Got this from tumbler
anyway...the major themes of the story were more about sibling rivalry and strained relationship between parents and children. both Sikandar and Liza, the protagonists, ended up having a tensed relationship with their fathers not due to fault of their own. Liza was essentially brainwashed by her sister to hate her father because she wanted to remain the only favorite child of her father. Sikandar ended up becoming the target of his father's anger and disgust that ultimately led to the tragedy that befell him. the story then becomes a story of healing from the traumas family can inflict on you. the false harassment accusation angle is a significant part of it but it's not the big bad evil here. like the accusation wouldn't have stood a chance had Zain not already nurse a one-sided hatred for his brother that had him trusting his girlfriend of few months over his own one true brother of 20 years. if not the accusation then something else would've been the reason Zain would've used to torment his brother.
also honestly, considering Maryam's character, the false harassment accusation is the least of her evils. she's shown to be a highly manipulative sociopath with daddy issues so potent that she didn't even spare her own mother phir Sikandar kya cheez hai? iirc when she's just a teenager she seduces her step father and ends up getting pregnant. while she's in school she gets involved in a sexual relationship with her teacher who she then ends up getting fired once she gets annoyed of his chipkuness. Sikandar is just one of her many targets. even until the present we see her as being involved in illicit affairs with men with no regard to anything else. she becomes so used to getting away with her actions that she doesn't even realize that her father, the one man she truly loved, was already aware of her actions and was only being silent because he was hoping and praying for her to repent. it is only when Maryam threatens Liza's relationship with Sikandar that their father steps in and forbids her from even daring to try that.
personally I think Maryam's character is the meatiest role of the story following Sikandar considering how twisted she is and by Pakistani drama standards, how utterly scandalous. JBHSSL would never work for TV cuz our sensitive audience wouldn't have been able to digest that. whoever ends up getting that role has the opportunity to give a truly strong performance provided the script and direction support the original story.
so yeah..i don't think the existence of JBHSSL will have any drastic impact on the landscape of PakDramas that will end up promoting the false accusation storyline more so than it already is. that damage was done by whatever that Sana Javed drama was that came at the worst time possible during peak MeToo era. at least with JBHSSL there's no doubt left by the end that Maryam was a vile and evil woman with a history of ruining lives and relationships without any remorse. also it's on Netflix so like konnn hi itna dekhega Pakistan mein where the majority of the audience watches stuff free on Youtube?
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