So I figured enough of the ‘mean’ articles and reviews. Especially since the day I posted my last article Ghardari 101 and my washing machine died on me that evening I could not help wonder (while I wallowed in self pity and handwashed uniforms) who I may have angered, haha. But jokes aside, while a few new promising dramas have recently begun to air and the cringe worthy ones are living up to their ‘purpose’ there are a handful that do not blow you away but make for an interesting and entertaining enough watch. One of such dramas, in my opinion, is Tumhare Hain.
Tumhare Hain airs on ARY Digital at 9pm PST. At first it aired on Mondays and then was moved to Fridays a few weeks ago. Written by Parisa Siddiqui and directed by Sherazade Shaikh, the drama stars Agha Ali, Sara Khan and Rabab Hashim as its main leads. Rayaan (Agha Ali) and Zoya (Rabab Hashim) are best friends and neighbours. Their friendship seems to be just that and something that seemingly their families also accept and understand. Zoya is in love with Daniyal (Hassan Ahmed) who belongs to a rich and affluent family. The families do not approve of their relationship so the two elope and then as real life settles in and financial struggles enter the front door, love seems to go out the window. Daniyal has been used to a comfortable, plush life so worrying about jobs, utility and rent bills gets too much for him. His mother (Shaheen Khan) knows her son well and to cut a long story short, she came, she screamed and she conquered -and took her six foot baby boy back home.
Zoya is now left homeless. And then divorced. Meanwhile, Rayaan is a carefree character who lives with his parents. His father (Behroze Sabzwari) constantly puts him down and thinks he takes life too lightly, whereas his mother (Huma Nawab) seems to be one who is constantly trying to keep the peace between father and son. Anyway, Raayan meets Aania (Sara Khan) at a mutual friend’s wedding and both begin to develop feelings for each other. While Aania’s parents put pressure on her to have Rayaan’s family send a proposal so his intentions can be made clear, Zoya faces one issue after the other and Rayaan finds himself rushing to her rescue, time and again. With Zoya’s father’s death and Zoya in a vulnerable place still reeling from the divorce and miscarriage, her mother manages to convince her that Rayaan is the only one who can (and happily wants to) give her a shoulder to lean on. Well more than a shoulder really and managing to emotionally blackmail Rayaan too – both Zoya and Rayaan agree to the marriage. Aania tries to talk sense into Rayaan but he has marked himself out to be the ultimate martyr and savior and feels he needs to choose friendship over love (excuse the cheesiness). Aania also gives in to her parents’ wishes and marries Kamil (Ahmed Hassan) a family friend.
Hereon, we see how both couples try (or do not try) to make their respective marriages work. Yawning yet? I agree, sounds very run of the mill and has ‘watched this a gazillion’ times written all over it. Which brings me to why such a typical story manages to keep me entertained. Firstly, I like how the focus is on each character and their emotions without all the excess background noise (read useless characters and tracks) that make their way into most dramas. There are two couples and this drama is their story. Yes, families have their roles to play but there is no focus on the sudden and elaborate romantic track of say Zoya’s sister (well not yet) that takes away the attention from the main characters. Secondly, I like how there are no desperate, clinging or scheming characters. Yes, Daniyal’s mother is a negative character and she played with his emotions and mind to bring him back. Also, Rayaan’s father is a constant source of tension yet while these negative bits are present, they are bearable and not overdone. When Rayaan made it clear to Aania that things are over, she was miserable but did not begin to screech and stalk. Zoya tried to see Daniyal and understand what and why has happened but once it was clear that that door had closed, yes she had her own sad fest but I like how she is trying to accept her changed circumstances and take things in stride.
Rayaan’s mother is another pleasant surprise. A mother and mother in law who is surprise, surprise – a human being. No raging, scheming banshee here. She understands and respects Rayaan’s decision and while she does not approve of her husband’s antics she does not give in to the helpless, victimized mother role and especially in the latest episode when she sends her daughter in law out to enjoy an evening out with her son and manages to keep the peace at home too is something that seemed somehow realistic to me. I really liked how she explained to Rayaan that if he had chosen to support his best friend and married her then just signing the nikkah papers was not enough. Making the marriage actually work mattered too. Another thing that appealed to me was how Kamil (Aania’s husband) and Rayaan are not constantly lost in their wives’ pasts and accept that yes they had a history but that is what it was – their past. One thing that I do find hard to stomach is elfy Kamil. I find his ‘talk to me’ chorus a bit unreal but it is nice to see how he seemed accepting of Aania’s ‘explanation’ and how both of them are beginning to grow close.
So, while the story seems nothing new I feel that the characters do not lose touch with reality and that appeals a lot to me in a drama. Also, I liked how the setup was kept real. No fancy overdressed housewives, simple households, etc. I was not a big fan of Agha Ali at first when in his initial dramas the constant bobbing of his head was extremely distracting. But he has improved a lot, I feel. Especially since Tum Yaad Aye where he made so many of us fall in love with Sherry’s character, I do make it a point to tune into his dramas. While the conversations with Zoya seemed a bit forced at times, trying to convince the viewers how they are just ‘buddies’ but for the most part it worked for me. Sara Khan is another actress who has grown on me over time and I found her acting, especially her smiles and reactions when talking to Agha Ali or later to Ahmed Hassan seemed so natural that I did not feel that I was watching her ‘act’. Rabab Hashim is one actress who seems to pick herself up from the sets of one drama to another in exactly the same attires,appearance and emotions. She does not blow me away with her acting but I can not really fault her as such either. Hassan Ahmed is another actor who has the same expressions, same tone of voice, same acting in each drama. Here too he lived up to his typical pained, suspicious detective look. I am aware that Ahmed Hassan has appeared in a few dramas and I have not watched him act before Tumhare Hain but he seems to be doing a decent job here.
The OST is also something that although is not amazing, it is a bit soothing after listening to it a few times. I do love the instrumental version of it though that plays in a few scenes during an episode.
Either the treatment given to a drama should be such where you are transported into another world such as probably Sang e Marmar and now Alif, Allah aur Insaan seem to be to cite a few examples. But when the drama does not have that wow factor then there has to be something that stands out in the drama that catches your attention and everything I have mentioned above is what contributes to making, in my opinion, Tumhare Hain an entertaining watch. When I began writing this overview I had not watched the preview of the next episode and given my luck with drama reviews, I may have jinxed this drama too for the preview shows that Rayaan’s and Aania’s paths will cross again and I am curious to see which way the writer chooses to go. I will not be reviewing this drama weekly but I felt it was something interesting to watch and wrote the overview for those of you who are looking for something light-ish to watch and to hear the thoughts of those who are already following it. Is there anyone else besides me who enjoys watching this drama? What appeals to you about this drama – or am I the only one? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Kunwal Javid