So the first thought that crossed my mind while watching this beautifully portrayed story was ‘Where have these days gone?’ No, Seriously. Watching such crappy serials every now and then has seriously affected my taste buds that now I can’t even stand such serials with the credit and appreciation they actually deserve. Patriotism, thrill, humor, romance, jealousy and sense of achievement all are packed in one and we all are left in awe. Those who have watched this can’t disagree that this drama is the ‘perfection personified’ in terms of everything. Shoaib Mansoor really roved himself as the best director of this time by extracting nothing but best from the cast who had no previous experience of acting. Who can say that it was their first play? For those who haven’t watched this play yet, here is the story:
Story:
As the name indicates, the drama is based on the life and times of three characters — Faraz, Kashif, and Gulsher also known as Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie respectively — and their friendship. These passionate young men wish to start their careers in the Pakistan army. In the initial episodes, ample footage is used to detail the background of every individual and the circumstances under which they enroll for the armed forces. Faraz is Mr Perfect, the guy who does everything right while Gulsher is a polite, simple-minded, shy person. Kashif is originally the funny man responsible for providing most of the comic relief through his antics, pranks and mischief. Eventually the series morphs into a coming-of-age story where the lead characters realize that there is more to life than their present happy-go-lucky lifestyle as they experience reality in all its fragility and extremities — jealousy, heartbreaks, trauma and death. Another important character is Shahnaaz, a confident, educated and well-mannered young lady, who plays an important role in the lives of these friends. Her involvement with them in the role of friend, wife and confidante adds reality to the series that is poignant and touching on a personal level. The main theme of the drama is that every person should lead a purposeful existence and that, if one has the will and the passion, he can achieve anything.
There are certain aspects of this drama which make it stand out in the crowd and here are those:
Patriotism:
So how many times we have seen such dramas in which the story revolves around the sense of devotion towards country? All we have seen are misunderstandings, extra marital affairs, second marriages, love triangles, women running after their cousins who show zero interest in them. For God’s sake there is something beyond this crap. The beauty of ABC is the central point of the story which has everything to do with leading a ‘Purposeful’ life. The word sounds odd because the dramas running now a days show the marriage and affairs as the sole purpose of human life. The leads Kashif, Faraz, Gulsher and Shahnaz made devotion their first priority. Do we have dramas like these anymore where people are selfless and all they think about are the ways in which they can utilize their abilities in the best way for the prosperity of their country?
Humor:
Honestly speaking there was a constant smile on my face while watching it excluding some emotional scenes in which I couldn’t hold back my tears. The naughty and witty character of Kashif constantly makes you look forward to his scenes. Abdullah Mahmood has breathed life into his character. How many times we have seen humor in our dramas that also keep the integrity intact? Even some serious situations brought a smile on my face and I couldn’t resist that. The style all the army officers carry and their sarcastic remarks on every situation and lack of emotions on their faces while delivering the dialogues was beautifully portrayed. Kashif won the game for me when it comes to humor and pranks, such a full of life person he was. All credit goes to the whole crew of ABC. They did their complete homework before touching such a topic that demands nothing but ‘perfection’ and ‘reality’.
A ‘Sensible’ love triangle:
I have laid stress on sensible. Yes, it was a decent and sensible love triangle. When Faraz found out that Shehnaaz was not interested in him but in Gulsher, he went through an emotional breakdown but soon he realized that he was getting jealous of his own friend and jealousy is actually self destruction. He became the cause of their union and look at Gulsher, he knew that his friend was interested in Shehnaaz so he explained it to Faraz that he couldn’t even think of the girl his friend was interested in. That is what they were taught in Army. Bravo Man! This track was given the minimum coverage. If that happens in recent dramas be ready for World War 3. And they will stretch the whole story to 30 episodes leaving the audience scratching their head thinking that who will be the luckiest person on the face of this planet who will end up with the girl.
Sorry! No Misunderstandings:
Even after Gulsher and Shehnaaz tied the knot, Faraz used to visit them and what surprised me the most was not for a second Gulsher doubted his intentions or thought something cheap about the scenario. Imagine if it happens in current days, get ready to hear those three magical words: Talaaq, Talaaq, Talaaq. Our writers have left no stone unturned in making this word nothing but a joke! Even Shehnaaz used to write letters to Kashif along with Gulsher when they both were on their mission and Sorry! Again no misunderstandings. Such things seem alien to me after watching the current crap on-air these days.
Strong Headed female lead:
Shehnaaz knew what she wanted from her life. She was not before any man and was not waiting for his ‘Khuwabon Ka Shehzada’ to complete her life. She was strong, determined, devoted and what not? She was looking for a man for whom she could do anything, who had some deficiencies and who could take some benefit from her presence. She could easily drool over Faraz who was more interested in her but she chose Gulsher over him who had no family background neither he was a rich fellow with a Mercedes like Faraz. She was a teacher of special children and we saw a lady who had much more to do with her life unlike our heroines who have zero self respect and all they have to do with their lives is playing tricks to get the ‘Shehzada Gulfam’ of their dreams. And it’s not their fault either; all credit goes to our writers who are stuck to a single topic i-e, cousin marriage.
Decent Romance:
Our directors can learn something from this play. You can convey all the emotions with decency and without any physical contact that serves nothing but ending up viewers changing the channel or in some cases one or two of the family members leave the TV lounge. When Gulsher talked to Shahnaaz for the first time on the telephone, he said “Bat simple si hai. Ap qoum ki izzat hain aur main uska muhafiz” What a beauty. Without going overboard and getting cheesy, he conveyed what was needed to be. The innocence on Gulsher’s face and Shehnaaz’s makes all their scenes remarkable.
Selfless Friendship:
The trio of Gulsher, Faraz and Kashif was one of the reasons behind the success of this play. Whenever they shared the screen, their bonding and chemistry made the scene picture perfect. Despite coming from different backgrounds, they never had a conflict based on it. Gulsher, the one having weak family background was always looked after by the other two and they always took great care of him knowing how sensitive a financially unstable person can get and how a small act can hurt his ego. They never looked down upon him and never made him feel insecure. Brilliant! I absolutely loved the bond they had and their love for one another.
Siachin Conflict and Bosnia War:
The drama was shot at beautiful locations giving us views of Siachin and Bosnia. It might be difficult to shoot in such extreme weather conditions but they did their job flawlessly. We came to know through this drama that through how many difficulties our soldiers went and it’s all because of the sleepless nights they spend that we can sleep peacefully without fear. It was a tribute to our Pak Army and an eye opener for those who think that being in Army and fighting against enemies is a piece of cake. This drama was a collage of different true events picked from here and there and gave us the insight of the tough life our soldiers spend. At the end we saw Kashif losing his both arms and legs and it is so inspiring to know that his character was inspired from a real Army Officer Lieutenant Colonel (R) Zafar Abbasi Ghazi. And we saw Gulsher losing his life. How beautiful it is to watch something like this that teaches you to think above personal level. Nobody can deny that dramas do have an impact on audience and all these purposeless dramas based on extra marital affairs, doubts and misunderstandings are playing their role very well.
I am actually short of words while describing the beauty of this magnificent piece of writing and the strong message it holds for our youngsters. Those who haven’t watched this play yet, please go and watch. It is undoubtedly the best drama in the history of Pakistan television. Those who have already watched it, please share your thoughts.
Amna
