ODDBALL REVIEW FOR HUMSAFAR
Intruiged by the interest ladies have shown in the series - and it's popularity in India - I have skimmed through most of the episodes - and looked at those episodes which are reported to have iconic scenes. And here is the review.
Usually males will have a different response to the show - as reported elsewhere also - since the "can do" attitude makes them get pissed off at the shooting-yourself-in-the-foot behavior of Asher. However the play is also a study of conflict - and how it can destroy straight thinking - and as a plot device as well the various things could be excused.
The various plot devices used during the series are:
- hero has everything going for him (so no wonder is desirable) - but then that is usually the starting point for most successful shows - the protagonists need to be people the audience is bothered for .. so this can be excused
- misunderstandings are piled on - however in the play they are presented in such a way that (with suitable allowance for the obstinate character of the hero/heroine) it could be possible - although in real life the first meeting between hero/heroine after breakup would have resulted in instant flare up with accusations and counter accusations - the way the play however avoids that accusation somewhat is in the build-up to that - where the heroine is SO assailed against that she has no expectation left for fairness. Although practically - well before all the other stuff - in pakistan people would have been suggesting she send a claim for support to the husband - so that is a weak part. Although the play does use the plot device of having killed off every source of support for the heroine - leaving her in the hands and thinking of Batul Khala and her son/family's way of thinking/handling the issue. Though realistically after some time they would have been clamoring for Khirad to get back with her husband by hook or by crook - and esp. if accusations against Khirad are fake ..
- a plot device the play uses is of economic disparity between Khirad/Batul-Khala vs. Asher/his-mother and her family. This perhaps helps in creating the environment of oppression i.e. a stronger family arm-twisting the poorer family into submission - so that they don't dare re-challenge them - or take them to court for child-support etc. (a court would side heavily in favor of the mother in Pakistan because of the Islamic laws - where a young child is always given to the mother - and only much later is allowed to be taken by father in matters of divorce etc.). So when faced with false accusations of infidelity - it seems reasonable that Khirad would have taken Asher to court - knowing full well she could prove paternity for Hareem - and it would have dragged them through the mud to wipe their smugness off their well-off faces (i.e. if the play is a commentary on economic disparity - and the damaging effects it can have on marriage/expectations of in-laws etc.)
By the way - a lot of people have mentioned the Urdu and the diction in the play. Surely the dialogue is well written - however the way it is delivered has varying shades of comfort level with Urdu apparent in it. Of the characters Batul Khala is an example of someone who is fluent in Urdu (by the way she is an old character actress of pak tv). I maybe mistaken but I THINK she is the younger sister of one of the more respected (i.e. coming from a "respectable" family as opposed to "red light" areas etc.) actresses of Lollywood:
http://pak101.com/c/celebrities/bio/390/Actresses/Nayyar_Sultana
In any case it is Qaiser Bano (Batul Khala) or someone else who is the sister of Nayyara Sultana (although her name was Nayyara Bano - so that may lend support to my impression).
Mahira Khan's control over Urdu seems dodgy - i.e. it seems like she has not spoken those words before - so they don't flow easily off her tongue. And this makes sense as she was known more as a VJ and is probably better spoken in English than Urdu (and perhaps could be called "Burger Family" i.e. growing up in areas of Karachi like Defence/Clifton - which are more likely to be speaking English and acting like they are English than locals).
With Fawad Khan also (like Mahira Khan - he cannot speak "Q" properly - but that can be excused since he grew up in Lahore). Even though his family is "muhajir" Urdu-speaking from Patiala (father) and Lucknow (mother). However his overall delivery of Urdu is much better than Mahira Khan's.
At times the dialogue that Mahira Khan speaks seems incompatible with her delivery - i.e. she does not seem like the person who would be speaking those words.
Regarding the dialogue of Atiqa Odho - she is Sindhi - but has a history of acting in Urdu plays (and is well regarded as character actor - having acted in Hasina Moin play even - which are prototypical "Urdu" plays - as opposed to plays coming out of Lahore or those with a more rural or rustic bent). However in this play - as some have mentioned elsewhere on this forum - that she uses a lilt in her voice to suggest as if she is Punjabi. And that might have been deliberate or perhaps is due to how she speaks now - I am not sure. But that could be reasonable - as it could be that Fawad Khan's parents are "posh" - then they would be living in Clifton/Defence areas (which are notorious for being isolated from rest of Karachi - since it is close to Saddar the office area - and so many of these don't have to go out of Clifton/Defence areas - and thus wind up thinking Karachi IS Clifton/Defence - which leads to the accusations of "Burger Families" etc. which Omar Sharif plays are famous for lampooning). In any case - FK's mother could very well be Punjabi - having met and married the rich husband - and husband living in Clifton/Defence - rarely venturing out - and let along Hyderabad - which would account for his lack of contact with his sister (since Clifton/Defence is ALSO somewhat of a refuge for families which get prosperous and want to escape their poorer relatives who live in the rest of Karachi .. :-) - so in that the play gets that Karachi environment right - though this may not be apparent to Indian viewers - but would be recognizable to Karachi folks).
HOWEVER, Atiqa Odho's way of speaking Urdu - is slightly different from her sister's - and Sara's. Sara's delivery is actually the clearest of this trio. But any way - these things happen in plays - and in Western movies - where one character can have a scottish accent - while his brother has an english accent etc. ..
Overall I see the play as a blistering attack on the "fake" rich families - and their oh-so-superior attitudes (often towards their own poorer relatives). While this may be the case all over Pakistan (and in India) - but among refugees who came from India - it took many years for many of them to stabilize (having left house and any wealth in India). When someone from these groups rises or becomes very rich - there can be a huge gap in their expectations and the vast economic mess the rest of their huge families are prone to (and muslim families can be HUGE - what with the inter-marriages - this is something which leads to excessive "ghettoization" compared to say Hindu families - which make it a rule to marry 7 generations or more separated from their own family tree - though that may have it's own issues - but it does avoid inbreeding - and injects new blood and thinking whne families go far afield to seek partners for their kids). This is not to say all muslim families marry cousins - but it is an accepted (and very lazy) part of muslim culture - and probably the outcome of the greater "purdah" (who else will people know except their cousins etc. type of thing maybe also .. !!). But there are non-arranged marriages also - esp. in urban areas - and there is a steady realization about cousin-marriages being bad etc. (esp. for diseases like thallasemia etc.).
Anyway, coming back to the play - the play thus brings into contrast the inability of the Clifton/Defence type to accomodate the "poorer" (or actually more "desi") relatives into their own mileu (or their embarrassment at having to acknowledge that they have poorer relatives also).
The character of FK's mother is thus not TOO FAR from some real people like that maybe. And especially if the rich person is a "grabber" (i.e. may have become rich by being corrupt etc.) - they may already have a criminal bent of mind. As it is - in present day Pakistan - if you live in a "posh" area - you are as likely to be living next to a drug dealer - corrupt official - or some such personality. So the "snobby" types usually have a reason to be snobby - i.e. it goes beyond "we go to the golf club and they don't know what a golf club is etc." but rather it is the rich trying to defend their turf in a country of poor - and disgust is one element of that.
In that sense - FK's mother represents that base level of behavior which can be found in the "disgust" that rich people feel as they pile through the streets and look at the poor on the side.
In contrast FK's father is shown to have more humbler roots - and thus the greater level of concern/and-or guilt at having neglected his sister (having being caught up in the hi-fi behaviors that possibly he had to adopt after marrying into his wife's family - who may be more cut-throat about that).
Throughout the play the heavier hand with which FK's mother, and FK himself plays (that of superiority and smugness) - is contrasted against the humbler background of the heroine - and this is also used as a device to suggest the tyranny of living "thullay" to people who unreasonable AND also happen to have the upper hand (being richer etc.).
However, realistically the play DOES over-reach in portraying the let-me-hide-away behavior of Khirad - that behavior MAY have been more plausible IF FK and FK's mother had been shown to be even MORE ruthless - i.e. perhaps set in a rural setting where they are feudals type etc. - HOWEVER then it would have become difficult to get the hero/heroine together - for that the author had to tread very lightly on a thin line - and THIS perhaps is what makes the play "enticing" and titillating to viewers - because the play does not commit to labelling hero as bad/good - and thus this subtle balance is what makes the play balance on a knife-edge of expectation. By doing so - the play takes the audience on the same/similar journey as Khirad - and that is why the audience seems to feel this play with such intensity as well (more than other plays).
The play also dwells on what all thinking people may feel in a corrupt/degenerate society - or what perhaps women feel (more than men) - because they often wind up in situations of subservience (having to kowtow to the dictat of their husbands/in-laws etc. etc.) - thus the play is essentially a story of oppression - and how a sane individual should deal with it - by stoic indifference. Essentially the heroine detaches herself from the husband (as someone said on this forum - apathy is the opposite of love instead of hate). And it is this portrayal which is perhaps the most powerful device employed by the play - because it essentially takes the audience through the experience of a person trying to stand for the truth in an environment of unthinking/unfeeling/and-self-absorbed society (FK, FK's mother etc.). As FK says - "her behavior" has shorn FK of his "respect" in society etc. - and it is this same "respect" or standing which FK's mother was so keen to protect (even FK having been sent abroad to study - is all seen as an investment by her - in order to leverage some sort of marriage power-play - which was shattered when FK's father broke protocol and wanted to compensate his neglect of sister by marrying his son off in compensation).
In any case - the play is full of such "abuses" and sacrifices - father sacrificing son (and shattering wife's careful plans for her son's "perfect" career trajectory) - and the whole play thus is a social train-wreck - that starts with FK's father's decisions/impositions - which in turn leads to lashing out by FK's mother and so on ..
The play is at it's most powerful - when it repeatedly steers the audience on the edge between the hero's view and the heroine's view - the hero accusing the wife - and the wife having already considered him beneath her - and not deigning to reply to his accusations. It is at once a lesson on the dangers of misunderstanding/miscommunication - as a simultaneous examination of hero's view - while showing the heroine's view. And it is this device which no doubt clutches at the heart-strings of the viewers - as the play does not let them go - but keeps them in suspense for an extended period of time (whole second half). This "tension" (of something which could be resolved but is not resolved) - is what keeps the drama moving - and in fact makes it a suspense story of sorts (suspenseful romance).
FK and MK play their parts well - as do the others - and the play makes extensive use of pauses - and thus says more by not saying than by the dialogue itself. Realistically however no one stares that long on things - but that can be excused and is not really noticed when you watch the drama. Mahira Khan's crying also sometimes seems forced - since she was not known to be an actress (was a VJ and host of some music programs etc.) - but she does the job adequately - some places better than others. Her portrayal of the bored apathetic (and spurned) wife is well executed. Although it still begs the question - that she could have blurted something on one of the occasions - perhaps they could have put a scene where she tries to say something - but Asher shuts her up - which leads her to concludd again that it is useless talking to these dolts. And perhaps if FK had been shown to be an even more of an asshole - perhaps if Faisal Qureshi had played the part. But then the audience may not have cared as much about the two getting back together etc. (so again a difficult path to tread by the screenplay/author).
As an aside: when people write her name as "Betul Khala" - I was reading that as "baitul khala" (which is the restroom) - so better phrase that as Batul Khala :-) .. anyway ..
EDITED: In contrast to some comments on the acting of Hareem - I thought she played the part pretty well - i.e. underplayed and could have been worse if overplayed. One thing which I thought was uncharacteristic was Khirad's willingness to leave her daughter with her father. This seemed slightly at odds with her attachment to her daughter - and the epectation she must have had that her daughter may have for her mother. So it was a bit odd for her to leave her daughter in an alien house - which had Asher surely - but also the tormentor of the mother i.e. KH's mother there as well. Would a thinking woman have left her child in that environment all alone - to be brainwashed by KH's mother against Khirad etc. ? I would think her "self-respect" would have forced her to at least share time - or to keep the daughter with herself - as the thought of having her daughter's mind poinsoned against her would have been esp. galling - if anything she would have engineered an arrangement where she gets to see her daughter or to keep her - while imposing on Asher for expenses for the daughter (which is after all admissable legally in islamic law as well). So I thought this was a partial weakness in the script - no doubt created to create tension in the script - to show Asher being pressurized etc.
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