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There were few things which made me watch this show - The cast, cinematography and the hope that finally we would for real have 2 female characters who would form the basis of the show.
It is not that desi shows have had no female characters..heck the trp brigade runs on a female template but the "nayi soch" that I was looking for , was in writing of female characters. I am aware in tv medium or otherwise, it's hard to project realism but I was looking for realism in terms of writing especially when the show build the writing as it's USP and which claims to be different from the rest.
Harleen- I would be honest when I say , apart from fab acting, cinematography this was a very common template- a goody , brave Bahu who held the family together..gets betrayed and would rise from the ashes. I have no problems with the template, as long as treatment is decent. Shout-out, the whole Sartaaj PTSD was stupidly handled , comeon for a show looking for being different - therapy session, won't have been a huge logisitical problem . Army does provide it for these cases. Whatever, guess what i am trying to say, the path for both harleen and Sartaaj be simple and straight now. I hope the show handles it well.
Naaz- This is where my interest rested.The nuance and the realism. Unlike Harleen, Naaz is aware of the prison she too was in. She struggled with a dilemma of letting go of her past and taking a new road . The guilt . The need to stay in this marriage for kids, herself- because it still is comfort. The choices she will make . You don't need to pit Salim vs Imaan but all I wanted was to see Naaz making a decision , whatever it might be. It had to be about her "freedom", voice.
Her fear, her guilt, her decisions. The story of her fate MUST be driven by her.
But what has been happening- Imaan vs Salim. Glorification of Imaan. First was the cheating - no effing way was it planned earlier or even if it was , this undermined Naaz beyond. It made her story about the man.
The Nikaah. I am sorry, I am don't see the revolutionary things. The "Good" MIL angle has been working since Tulsi days. Been there, done that. The whole Imaan lying about divorce , moving on ..etc again reflects upon the "Man" being the catalyst of the a woman's story. You have undermined your female character . Naaz has not been a factor of any personal equations around herself. People are taking her decisions. Characters aka Imaan is build up to sort her equation. Like the weird "daddy is best" angle for the daughter..rather than letting the complexities be ..the show has used up Naaz's nuance, dilemma and situation as a catalyst and a plot to built another character aka the more famous, trp-bait, Imaan.
Neither does the token step by Naaz to not choose anyone and reject Imaan impress me. Sorry, many tv youth shows have done that ..meh. Doesn't matter when you handover the sympathy flag to the ML. Thats just tokenism
I have no problems if you want to show Imaan as your central character but if you use him to run the equation of the female character whose nuances you have used in promos and sell it in the name of "nayi soch" , then you are doing what the trp driven shows do.
Again, this is not a bashing post. I am just disappointed to see how Naaz's story is so driven by what Imaan does or represents, the good , the bad and the in-between.
This show is a reflection on millions of Defense wives who live in the uncertainty . It should have been about that wife- who looks at her relationships , decides what her life would be when the uncertainty turns into a reality and the changes it brings to her life. The fears- of who was lost, what will come . The safety of her set-system, people. The apprehension of living with a man she thought would never come. What does she look for in that moment- love, safety, family. Naaz's pendulum should have been about herself not pulled by Imaan, Mrs Khan, Salim or anyone.
Till then I remain disappointed with this show, probably more so because it promised a "Nayi Soch.
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