Habs: Not a Fairytale
A rich and handsome prince finds his love in a beautiful but poor girl. Isn't that how fairytales are supposed to work? The beautiful girl trapped in poverty with a cruel stepmother is rescued by Prince Charming who whisks her away to his mansion paved with jewels and every precious thing in the world one can think of.
Only the girl in this tale, while beautiful and poor, doesn't require a stepmother to taste the cruelty of a world that is indifferent to the plight of those in need. Also, she doesn't have a stepmother or evil sisters. Her own mother is petty, and greedy and cares nothing beyond where and how the money will come into the house. Her sisters, and she has two of them, surprisingly do not fit the standards of evil either.
Were you wondering about the prince? Well, there too you will be surprised. Her Prince Charming, whose charm waxes as well as wanes, does whisk her away into a mansion full of riches, yet knows not how to make her the mistress of all she surveys. For his heart is bound in thorns and like the Giant in the fairytale, he has over the years quite unknown to himself, built a wall with barbed wire (only metaphorically of course!) around all he holds dear. Our poor beauty, who had never wanted to be rescued in the first place, has quite the task at hand as she deals with this prince, his barbed wire encased heart, and her own dreams, which now face the risk of shattering to pieces or melting into nothingness like snowflakes under the blazing sun.
If you think the Prince does not save our Beauty in this tale, neither does our heroine save the Prince. Rather they push each other out of their comfort zones, making each other face those dark nooks and crannies of their soul where they have hidden away their deepest pain and darkest insecurities. As we watch them battle with the very things they feared the most, we hope the two realise that together they can take on the worst hobgoblin, spooks or bogies life can throw at them.
The Protagonists
Feroze Khan as Basit Salman
Scarred and embittered from a childhood spent battling with loneliness and the trauma of abandonment, Basit Salman had looked to his father alone for love. With the death of Salman, he suddenly realises that his father's will stretched beyond the grave and by a cruel twist of fate, Basit finds himself in the sudden need of a wife. Without a wife, he would not have the access to his inheritance and Basit Salman finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place indeed. Having long determined never to tie himself in a relationship that in his eyes could only bring grief, pain, and betrayal, Basit finds himself setting aside everything he has always believed in as he forces himself to woo Soha, daughter of his father's dear friend, and a girl his father had wished him to marry. However, despite Basit's attempts, Soha finds his rush to get married as an attempt to control her. Never one to be influenced by others or forced to do anything against her will, Soha breaks off their engagement, leaving Basit in the legal and financial crisis the one clause in his father's will had drawn him in.
Basit ignores his mother's attempts to help him extricate himself from this situation and in desperate need to stop Sadia from trying to persuade him into marrying a girl of her choice, he announces that he is already married to his P.A., Ms. Ayesha Sadiq. A man of power and influence, Basit finds it easy enough to convince Ayesha's family into agreeing to this marriage. It is only a matter of time before he finds himself married to Ayesha. The crisis resolves itself and Basit is freed from the noose his father's will had put around his neck. However, is he ready to face this new relationship that he has entered into? He has willingly brought Ayesha into his life but will he let her into his heart?
Ushna Shah as Ayesha Sadiq
Having experienced struggle and need for almost half her life, Ayesha Sadiq had seen her elder sister Bano make one sacrifice after another for the sake of the family. Yet no sacrifice seemed to be enough in the eyes of her mother. Ayesha could understand Qudsia's bitterness and insecurity and feel the anxieties of a woman trying to hold a family of five women together. Yet Ayesha's heart bled for Bano especially as she saw Bano's struggle to hold on to the love of her life while her mother remained unconvinced of her sincerity in fulfilling the responsibilities towards her mother, aunt, and sisters.
Ayesha, a bright student with a scholarship under her belt, decides to let go of her dream of studying further and instead take on Bano's responsibility. Ayesha knew once she started earning, Bano would be free to marry Talal, the man who had become everything to her elder sister. However, man's plans are rendered void before the plans of Destiny. Ayesha's good intentions do not stop her sister and Talal's relationship from breaking up. Interference from the families on either side sees to it. Ayesha meanwhile settles into her job, appreciating the work ethics and culture of the company she has been hired by. Life would have gone on as she had always known it to. However, a sudden announcement from her boss, Basit Salman, changes everything. Ayesha finds herself in a situation she had never thought she would be in. Having long decided she would never marry, Ayesha finds herself ironically being convinced into consenting to this marriage. Bano's advice guides her into taking a decision while Basit Sir's assurance that nothing will change with their marriage, finally convinces her. However, before the ink can dry on their marriage document, things begin to look less simple. Married to a man who has shuttered his heart, Ayesha now grapples with her inner torment as she tries to figure out her place in his life.
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