Originally posted by: mango.falooda
(sorry for cutting your post; just wanted to keep reference so quote box is not too long)
Hehe, no issues. I am glad you did that. My post was too long, so it was needed.
so I hated the first episodes of mere humsafar and dropped it for my own sanity. to be honest, I am not a fan of cinderella theme in dramas because it creates an unequal power dynamic -- like the girl being rescued has to be so grateful that she can never truly be herself and give her opinions. so I love that we don't have a cinderella in this drama at all.
I cant agree more on this. I watched Mere Humsafar initial episodes just to know why it is popular and I was bored. Not only cindrella but also the concept of Beauty and Beast. Although , I was fan of dramas on them but later on I did realise how such concepts give a wrong message , that if you bear torture , there will be prince charming who will come and save you which in reality hardly happens and girls keep waiting for them instead taking stand for themseleves. Same with the concept of Beauty and a beast where many women are not able to leave their toxic partners waiting someday they will change . This is what I like about ASA, Ushroz are not there to change each other but to complete each other just like it should happen. Like you said , equal power dynamics and they both are equals.
in addition to the points in your post, what strikes me as fresh about this drama are:
-- relationships can be permanently broken if the relatives are toxic: I absolutely love that!!!! there are too many dramas where they will arrange a proposal among relatives even though the relationship is not even civil. that makes zero sense. and then all of them live in the same house and hate each other for whole chunks and then magically get along in the last??? please!
so I love that this drama does something very different -- we have zainab getting totally fed up with her brothers that the relationship is beyond repair. when wahab asks if she thinks her brothers have changed after the apology, she point blank says "no I don't think so". that is reality. this mixed feels of knowing they have not changed one bit, of not wanting ties with these stupid relatives but still you are tied to them even though you don't want to. this drama captures that so well.
Completely Agree, I love how Zainab is not emotionally weak when it comes to her brothers , her persuading Wahab to destroy her brothers' business shows how impressive and steal of woman she is.
-- it is perfectly fine to walk away from toxic relatives: I love that zainab refuses to consider sufiyan's proposal for ushna. ushna also recognizes that and they both turn their back on them. waah! what women! in so many dramas, someone will be treated like **** and yet they continue to keep relationships for the sake of kinship. here, zainab refuses to be treated like dirt. while she does not let her anger and sadness over what happened rule her life, she does not forget how her brothers treat her.
Yes, yes, what women. Thats what I like about the women of this drama, Naima, Zainab, Ushna ,who are unlike the typical nice women of other dramas. Amazing.
-- look out for yourself: -- love that huzaifa and mehren are logically thinking that they don't need to suffer financial losses for someone else' decision. they are not only right for thinking that but also taking the steps to protect themselves. why not?!
Exactly, again a very practical and real where things are not seen from emotional point of view than other drama with so much emotional melodrama. There is nothing wrong in thinking for yourself.
-- there can be no love without self-respect: this is something that ushna tells sufiyan and is the primary reason for her not looking at his proposal seriously. how many female leads put self-respect first? to state that respect is important?
and if we look at zainab, she continues to have her self-respect. yes, she married wahab to get out of a bad environment but it was a calculated risk. she may be grateful but not so grateful that she would lower her self-respect. this means she keeps her dignity. same with naima who keeps her self-respect and dignity as well. for me, thats what I love about the parents the most -- that they treat each other with respect and recognize the other's dignity.
Truly said, I love how this drama focusses so much on the value of self respect and you explained it very well.
there are probably some other points but these are the ones that immediately jump out at me in this drama.
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