Men- we can’t live with them; can’t live without them. If one were to believe Pakistani dramas, men are unfaithful, abusive, dominating, and yet, they enjoy God-like status. But lately, our dramas have been showcasing a different side of the proverbial strong, confident man. Presenting the new breed of confused, easily swayed, perpetually distraught men. These are the ones who are constantly doubting themselves and their ability to think for themselves. Irrespective of their age, background, and whatever else, these men are mere puppets who are more than willing to have someone else exercise mind control techniques that render them incapacitated. Go on, have a look for yourself:
Tabrez Alam from Adhura Milan– So far, he’s been married three times but his first wife, who is many years his senior has him wrapped around her little finger. He won’t eat, pray, love without her consent. On the plus side, if you can call it that, she orders him to don a sherwani and arranges nikah after nikah for him. How many wives would do that?
Asad from Janam Jali– Surely he must have been drugged as a child. There can be no other rationale to explain his behaviour throughout the serial. So, he marries his college friend and puts her through 8 years of torture at the hands of his mother- abuse in too small a word for what Bee Jee does with his wife, Saima. And then, he marries his cousin at the demand of his mother, severed all ties with his first wife on the insistence of his new wife and mommy dearest and then after his mommy goes cuckoo and passes away, begs for his first wife back… She ends up reconciling but karma haunts him and she turns into a reflection of her saas Bee Jee…
Jahzaib from Izteraab– Well, this one’s a little different. It didn’t quite take a woman to sway him- but the temptation of home cooked meals was far too great for him to resist and he casually strolls to Biwi No. 2 only to swing back to Biwi No. 1…
Bulannd from Bashar Momin– He’s not-so-Bulannd to be honest- far from it really. He agrees to get engaged to a girl his father chooses for him (a mangni that takes place in Pakistan with a video recording for him since he can’t travel the distance from the US of A to Pakistan- duh!) but falls in love with her when he comes to Pakistan after the demise of both their fathers… But, his college friend casts her eyes on him and deviously plots with her brother to break his engagement and it works! Since, any man would believe any random person over their fiance!
Zawaar from Ahista Ahista- The snooze fest of the season this one. The multi-billionaire Zawaar lives in Amreeka while his mumsy Bee Jaan lies in bed all day and dreams of the day her son will get married so she can rest in peace (as if she’s moving a muscle). But wait, he’s already married- happily, mind you, to Sophie. He’s kept the marriage under wraps since he loves his mother far too much to break her heart- Bee Jaan’s only demand was for him to marry a Pakistani girl with Pakistani values who will give birth to his Pakistani children- never mind Amreeka for now. She fakes an illness that sends Zawaar rushing to Pakistan and there he gets forced (but naturally) to get married to his much younger cousin… How in God’s name can a man refuse that???
Faisal from Mausam– Supposedly the most eligible man in the family (you can guess what kind of family it may be), Faisal is obsessed with Shazia but his mother forces him to marry Saman. Poor guy can’t stand up to his mom. But he can continue his sleazy affair on the sides with Shazia. She manages to lure him easily and things are going smoothly until he finds out Shazia was just killing time with him until a better prospect comes along.
Aazar from Mohabbat Ab Nahi Hogi– My current guilty pleasure! So Aazar’s strings are in the hands of his Bhabi! Yes, the two of them are so alike, it’s a miracle they weren’t twins. Bhabi has turned psycho due to her frustrations of being married to a boring man and she prefers the company of her dewar. Until the dewar gets married and Bhabi plays all her cards right to create a rift in the marriage.
Jaanam from Jaanam- I honestly can’t remember his name but this has got to be the cheesiest titles in a long time and the over-usage of Jaanam made my ears bleed. So Jaanam (Adnan Siddiqui again!) is happily married to his Jaanam (Saba Qamar) and this deadly duo have reproduced two more Jaanams. Despite his wife’s opposition to his badniyat friend, Jaanam invites the sleazy friend to live with him and his friend leaves no opportunity to pass double meaning comments to his wife and make very obvious advances. But Jaanam believes whatever his friend feeds him and ultimately he will end up involved with his friend’s daughter after things go sour with his Jaanam.
These are some of the names that came to my mind. I’d love to hear your additions to the list.
Yours in watching,
Kanwal Murtaza