Hey guys,
Being a huge Iqbal Khan admirer, I recently started watching this show and this is my take on his character. And since I'm unable to look at the character in a positive light, as of now, I have refrained from referring to him as Iqbal in most part of this piece😛 Hope you enjoy reading it!
The most myopic of glance, precisely the one we're offered initially, at Nawab Iqbal Khan reveals that this is a man firmly rooted in his religious and cultural values. He has his own parameters to differentiate between right and wrong and to judge what is courteous and what's not. The very fact that the community matters of colossal significance are attended to only after he has finished offering his prayers to god in the most impeccable fashion, highlights his deep religiosity and his reverence for rituals and tradition. In this context, it is important to point out that this tradition, to which the Nawaab strictly adheres to is that of a feudal world order. It is a world where the nobility governs the decisions concerning the subjects' private life, while the constitution of the country is grossly ignored and slighted. It is a world where police officials are mute spectators to unlawful activities such as plundering and rioting, while the real battle ensues between 'rajas', 'ranis' and 'nawaabs'. It is a world where individual freedom and personal dignity are sacrificed at the altar of honor, both patriarchal and communal. The sad part is, this feudal mindset is a reflection of reality, especially of the interior of our mainland.
Being a product and a practitioner of societal values that glorify machismo and debase femininity, the Nawaab and his blatantly misogynistic views are in sync with his surroundings. However, that is neither an excuse nor a justification for his avowal of a repulsive breed of male chauvinism. In fact, there can be no excuse for expressing absolutely no reluctance in chopping someone's limbs off at their refusal to conform themselves to your idea of morality and chastity. What makes us wary of the Nawaab is his treatment of a woman as property, of whom the father or the husband is the rightful claimant as well as the caretaker. In the domestic dispute between Sakina and her husband, the Nawaab rules the decision in favor of Sakina because the husband has failed in his duty of protecting and shielding his property. The irony of the whole situation is that the Nawaab and the husband are both guilty of the same offence - objectifying the "weaker sex". The difference lies only in their approaches. While one takes on the garb of a saviour, the other intends to be a seller.The same irony is mirrored in an earlier scene where the Nawaab stresses out to Rani that it is indeed him who has rescued her life from goons.His goons! As Rani rightly points, being a figure of authority, his efforts should have been aimed at quenching the volatile sentiments of the mob rather than inflaming them. Not only does he shirks off from bearing the full weight of consequences, unleashed by his own acquiescence to the discourse of violence but the irony of his argument - of women being saved by men from men, never dawns upon him. The self sustained and unopposed notion of the male/female binary, and their respective roles being relegated to the public and the private respectively, doesn't allow him to look outside that fold.
However, on closer scrutiny one can detect that the Nawaab's beliefs in male superiority and dominance aren't as secure. His constant reiteration of age old precepts, of the physical fitness of the male and the intrinsic fragility of the female reflect his need to narrate his yarn to himself. Moreover, he unceasingly requires validation of the sexism he so gloatingly flaunts. Him questioning Raja on similar grounds; desiring Rani to echo his sentiments of subordination of women to men, are means to reaffirm his hollow beliefs. Rani's refusal to comply and in turn jarring statement of women being superior to men (in itself problematic as it reeks of benign sexism), sheds a light on the chinks in the, until now, unassailable armor of the Nawaab. The contortion that we witness on his face betrays a story of it's own - a tragic, traumatic tale, untold as yet.
From Abida's words, we infer that the Nawaab hasn't been as immune from the charms of the sex he so derides,from someone as fiery spirited as Rani, who probably had exposed him to the discourse of gender equality and might now be the cause of his renewed dismissal of women. It is probably in this context that Rani becomes crucial to the progressof Nawaab, whose only redeeming quality until now has been the bond that he shares with another woman - his sister. The ittar symbolism in the last episode provides us a mere glimpse of the inter-dependability of these two major characters. Rani is the undesired ingredient that provides a whole new dimension to the fragrance, transforming it for the better. On the other hand, the Nawaab's influence on Rani can be gauged from the her utmost irritability proceeding after her very first encounter with him, so much so that she goes to the extent of accusing her husband of something that the Nawaab is guilty of - of belittling her and her kind.
Whether Nawaab Iqbal Khan takes on a completely dark shade or he takes the path of reformation remains to be seen, but the layers that this character has hint at wondrous possibilities. Looking forward to the upcoming episodes.
Pati Patni Aur Panga
