Revisiting Zindagi Gulzar Hai in 2020




Sometime ago, when I was scrolling down my YouTube feed probably wasting my time, I cam across a clip of the popular Pakistani TV show 'Zindagi Gulzar Hai'. I begin to realize how the time has passed since 2014 when I first watched that show on Zindagi. The first ever TV serial I watched. 

Television was never a norm in our family, and the cable was ought to get cut during school examinations, especially the Board ones. According to our father, it was a major distraction. If we speak of Indian schools, then there are numerous exams throughout the year. The best time was summer vacations as we used to have uninterrupted cable connection for two months. So watching serials would've been a bad idea as you'll be missing months worth of storyline. Honestly, I was never even interested in watching any serial as such because I knew most of them were dumb already. 

I remember, while quickly switching between channels, deciding what to watch, I suddenly stopped at Zindagi channel to watch a girl confronting a guy in her college. Kashaf, protagonist, played by Sanam Saeed, was confronting Zaroon (played by Fawad Khan) in their college library. It was surprising as the actors looked unlike our usually caked actors of TV serials. At that time, I did not know it was a Pakistani TV serial. At that time I seriously used to think that Pakistan only consumes Indian entertainment and does not have, what we call, TV or Movie industry of its own. I guess that was my single story of it. ( To understand the reference : The danger of a single story) 

That was the first time I saw a female protagonist, who looked like me, and like many of us,  confidently confronting a privileged and arrogant boy for his ways. Kashaf and Zaroon library scene  This time this girl was not in love, swooning her hair around the bushes, or, accidently falling into the arms of her 'dream man'. And that struck me. This time it was a girl, strong in her ways, speaking her mind and being unapologetic for it. I knew that was the representation I wanted. 
From then on, I completed the drama (which had like 30 convenient episodes to it) and loved every bit of it. Kashaf, through her diary entries, expresses her ideas and beliefs of love, life, relationships, God and society. It beautifully depicts the life of an average middle-class girl, changing buses to reach college and breaking her sandals in the way. The issue of coming late at night that too with a boy. She confronts the hypocrisy of her father who left the family because he wanted a male child, and tries to return when he gets to know that Kashaf has become a government officer. 

Moreover, it beautifully depicts the nuances of a married relationship between two strong-headed individuals (she ultimately marries Zaroon and I hate her for this). Two people from completely different backgrounds with poles-apart personalities struggling to find a middle ground. 
Over the years, the show has been criticized for not representing 'the spirit of feminism' efficiently. Although, I believe that it is closer to our reality, and our reality is not entirely feminist. 

Zindagi Gulzar Hai is bound to touch the heart of many middle-class people, especially women through its hard-hitting dialogues and complexity of both the main characters Kashaf and Zaroon. The simplicity of its ambience yet the intensity of situations just wins my heart whenever I watch it. (Yes, I've watched the show couple of times!) I have watched various Pakistani dramas ever since and always there was something or the other to learn from them.  

Below is the link to the clip I came across on YouTube and it came across as a breath of fresh air.
If anyone plans to watch the drama it is available on Netflix.












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A sense of liberation in unearthing your history : Watching Netflix's documentary Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb

Image
  "You get a lot of mistakes about history, seeing the great temples, the great statues and you think everything in history was perfect. And then you see these people, you discover they're like us. Exactly like us. This is the real story."  - Amira Shaheen, professor of Rheumatology in the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University. The film by James Tovell presents the odyssey of several excavations at Saqqara, Egypt, to unearth the tomb of the ancient priest lord Wahtye. A team of Egyptologists, archaeologists, researchers from Cairo University, and excavators are deployed at the excavation site, where they unearth artifacts dating back to the 5th Century BCE. In 2018, the excavation site at Saqqara had recently witnessed some of the most important historical discoveries, such as the oldest mummified lion cub, the discovery of the Bubasteion Necropolis, the Egyptian goddess 'Bastet' statues, playing figurines, etc.  According to the hieroglyphs that were deciphered b...
Read more

The Clickbait Charade: Unveiling the Psychology Behind Viral Content

 Have you ever scrolled through social media and gotten sucked into a vortex of funny cat videos, heartwarming stories, or something so bizarre you just had to share it? You're not alone. Viral content thrives because it taps into the core of human psychology, making us click, share, and come back for more. The internet is a swirling vortex of information, entertainment, and endless scrolling. But what makes certain content break through the noise and achieve viral fame? The answer lies in the fascinating dance between psychology and content creation. Understanding what compels us to click, share, and engage with content is the key to unlocking the secrets of virality. Viral content can steer some sense of emotion into us. Various psychological factors are associated with the anatomy of a viral video, image, graphic, icon, or meme that is made using such viral content. Following are some psychological factors behind viral content and what makes it tick:- The Emotional Rollercoaster...
Read more

Incorporating Tech like AR & VR in Schools: Are we heading towards metaverse school system?

Image
Emerging technologies like Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality are changing the education field with innovation in the teaching methods many schools adopt today. As the learning experience becomes more immersive and engaging for students, should schools be more receptive to technological innovations in education dissemination? Today, technology has incorporated itself into education in ways that give a new face to learning. Technologies like augmented and virtual reality have been used to teach students methods of science and arts efficiently. Augmented reality is a digital simulation that allows users to augment their surroundings using digital elements. According to Krogstad, augmented reality has the following attributes: a) it should combine the real and the virtual, b) augmentations should be interactive in real-time, and c) the simulations should be registered in 3 Dimensions. (Aastveit)  Since the advent of these techs in the education space, students can learn creatively, ...
Read more