother’s married life and male leads having extramarital affairs with such female leads is not only presenting a bad image of men, but also of women in society. Dushman, Meray Hamnasheen, Wehem and Habs are a few of many such dramas toeing this line. These might leave a very negative impact and undermine the values of our family system. Even the dark side of society can be portrayed by keeping our ethical and cultural norms in mind.
Women are mostly involved in family politics in Wehem
The old golden era of Pakistani film industry (1940s and early 1950s), despite limited available resources, had great stories and extraordinarily impressive depiction of society. Dramas in the subsequent decades, from the 1950s to the early 2000s, such as Khuda ki Basti, Alif Noon, Waris, Parchaiyan, Dhoop Kinaray and Alpha Bravo Charlie, amongst others, were super hits. These dramas were not only superhits and had memorable performances, their scripts were revolutionary and transformative.
Abid Ali, Mehboob Alam and Firdous Jamal in Waris
The portrayal of male and female in contemporary dramas is fixed and conventional. The female lead is projected as calm, pious, beautiful, soft and sweet, whereas the male lead is portrayed as rich, tall, handsome, short tempered like a ‘rich brat’, graduated from abroad who finally falls for a helpless, beautiful and oppressed girl. This hardly happens in real life, but such dramas leave our youth with high expectations and when their expectations hurt, it creates significant hurdles for young men and women to adjust with their actual life partners.
Media being the mirror of the society can provide a good guide to men and women about everyday life problems and can proffer help in tackling the hard situations. Dramas influence the viewers in many aspects as the impacts of dramas are present in homes, workplaces, educational institutions and everywhere. Beliefs, customs, language, social conduct, lifestyle and even thoughts of individuals are highly influenced by the drama industry.
Feroz Khan and Sana Javed as a happy couple in Aye Musht-e-Khaak after narcissist Feroz transforms
Instead of the negativity and male dominance being depicted, if the theme and content of Pakistani dramas revolve around reality, ambitious youngsters, faithful family system, responsible men, and lesson of patience for both men and women, it would feed the youth with better mindset. Also, humorous yet realistic depiction of joint family system can cause a state of contentment and assurance among viewers.
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