When we think of legendary writers the first name that comes to our mind is Haseena Moin. She is a Pakistani dramatist, playwright and scriptwriter and she has not only written for Television, but also for Radio and Stage shows and has managed to gain International recognition and fame. She has been in the industry for more than the past 4 decades. From comedies like Shahzori, Uncle Urfi, Tanhaiyaan, to tragedies like Parchaiyaan. From romantic dramas like Dhoop Kinaray, Unkahi, Kohar to family dramas like Aansoo. She has written each play to perfection. She has also written several plays based on social issues like the super hit Aahat. She has given us other legendary plays like Kiran Kahani, Des Pardes, Pal Do Pal, Kasak, and Parosi, Bandish, and the list goes on. All these plays have managed to gain International repute.
Haseena Moin is the recipient of Pride of Performance award. She has introduced many legendary Pakistani actors like Shakeel, Shehnaz Sheikh, Marina Khan, Nadia Jamil, Salman Ahmad, Babra Sharif. Many actors rose to fame by to her serials, including Roohi Bano, Khalida Riyasat, Azra Sherwani, Behroze Sabzwari, Badar Khalil, Sania Saeed and many more.
She has been inactive from the past few years but her shows are back again on television. Meri Behen Maya and Saray Mausam Apne hai are both written by Haseena Moin. There was a lot of hype about the new ‘Haseena Moin’ shows. Haseena Moin’s name is no less than a brand itself. A lot of promotion was done by Geo TV to promote both these serials. Everyone was excited to watch the new plays, especially those who have seen her serials like Tanhaiyaan, Dhoop Kinare, Unkahi. However, all the expectations went down the drain when both these shows were launched. Fans were extremely disappointed as both these shows were below their expectations as they lacked proper story and concept. The stories were Clichéd and did not go well with the audience.
Meri Behen Maya’s story revolves around two sisters Maya and Zarmeena whose father married again and their stepmother turns out to be evil. Sounds familiar, right? Saare Mausam Apne Hai revolves around around a girl named Eshal who is bold, confident, and full of adventure and who has been brought up by her grandfather. It is shown how different people manage to leave an impact on her life. Both these stories have nothing new to offer the audience. Why? Because the audiences have changed! Now people all over the world follow Pakistani shows. From youngsters of all age groups, to adults all have gotten hooked to Pakistani shows because of its uniqueness and appeal. They want to see new mature concept based on social issues. They prefer more realistic shows which they can relate to. Evil step mother is a very old concept which would not impress the mature audiences at this stage.
On top of that, the screenplay is boring and direction is average. The pace of the shows is also very slow. Saray Mausam Apne Hai is directed by Ali Rizvi while Meri Behen Maya is directed by Azfar Ali. Azfar is not a very experienced director and has failed to do justice with Haseena Moin’s script. Ali Rizvi is an experienced director but what the show lacks is a good cast. The lead Kanza Arif is a fresh face and her acting fails to impress the audience.
The trend in the Pakistani drama industry has changed over time and the content needs to adapt to these new trends. Now a hit needs a perfect mixture of story, acting, screenplay and direction. A lot of talented writers have emerged over the past two decade or so and there is tough competition in the industry.
As it is said, “Things will not always stay the way they are, people need to adapt to the change.”
Haseena Moin is a great writer, no doubt about that! But she needs to change the stories and adapt with the changing trends in the industry to be able to give hits like before.
Mariam Shafiq