Most of the Pakistani writers put a lot of effort into penning down stories that would hold the viewers’ interest. Lately, there has been a trend that these writers focus more on the negative characters since they are the ones who take the story forward most of the time. Making the positive and likable characters suffer for a long and making the negative character more powerful is unfortunately a way to keep the viewers hooked for longer. By doing so, the writers ensure that the viewers keep on waiting for the negative characters to be punished. It rarely ever happens that such characters get a gradual befitting ending; most often the writers rely on typical quick endings that are getting repetitive and therefore can be termed as typical endings. Such endings are a convenient way of punishing the negative character. Nowadays, such endings are also being used to redeem such characters which are definitely not satisfying but even frustrating for the viewers who wait for weeks to see these characters being punished.
Here is a list of Pakistani dramas that took the easy route and ended the tracks of the negative characters in the most typical and done-to-death manner:
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Chup Raho
Chup Raho was perhaps one of the very first dramas in which the negative character had so much screen presence that he had the viewers’ undivided attention. Numair was one of the evilest characters we have seen in Pakistani dramas which were hated by the viewers but were also the reason why people kept on watching the drama right till the end. The viewers obviously wanted to see Rameen happy in the end but they were even more eager to find out how the writer will make Numair pay for all his wrongdoings. Once Numair’s character got so much hate and attention primarily because of the way it was translated on screen, the makers of the drama decided to give this character a free hand. Numair got away with everything and single-handedly ruined Rameen’s life. He put her through hell over and over again until the time viewers were simply fed up with the negativity. In the end, he became delusional and ended up in the mental asylum. This punishment was too quick and not harsh enough considering how much pain he put everyone through. Showing that he was inside a mental prison completely helpless wasn’t the best ending and definitely one which was really typical!
Titlee
Titlee was another drama serial that revolved around a negative character more than any other. The main protagonist Naila was a greedy and selfish young girl who never valued people who loved her and betrayed her husband who was always loyal and supportive. Right from the beginning, she looked after only her own interest and the entire drama was dedicated to her selfishness. Like all the other dramas in this list, people watched Titlee till the end to see how Naila will end up. After she was betrayed by the man she chose over her loyal but not so good-looking husband, Naila lost her senses completely. She also ended up in the mental asylum and because of the condition she was in, the viewers actually had reason to feel for her. By giving such characters an ending like this one, the writers somehow make people feel for them even though all through the drama the viewers are made to hate such characters.
Udaari
Udaari was one of those few drama serials which dealt with the sensitive topic of child abuse with utmost precision. It was also one of those dramas in which the negative character became the center of attention. The viewers obviously hated Imtiaz’s character and found his scenes extremely disturbing but at the same time Ahsan Khan’s performance was loved by many. This was the reason why Imtiaz got a lot of screen time and his evil deeds were such that people eagerly waited to see how he would eventually be punished. Udaari was also unique in the sense that for a change such a case was taken to the court and the perpetrator was punished. However, once Imtiaz was in jail, he lost his senses and this end which could have been perfect was made typical! How many criminal-minded, evil people such as Imtiaz actually lose their minds after being punished? Such psychopaths do not have a conscience therefore showing him in such a state was not the best move by the writer.
Kaisa Hai Naseeban
Drama serial Kaisa Hai Naseeban was based on a typical storyline that showed a girl being mistreated and abused in every aspect by her in-laws who promised to give her a good life abroad. Despite the predictable storyline, Kaisa Hai Naseeban became immensely popular and viewers actually wanted to see Ahmed’s undoing the most. The drama gave Mariam’s character played by Ramsha Khan a very positive and progressive ending, however, the ending that the writer chose for Muneeb Butt’s character of Ahmed was very typical. After putting Mariam through hell, he meets an accident and gets wheelchair ridden, that too with his mother and sister as his disposal who then start putting an effort to fend for him. Ahmed crosses all levels of atrocities but this ending was absolutely not enough for a negative character like him who literally didn’t hold back in mistreating his wife, lying, abusing, and also putting her family through mental trauma with his atrocities.
Khudparast
Drama serial Khudparast’s story was comparatively different and revolved around an unconventional character of Uswa who wanted to live life on her own terms. Uswa’s first marriage fails because her husband mistreats her and in the name of conservativeness, makes sure that she doesn’t enjoy her basic rights of freedom and free-will. Uswa then starts lying and figuring out ways to do what she likes. The biggest crime that Uswa commits is by accusing her husband Hanaan of having an affair with his sister in law Beenish. She doesn’t just only lie but takes an oath on The Holy Quran that she actually is a witness of this affair. Uswa then gets married and that is when the writer literally changed her track and turned her into a negative character. It was unfortunate that this issue wasn’t properly addressed that in the beginning, it was her mother in law and her husband Hanaan’s whose strictness forces Uswa to lie and be deceptive. Uswa went from being a girl who wanted to live a life of her free will to a girl who just does not have a moral compass. Uswa’s character also met a typical ending where she suffers from a terminal disease and ends up dead on the road with absolutely no one in her family to look after her.
Balaa
Balaa was a drama that revolved entirely around the balaa Nigar, who right from the beginning did whatever it took to get what she wanted. She treated the most likable characters in the drama in such a way that the viewers were truly enraged. Nigar’s negativity and evil plans reached a new high with every passing episode therefore the viewers had every reason to look forward to watching her suffering in the end. The writer ruined the ending by showing that in order to take revenge her husband turned into an equally negative person. The worst part of this ending was that the writer took a typical route and Nigar was left in the mental asylum in the end. Wouldn’t it have been better if she was in her senses and was reminded of everything she had done and what she had lost? She couldn’t even remember her own name in the end and was lost, that was supposed to be her punishment! The same last scene which we have watched so many times in dramas was shown yet again which was a disappointment like no other!
Rishte Bikte Hain
In the drama serial Rishte Bikte Hain, the story was about Farhat who deems her sons’ marriages as business deals, and even after having everything work out in her favor, she deprives her daughters in law from their basic rights. She exploits her own sister who happens to be a mother of one of her in daughter in law and keeps on mooching off of her. The drama serial Rishte Bikte Hain showed a bitter reality related to the dowry system and how it puts pressure on the parents of young girls, however, the overall ending of this drama was half-baked. The most upsetting part was that Farhat ends up losing her senses and goes back to her sister’s house whom she had exploited the most back in the day. It was amusing to see that even at this stage, Farhat wouldn’t leave her sister alone and ended up becoming a huge burden on her because apart from her, Farhat had no one who’d look after her. This was yet another drama where the whole losing sanity aspect just did not make sense and the character should’ve gotten a different ending to make it more believable and realistic.
Jhooti
Jhooti was a recent drama that banked entirely on the main protagonist Nirma’s conniving, manipulating, self-conceited, and greedy nature. Everyone else around her conveniently fell for all her lies and she always got what she wanted. Nirma was negative to a ridiculous and annoying extent since her track for the most part was completely devoid of logic. The viewers were somehow expected to be ‘entertained’ by this jhooti’s antics! Everyone who watched the drama hated the character for obvious reasons and people wanted to know how this jhooti will eventually realize how wrong she was. Instead of showing that she had realizations in the end; the writer took the same old route of this highly selfish woman losing her mind when she was betrayed by the man she loved. Even her look was the same in the end as many of the other such characters with these typical endings. People would have loved to hear a message from her in the end for all those people out there who think they can get away with such negativity but that was not meant to be!
Kahin Deep Jalay
In this drama, the character of Shameela played by Nazish Jahangir was the typical complexed girl who just couldn’t stand the fact that Rida was loved by her brothers. Shameela did everything she could to ruin the lives of not only Rida but her husband Faham’s entire family. Shameela continued with her winning streak because even after doing so much, she compelled Hatim to see her as a victim. In the end, the writer had kept the most typical ending in store for Shameela’s character because out of nowhere she gets divorced by Hatim and is left alone on the streets where she magically stumbles upon Rida and her family to witness the happy life they were leading. It was ironic that Hatim who was equally responsible and guilty of being a bad son and brother got away scot-free and Shameela met such a typical ending with no chance of even realizing her wrongdoings.
Ye Dil Mera
Drama serial Ye Dil Mera became quite popular, firstly because of the Ahad Sajal duo and then the way the unconventional storyline was being told. However, throughout the drama, the writer elaborated on the pain and suffering that Amaanullah had to endure because he lost his family at the hands of Mir Farooq Zaman. Throughout the drama, more than anything the viewers were keen to see the tragic end Mir Farooq Zaman’s character will meet because he was a murderer who not only killed an entire family but he also continued with his killings of innocent people in order to get ahead in the business. He was also a potential rapist who threatened Humera and because she rejected his advances, he decided to shoot her dead. After committing so many atrocities, viewers expected him to have the worst ending possible but instead, the writer gave him the freedom to choose his own end himself. Mir Farooq Zaman destroyed so many lives and continued to be discreet about it and because of that he was revered and seen as a respectable man in the business circle. In the end, he chose to die at the hands of his assistant Ali Baksh that too in seclusion, away from the public eye where no one ever then got to find out about the atrocities he had committed. It was like he lived life on his own terms, doing whatever he felt like, and then got so lucky to even pick an ending that he felt was appropriate for him. Mir Farooq Zaman seemed to be the favorite character of the writer because of how he was treated like royalty.
Muqaddar
Farkhanda Begum was always mistreated by her so-called ideal husband Saif ur Rehman. He failed to give her love, he failed to treat her with respect and the only status she had in his eyes was because she happened to be the mother of his daughter. Farkhanda was manipulative but she was a doting wife who never gave her husband a chance or a reason to be so emotionally unavailable towards her. Farkhanda continued to ignore Saif ur Rehman’s affair and took repose in the fact that she was his wife. However, after making Farkhanda endure so much, the writer decided to turn her into a villain only to make the actual villain Raima look good. Raima did everything to rile Farkhanda up and in the end, Farkhanda actually became the negative character who made attempts of killing Raima. However, very conveniently, the writer decided to punish Farkhanda in the most typical manner where she got bed-stricken and paralyzed. The writer completely ignored the fact that Farkhanda in reality was a victim but because they decided to show her as a villain, she is being categorized as a negative character in this list who met a typical end.
Raaz e Ulfat
As much as the drama serial Raaz e Ulfat was about Mushk and Iritza’s love story, the negative characters in this drama also caught the viewer’s attention and because they were conceived in such a convincing manner, the viewers found themselves talking about them and waiting to see their undoing. However, in this drama, Sehba’s character was miraculously killed because the writer failed to understand that there could’ve been another option, a way of redemption for Sehba’s character. It was shown that Sehba didn’t even get shot and Nomi only hit her head with a pot and she ended up succumbing to what in the real-world might’ve been a minor injury!
Muqaddar
It is unfortunate that in a drama where Farkhanda should’ve been shown as a victim and Saif ur Rehman as a villain, the writer chose to turn him into a hero. Saif ur Rehman had abducted Raima, had forced himself on her, had threatened to kill Haris, had also blackmailed Raima’s uncle’s family to give up on the idea of Raima’s return. After doing all of this, the writer decided to turn Saif ur Rehman into a hero because he was providing Raima with a luxurious lifestyle with all the comforts at her disposal. Saif ur Rehman also was shot dead in the attempt which was otherwise targetted at Raima. This way, the writer turned Saif ur Rehman into a hero and although he met a typical end, it was unfortunate that he was never shown as a villain because when the drama began, it was also suggested that he was responsible for a lot of brutal killings back in her hometown to advance in his political career.
Raaz e Ulfat
In the drama serial Raaz e Ulfat, the character of Nomi was basically shown as Sehba’s assistant. He happens to be the only homosexual character that has been so openly shown in any Pakistani drama serial of recent times. Nomi helped Sehba in framing Mushk and in the end, he also confessed to all that he had done. However, it seems that wasn’t enough for the writer and because she didn’t really figure out what she could do with his character, she decided to kill him, paying the price for things he hadn’t even done. He was a neglected spoiled child who would steal his mother’s jewelry, he was also into drugs and alcohol but he was doing all of this without harming anyone else. However, he was treated as a negative character and was given yet another typical ending by the writer which to date remains an unexplained mystery because in this drama, the actual negative character was of Sehba and not Nomi.
Jalan
Drama serial was yet another drama with a negative female who ruined the lives of so many people around her. Nisha was selfish and greedy just like many other negative female characters. She did not have a conscience and right till the end she was stubborn and self-centered. In the end, she turned delusional and that is when she had a car crash. In the end, she ended up getting burnt and the viewers did not really get to see her realizing how wrong she had been which was so essential. The writer did show that she got punished but just like all the other typical endings, this one too was not satisfying enough. This was another ending that was the result of a car accident like many others.
Sabaat
The latest trend seems to be that the negative character automatically redeems herself immediately after an accident! In the drama serial Sabaat, Miraal was the most negative character in the drama. She did not have a single likable trait and her sole purpose in life was to run her brother’s life at the expense of his happiness. When she got married, she had the same bossy attitude towards her husband. Pride was Miraal’s biggest negative trait and the viewers actually got tired of her playing all those games. All the viewers wanted her to suffer in the end but the ending baffled everyone. Miraal had an accident and that is when her character took a completely different turn. All of a sudden, she was forgiven by everyone and it was almost as if she did nothing wrong. This was the first drama to set this trend and it seems like it is going to be followed by others since we watched the same ending in Tera Ghum Aur Hum. Also, instead of showing how gradually the negative character goes through a transformation, the writer brought about the change like it is typically done in the last few minutes!
Tera Ghum Aur Hum
Sara was one of the many negative characters in Pakistani dramas who kept on plotting and planning right till the end yet somehow in the end she was forgiven as nothing happened. Out of all typical endings, this latest trend has to be the most difficult to digest. While the positive characters that suffer all through the drama do not get the kind of attention they deserve in the end, the negative characters such as Miraal and Sara become the heroines by somehow ‘saving the day’! All it takes is for them to redeem themselves is to get into an accident or in Sara’s case jump from the roof! Tera Ghum Aur Hum’s ending set the worst precedent which we hope is not going to be followed by others. Generally, however, it took the same route of forgiving the negative character at the last minute a little too easily!
Meherposh
In the drama serial Meherposh, the character of Ayat was turned into a villain forcefully. She got married to Shahjahan and after finding out that he madly loved her sister Mehru, Ayat became a negative character who wouldn’t miss a chance to insult her sister, demean her, belittle her, and in the end decided to poison her. Ayat also landed on a hospital bed and out of nowhere, embraced death because the writer thought this was the only way of getting Mehru and Shahjahan back together.
This completes the list of negative characters that met a typical ending in different Pakistani dramas. Which of these endings you didn’t agree with? Feel free to add more such typical endings to the list.
I remember Arzoo (Ayesha Umer) from Tanhai who had similar ending.