Now that 2015 is over & if we take a look back, where we got a handful of super hit dramas, we got a lot of such impactful characters in those dramas as well that proved out to be the conversation starters. These were the characters that were loved by the audience for so many reasons but the credit should be given to the writers for coming up with such amazing characters that the viewers could relate to, to the directors for bringing out the best in those actors who were performing these characters & then to the actors, who did justice to these brilliant characters that were assigned to them. In 2015, we were lucky enough to have gotten a chance of coming across such beautiful characters that were different, positive & will remain with us for a very long time.
So, in order to relive the memories that we created with these beautiful characters, here is the alphabetically ordered list of the most memorable positive characters of 2015:
Afia Begum (Mera Naam Yousuf Hai):
“Us admi ko mei 25 saal de chuki hu judge sahiba ab dene ke liye mere pass aik pal bhi nahi hai!”. This is how Afia’s relationship with her husband ended! It was refreshing to watch a woman leave a husband who never loved or appreciated her unlike many other women who decided to take their two-timing husbands back. Afia Begum always believed in speaking her mind, she was an intelligent woman who was forced into marrying someone who in no way was her match but she did not change her personality to suit her husband’s needs. She raised two daughters who were just as strong and intelligent as she was and a son who in the end proved that he could distinguish between right and wrong after all.
Agha Jaan (Diyar-e-Dil):
I think he has to be the most beloved & respected grandfather of Pakistani Dramas ever. Agha Jaan’s character was so brilliantly written & was so impactful that any episode of Diyar-e-Dil without his little or no presence seemed incomplete. Agha Jaan’s character portrayed how it was ohkay for the elders to admit their mistakes & do everything in their might to rectify the situations. He understood what his family members went through & he could sense if something was bothering his grandchildern. Just when his family members needed guidance, he was always there to help them thoroughly. Just when his family members weren’t pleased with him, he did everything to subside such feelings. He was a father figure & a best friend to all his grandchildern. Where he reminded a lot of viewers of their grandfathers, a lot of viewers also wished they had a grandfather like Agha Jaan as well. In my opinion, this was the best performance given by Sir Abid Ali & I thank him for that once again.
Arjumand Suhaib Khan (Diyar-e-Dil):
A rightly opinionated strong woman who always stood by the right. In the beginning, Arjumand’s life took a turn that she never could’ve imagined but the way she came to terms with her fate & accepted everything gracefully went to show her caliber. She was raised with high values & morals, that is why she never allowed any hardships to make her lose her cool. In the initial years of her marriage, she gave her husband a hard time but in the end she herself got tired because the things she said & did meant nothing & it was her way of venting out her sorrows. She accepted the positive influence her husband had on her & that is the reason she ended up forgiving everyone who wronged her & caused her distress. In my opinion, this performance was the only best work we have seen from Hareem Farooq’s side so far, she really did justice to Arjumand’s character & her personality & body language was just perfect for portraying the character.
Farah Behroz Khan (Diyar-e-Dil):
A genuinly positive girl who lost her way & when guided, returned to the right path with all her heart. Farah’s character was all about a teenager who is forced to face harsh realities of life & is so confused that she doesn’t know what she is supposed to do. She finds solace & companionship in the wrong people but yearns for it so much that the positivity in her heart leads her way & she meets her people, who eventually are her well wishers. Even though initially, Faarah looked like she had no stand of her own but as she learned more about life, she started taking stands even against those people who she spent her whole life with & she was the most comfortable with; be it her mother, her paternal uncle & his wife & in the end her best friend & cousin as well. Faarah showed that it is ohkay to learn from your mistakes & through your demeanor it is very easy to assure your loved ones that you have changed & are seeking to start afresh. Faarah, who in the beginning looked so confused emerged as a very strong individual who chose the course of her life on her terms. Needless to say, Maya Ali bagged all the praises for a perfect portrayal of this character & her acting was on-fleek.
Fareeda (Digest Writer):
A very strong & focused woman who worked against all the odds to prove her mettle & just because of her determination, she turned everything in her favor. Fareeda took baby steps towards her success & she never knew that the hobby that she was so passionate about would then become her career. She faced not a few but a lot of hurdles in both her personal & professional life where her parents at first were reluctant, where her nosy aunt wouldn’t stop judging her, where a famous TV star didn’t give her the credit she deserved & a senior writer belittled her work, despite all the obstacles, Fareeda still materialized her dream of becoming a renowned writer. She was a strong woman who did everything single-handedly & on her own terms, without worrying about the consequences & in the end, she emerged as a star. Fareeda’s character was beautiful because even though she did what she loved the most, she helped others through it, she was a giver & never a taker & that is why in the end, she sacrificed her happiness for the sake of her children too. I must say, Saba Qamar impressed me with her acting like never before & she not only did justice through her acting but through her personality too.
Gogi (Farwa Ki ABC):
Although Gogi’s character isn’t like the rest of the characters in the list but he was most certainly one of the most memorable characters of 2015. Hassan Ahmed nailed this character and made the viewers laugh every time he came on screen. Gogi was a rich spoiled brat who was quite capable of being very shallow and selfish but the way Hassan Ahmed translated this character on screen was beyond superb. He made the good qualities of his character shine out. There were so many episodes in which Gogi completely stole the show because of the actor playing the role more than anything else.
Jugnoo (Jugnoo):
Another strong, independent, self-sufficient girl who believed in living life her way. Even though life was always hard on Jugnoo & she was forced by the circumstances to be dependent on her aunt, she still chose to strengthen herself & fight back everything that came her way. It was good to see jugnoo fighting her battles alone & in fact she was the one who ended up rescuing her husband from the house arrest that his father chose for him. Even though the play was more on the comic side, it was refreshing to see a girl who was doing everything single-handedly without anyone’s support. Yumna Zaidi for sure did wonders as Jugnoo because the spontaneity & gesticulation that was required to play that role is something that comes naturally to Yumna Zaidi.
Madiha (Mera Naam Yousuf Hai):
Madiha continued to be a very positive and strong character throughout the drama. The character was translated on screen flawlessly by Mansha Pasha. The writer and the director both deserve due credit for exploiting the potential in Madiha’s character to the maximum by letting her be much more than just a victim. I must applaud the writer for showing that love can be selfless too and the director did the viewers a huge favor by keeping the rona dhona to the minimum. Madiha could have been the “other woman” in this love triangle but she was anything but that. The character was so powerful that there were times when viewers thought that Madiha deserved to be with Yousuf more than Zulekha.
Maqsood (Sadqay Tumhare):
Maqsood’s character, just like many other characters in Sadqay Tumhare was written brilliantly. There were times when Maqsood wasn’t just a mentor to Khalil but he also explained things in a way that made it easier for the viewers to see the big picture. Maqsood was a friend and a mentor to Khalil; someone he could confide in and turn to when he was clueless. He was a very practical and sensitive person who valued his relationship with his family more than anything else. Shamil Khan did complete justice to his character; everything about him from his get-up to his acting was spot on through out the play.
Shehryaar Hassan (Mol):
A rationally practical man who didn’t believe in the typical social norms & believed in giving space to his wife. Even though the writer tried to use Shehryaar’s practicality against him by trying to show him as an emotionally absent person, it was still refreshing to see a husband of such nature who didn’t believe in binding his wife just because she was lawfully married to him. He believed in giving everyone the space they needed & stood by his wife through thick & thin. It was good to see a husband defending his wife & fighting for her irrespective of what she put him through because he was a man of his word & that was his unique way of proving how much he loved her. Faisal Qureshi gave a stellar performance & he actually made us feel the struggles of Shehryaar Hassan.
Suhaib Bakhtiyaar Khan (Diyar-e-Dil):
A very obedient son, a very compassionate brother, a faithful husband & a role model of a father; that’s how I see Suhaib’s character. He proved to be the binding force of the family when everyone & everything was falling apart. He took care of his father, his word & continued to fulfill the promise that he made to him till his last breath. Despite being hurt by his brother time & again, he continued to do everything to bring him back because he wanted see his whole family happy & together. The values that he instilled in his childern & the patience with which he won the heart of his wife showed the kind of the person Suhaib was. He was farsighted enough to know that his child & his brother’s child were going to have a very good life together. Very rarely we get to see such positive characters in our dramas these days who live their life in order to make others happy & just because of that, they find their happiness in that journey too. Ali Rehman Khan was phenomenal as Suhaib Bakhtiyaar Khan & his powerful acting was the reason that he was remembered till the end even when his character ended in the initial episodes.
Waji Ahmed (Mera Naam Yousuf Hai):
One of the reasons I absolutely loved MNYH was that the side characters were very powerful. Waji Ahmed’s character was that of a loving father who stood by his son’s side through thick and thin and it was his conversation with Zulekha in the end which changed everything. Waji Ahmed sacrificed the love of his life to please others therefore he knew exactly how it felt to make this kind of a sacrifice and he told Zulekha that sometimes it was good to be selfish in love. Behroze Sabzwari adds something special to every character he plays and he played Waji Ahmed’s character with an unmatched brilliance too.
Wali Suhaib Khan (Diyar-e-Dil):
He has to be the most beloved hero of Pakistani Dramas of 2015. He was a perfect son, an even better grandson whose only motive in life was to make his grandfather happy & a very understanding husband who believed in giving his wife a benefit of doubt every single time. At a very tender age, the circumstances forced him to take responsibility & Wali not only accepted every challenge but succeeded in everything that made his way too. Wali’s character showed that where you can have a heart of gold you can also be an angry young man, which again is a rarity in our dramas. Wali showed zero tolerance if someone disrespected his grand father or even his wife Faarah, but on the other hand he was gentle in dealing with everyone around him, even if it was someone he detested the most & because of that he ended up convincing people in his favor who had doubts about him, which I believe is a hero’s quality. Osman Khalid Butt was the perfect choice for Wali’s character & he contributed a great deal in making Diyar-e-Dil a super hit serial of 2015.
So, this is it from our side, tell us about more such characters that were memorable & positive in your opinion. Also, positive characters can not shine if the negative characters aren’t strong enough, therefore, we will be coming up with the list of Most Memorable Negative Characters of 2015 soon enough, so please keep an eye on it as well. Please share your thoughts about this article & feel free to add your say too. :)
Fatima Awan & Zahra Mirza.