Heart throb
Heart throb
t2 IS HOOKED TO ZINDAGI GULZAR HAI. HERE’S WHAT MAKES THE PAKISTANI TV SERIES A MUST-WATCH
Over the last 10 days, at 11pm every night, I have a date with Zaroon and Kashaf. Through my TV.
Will sparks fly between Kashaf and Zaroon? Will the two realise that beneath the friction and fights, there exists a strong underlying attraction? Will they bury their differences and get together for what promises to be a tempestuous yet touching love story?
Yes, I am hooked to
Zindagi Gulzar Hai, the flagship show on Zee Zindagi, the new channel on the block that just airs Pakistani content .
Alpha Bravo Charlie to
Kankar, for years I have heard friends and family talk about how engaging Pakistani serials are. When it played on television sets in Pakistan in 2012, many YouTube links of
Zindagi Gulzar Hai made its way to my Facebook and Twitter feed. Then a week ago, I reached for my remote to catch the first episode on Zee Zindagi, just to see what the fuss was about. I haven’t missed a single episode since.
Here’s why
Zindagi Gulzar Hai scores bigger than what is playing on our screens right now…
THE PLOT: Pride and Prejudice-meets-Mills & Boon
From its very first frame,
Zindagi Gulzar Hai plays out from the point of view of Kashaf Murtaza, an independent and headstrong young woman from a lower-middle-class background, whose family — comprising her mother and two younger sisters — has been abandoned by her father because he wanted a son. Kashaf helplessly watches her mother scrape together a living as the principal of a government school, with the Murtazas hardly able to afford the bare necessities of life. As a result, Kashaf finds herself questioning the existence of God and growing increasingly resentful of the privileged. In tone and temperament, Kashaf is very much a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet, the most mature voice within the family and its decision-maker. When she gets admitted into one of the country’s top universities, Kashaf looks at it as a stepping stone to a better life for her and her family.
At university, she meets her Darcy: Zaroon Junaid, the most popular guy on campus, whose good looks and charming personality act as an instant girl magnet. For Kashaf, Zaroon is a privileged brat who hasn’t had to struggle a day. Zaroon, a topper in school and college till Kashaf comes in, can’t tolerate her habit of calling a spade a spade, his ego hurt by the fact that she doesn’t really warm up to him. The resentment between the two is manifested through heated debates in the classroom, where Kashaf openly taunts Zaroon’s privileged upbringing. But even as they argue, they look out for each other — library to canteen, Zaroon’s eyes search for Kashaf; even as she pores over her class notes in the college lawns, Kashaf steals glances at Zaroon playing his guitar and serenading his many female fans.
But, the two, seeming so different, are bound together by a fractured personal life: Kashaf and her family are forced to abandon their ancestral home after she refuses to marry her cousin; Zaroon’s socialite mother is too busy with her numerous parties to really pay attention to her family. And then there is Zaroon’s classmate Asmara who he’s been dating for years, but isn’t sure if she’s the one for him. The twist in the tale this week? Zaroon has got engaged to Ashmara under family pressure, but on one condition: he won’t get married in the next two years.
Though the plot is regular and the twists pedestrian,
Zindagi Gulzar Hai works because everyone loves a love story. You enjoy the constant fights between Zaroon and Kashaf and yet root for the two to come together. Plus, the socio-economic background of a Pakistani family and the culture of a country not very different from ours makes for interesting viewing.
THE PLAYERS: Flawed yet endearing
Zaroon (played by Fawad Afzal Khan) is the reason for
Zindagi Gulzar Hai’s ever-swelling female viewership. Handsome and with an arresting screen presence, Fawad makes Zaroon a curious and irresistible combination of the modern young Pakistani with a global world view, who, however, is often myopic enough to demand that his girl dress “according to tradition” and that she not attend late-night parties. When he meets his match in Kashaf, Zaroon finds many of his chauvinistic thoughts crumbling, a fact that makes him uncomfortable. And fret not girls: Fawad, who we first saw in the breakthrough Pakistani film
Khuda Kay Liye and is currently Pakistan’s highest-paid actor, will remain with us even beyond the show — the looker with the killer smile stars opposite Sonam Kapoor in the remake of
Khoobsurat and has just signed a Yash Raj film.
Acting as the perfect foil to Fawad’s Zaroon is Sanam Saeed who plays Kashaf. Looking like a younger version of Hina Rabbani Khar, Sanam brings Kashaf alive: the emancipated and educated young Pakistani, who, however, has to contend with the prejudices that still plague the society she lives in: chauvinism to discrimination against women. Kashaf is real enough to be flawed: more often than not, she exasperates the viewer with her cold and unreasonable behaviour towards Zaroon.
The side players, each well cast, contribute to making
Zindagi Gulzar Hai an interesting watch, the most impactful being Mehreen Raheel as Asmara and Javed Shaikh — who played Shah Rukh Khan’s dad in
Om Shanti Om — as Zaroon’s liberal dad Junaid.
What works best about
Zindagi Gulzar Hai: It airs everyday, Monday to Sunday. Also, just 26 episodes at its disposal means that every episode packs in enough drama, action and romance to make you look forward to the next day.
Case in point: at last count,
Balika Vadhu was touching 1,700 episodes!
Aunn Zara
A marital drama with a difference, Aunn Zara is about Aunn and Zara, a couple poles apart but looking to find a common meeting ground in their marriage — mostly with hilarious results. Osman Khalid Butt, who plays Aunn, is quite a hottie!
Kitni Girhain Baqi Hain
A series of 90-minute films, most of which are love stories, Kitni Girhain Baqi Hain deals with the trials and tribulations that accompany romance and touches upon serious issues like honour killing.
‘Brilliant’ Pakistani serials gaining popularity in Kashmir | Kashmir Reader
‘Brilliant’ Pakistani serials gaining popularity in Kashmir
Iqbal Kirmani
SRINAGAR: Even though there is barrage of Indian soap operas aired on satellite channels, Pakistani serials are once again gaining popularity among Kashmiris particularly youngsters
The enthusiasm among youth has got a new boost after Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel), the Indian TV giant, began to showcase Pakistani dramas on its channel Zindagi TV from June 23.
These Pakistani dramas have generated huge response. For instance, the Facebook fan page of one of the serials ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’ asked how many Indians fans are watching the show. In minutes it generated a huge response of 71,763 ‘likes’ from the Indian fans.
‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’ is aired Monday to Sunday at 8 pm; ‘Aunn Zara’ from Monday to Sunday at 8:55 pm, and ‘Kitne Girhain Baaki Hain’ from Monday to Sunday at 10:15 pm.
And there are still many Pakistani serials which the channel will be soon airing, including some of the highest rated shows like ‘Humsafar’ (23 episodes), ‘Kahi An Kahi’ (23 episodes), ‘Meeray Qatil Meray Dildar’ (26 episodes), ‘Ishq Junoon Dewangi’ (21 episodes), and ‘Ishq Gumshuda’ (21 episodes).
Meanwhile, many Kashmiri youngsters have the copies of these serials in their laptops and pen drives and pass it on to their mates.
The youngsters who watch the Pakistani serials not only praise the story but also say that the content is such that it leaves an impact on the audience. “If you watch ‘Daastan’, for example, one is able to understand the historical process that created Pakistan and how it impacted lives of many,” said Sadaf Khursheed, a mass media student.
Sadaf said she cried when Bano (a character in ‘Daastan’) escapes successfully from the clutches of “Sikh rapist to Pakistan and kisses the ground.”
Experts say that Pakistani television serials enjoy a reputation for being classier than the Indian dramas.
“They give a dream to live in,” says Tarique Bhat, a filmmaker who heads ‘Associated Media’, a production house in Srinagar.
“Unless a drama drags its viewer into a fantasy world where he or she connects himself or herself with the character, it cannot succeed, and the Pakistani dramas on Hum TV or ARY have that effect of hooking up its viewers. Their class is international,” Tarique said. “As a filmmaker I know that if audience identifies itself with the character it means job is done. And Pakistani dramas have no match in this regard.”
While Tarique was talking to Kashmir Reader, he asked his daughter, a 7th grader why she was fond of Pakistani serials. “They (characters) do not die and their actors do not keep resurrecting like the Indian actors,” pat came the reply.
Arshad Mushtaq, a theatre playwright and filmmaker, seconds Tarique. “Pakistani serials are brilliant. In their plot, story, direction and acting Indian dramas can’t even be compared.”
According to Arshad, Pakistani serials are made by professionals who depict the society they live in, and owing to literary base they touch the peoples’ issues.
“Pakistani dramas are driven by idea and have a strong literary base, while as Indian dramas are merely TRP exercises. Indian serials lack quality writers and Pakistan has built up a strong base in this area,” he said.
There are also people who say that it is cultural affinity between Pakistan and Kashmir that hooks Kashmiris to Pakistani serials.
“One is able to identify himself with the story or characters in these dramas as they share same social structure we belong to, thus making them more acceptable to us than Indian dramas,” said Shehzaad Ahmad, a bank employee.
“I have watched dramas from both the countries, but what makes me more enthusiastic about Pakistani ones is that they share our language and religion. Besides, we have emotional attachment with Pakistanis,” said Saqib-ul-Hasan an engineering graduate.
