A journey of togetherness, the pain of truthfulness. ~ a review of Humsafar (c) Anupama Madhubhashinie
I got to see Humsafar, the record-breaking Pakistani TV series of 2011 by sheer "destiny" , or I'd rather call it "God's cute plan" as I always do, because I don't believe in coincidence.
To be honest, my case of stumbling upon Pakistani TV series was a a part of God's cute plan itself. I didn't even know that I could have them as part of my entertainment-life until, out of mere heartache and recollection I typed the word "Yusuf" (Don't ask) on Youtube's searchbar. The very first result popped up : Mera Naam Yusuf Hai. Since the name intrigued me (Again, don't ask) I proceeded to check the soundtrack and fell in love with the songs immediately. Consequently I dived into watching the TV series. I enjoyed the dramatic plot and the interesting love triangle, the friendships and the portrayal of the Pakistani familial cultures in the series. I disciplined myself to watch one episode per day. However towards the end of the series I took one day of a weekend night off and finished watching the entire remainder since curiosity rose. I wept at the finale, which took a dramatic turn during the very last 5 minutes of the drama! I know I know, I'm such a "senti-creature" as you might say.
Anyway, as a result of falling in love with "Yusuf and Zuleikha", the conversational Urdu and the soft portrayal of love and friendship in the series, I googled up for what I should watch next.The very first name that popped up was "Humsafar". The images looked interesting as the lead actors, Mahira and Fawad, both Khans, looked very attractive and appeasing, and the plot summary which said it was a story of a newly married couple and the challenges they faced sounded interesting, but that didn't make me interested enough to get glued to the TV series. I listened to the soundtrack, and it sounded extremely serious, and deep, unlike Yusuf and Zuleikhas soft romantic background tunes. So I left out watching Humsafar for later, and browsed for some more. Ironically, wherever I searched on the internet, Humsafar was ranked as number 1, record-breaking, and topped all the lists of "best Pakistani TV series".
I tried the first episodes of a couple of other TV serials that struck my attention, but they didn't encourage me to pursue. So I decided, merely by the reviews, to pursue with Humsafar. The first episode was very casual and nothing special was portrayed. The base of the story was laid out, and it was very ordinary to me so I didn't really pursue the series for a while.
Once a crazy busy week ended, I found a bit of time in my hands and sat down with a mug of Nestomalt with my laptop to watch Episode 2. There it did the job. I was hooked. Then started my safar with "Humsafar". One episode per day. I missed it for a about a fortnight due to busy work and a conference paper, but after the conference was over I treated myself with a Humsafar-ed weekend again. It got so exciting that I watched the last 12 episodes in one go, in one night! Stayed up until 2.00 am to do that! I wept, laughed and was moved with each dramatic twist and turn of the plot. This was much deeper and maturer of an experience than "Mera Naam Yusuf Hai". No wonder the drama had broken all records of Pakistani telecast in 2011.
I personally believe that Mahira and Fawad who played the leading roles, were absolutely perfect for their portrayals. I haven't seen Mahira Khan acting before, except for a glimpse in the trailer of her latest movie "Bin Roye", so I must say she made quiet a good impression on me. Her depiction of a small town girl, innocent and full of integrity, her strength and weakness both being her truthfulness and loyalty, was executed really well. She had the ideal appearance to play such a role as well; innocent, pure, old world charm and beauty, which emanates her innate goodness. I will never forget the scene where she breaks down in shock and dismay when her mother in law accused her of unfaithfulness, and added astonishment when her friend Khizar agreed with the fabricated falsehood.
I have seen Fawad before of course, in the Bollywood movie "Khoobsurat", opposite Indian Fashionista Sonam Kapoor. That movie was extremely stupid of course, but yeah that's for another time. Fawad didn't disappoint at all. And I personally added him( and Mahira too ) into my all time favorite actors - list. He is extremely versatile. The mood-variations and portrayal of humane emotional issues executed by him (and Mahira too :D ) were excellent! The most unforgettable scene of Fawad's (Asher) when he cried out in pain and heart brokenness in the car as he drove back from Khizar's apartment after the scene of accusation towards his wife (Khirad).
With regard to performance, I think every single role in the series were justly portrayed. Asher's parents, in my opinion, were the best parents any man could have. (The finale of course proved it wrong- the twist in the tale was to blame. )
Behroze Sabzwari, who I initially watched in "Mera Naam Yusuf Hai", who played the role of the father of the male protaganist there as well, did more than justice to his role. He played the caring, loving, just and nurturing father figure. My attention though, was always on Atiqa Odho, who played the role of Farida Hussain, mother to Asher and the "evil one" of the story. I thought her acting was very different and fresh from the usual norm of playing mother. And then when she turned out to be the main female antagonist during the latter half of the drama, my respect towards the actor grew. She was very natural and simple in her transformation of character, mood, and shifted gently into the mentally imbalanced victim in the finale. To me, she was actually the protagonist; the character that held the reigns of the entire plot.
I was already a fan of Hina Khawaja Bayat after the "Yusuf and Zeleikha" experience. She played the role of Sarah's mother, and I always liked her classy and graceful stature and manner of speech.
The rest of the cast were chosen very appropriately as well, as they proved to bring out the characteristics of their roles very well.
I also found the images of romanticism in the drama very appealing. The lack of physical contact, on contrary to general belief, to me, actually made the romantic scenes more attractive. Mahira and Fawad were amazing in expressing romance through their conversations and their eyes (!!!), which made even a smiple act of teasing each other playfully, very attractive and in colloquial manner, sweet.
I believe the script-writer, obviously inspired by the original writer, the novelist Farhat Ishtiaq, did more than justice to the execution of these scenes. Cheers to the director as well!
The sound track must be complimented too. I initially wasn't that attracted to the original song, but when I began to absorb the depth and seriousness of the plot, the song "Woh Humsafar Tha"started to make a lot of sense to me. And I began to love the lyrics and its nuances.
Once again, after watching the finale I had no doubt of why Humsafar was titled "the record breaking Pakistani series of the decade" all over the world wide web. I personally would love to read the book, but I wonder whether I could get my hands on a good English translation as I cannot read Urdu although I understand speech. If anyone of you readers know of one , please do let me know.
I recommend Humsafar to everybody out there. If your Urdu is good, please watch the series on Youtube. You wouldn't regret it. It is not a nonsensical waste of time like most Indian soaps that drag for years are. It has just 23 episodes full of substantial, in-depth emotion, and a great plot.
It discussues the issues of hierarcrhy, social ingratiation, and economical and social values placed over familial principles. It also shows deeply the growth of love, romance and familialrity between two well -matured people, who due to prejudices and social perceptions grow hatred towards each other temporarily, but re-bond on the base of refreshed knowledge and awareness of fidelity, and ardent love for their only child.
See Humsafar. I'm sure we'll become "Humnawa"s subsequently. :)
To be honest, my case of stumbling upon Pakistani TV series was a a part of God's cute plan itself. I didn't even know that I could have them as part of my entertainment-life until, out of mere heartache and recollection I typed the word "Yusuf" (Don't ask) on Youtube's searchbar. The very first result popped up : Mera Naam Yusuf Hai. Since the name intrigued me (Again, don't ask) I proceeded to check the soundtrack and fell in love with the songs immediately. Consequently I dived into watching the TV series. I enjoyed the dramatic plot and the interesting love triangle, the friendships and the portrayal of the Pakistani familial cultures in the series. I disciplined myself to watch one episode per day. However towards the end of the series I took one day of a weekend night off and finished watching the entire remainder since curiosity rose. I wept at the finale, which took a dramatic turn during the very last 5 minutes of the drama! I know I know, I'm such a "senti-creature" as you might say.
Anyway, as a result of falling in love with "Yusuf and Zuleikha", the conversational Urdu and the soft portrayal of love and friendship in the series, I googled up for what I should watch next.The very first name that popped up was "Humsafar". The images looked interesting as the lead actors, Mahira and Fawad, both Khans, looked very attractive and appeasing, and the plot summary which said it was a story of a newly married couple and the challenges they faced sounded interesting, but that didn't make me interested enough to get glued to the TV series. I listened to the soundtrack, and it sounded extremely serious, and deep, unlike Yusuf and Zuleikhas soft romantic background tunes. So I left out watching Humsafar for later, and browsed for some more. Ironically, wherever I searched on the internet, Humsafar was ranked as number 1, record-breaking, and topped all the lists of "best Pakistani TV series".
I tried the first episodes of a couple of other TV serials that struck my attention, but they didn't encourage me to pursue. So I decided, merely by the reviews, to pursue with Humsafar. The first episode was very casual and nothing special was portrayed. The base of the story was laid out, and it was very ordinary to me so I didn't really pursue the series for a while.
Once a crazy busy week ended, I found a bit of time in my hands and sat down with a mug of Nestomalt with my laptop to watch Episode 2. There it did the job. I was hooked. Then started my safar with "Humsafar". One episode per day. I missed it for a about a fortnight due to busy work and a conference paper, but after the conference was over I treated myself with a Humsafar-ed weekend again. It got so exciting that I watched the last 12 episodes in one go, in one night! Stayed up until 2.00 am to do that! I wept, laughed and was moved with each dramatic twist and turn of the plot. This was much deeper and maturer of an experience than "Mera Naam Yusuf Hai". No wonder the drama had broken all records of Pakistani telecast in 2011.
I personally believe that Mahira and Fawad who played the leading roles, were absolutely perfect for their portrayals. I haven't seen Mahira Khan acting before, except for a glimpse in the trailer of her latest movie "Bin Roye", so I must say she made quiet a good impression on me. Her depiction of a small town girl, innocent and full of integrity, her strength and weakness both being her truthfulness and loyalty, was executed really well. She had the ideal appearance to play such a role as well; innocent, pure, old world charm and beauty, which emanates her innate goodness. I will never forget the scene where she breaks down in shock and dismay when her mother in law accused her of unfaithfulness, and added astonishment when her friend Khizar agreed with the fabricated falsehood.
I have seen Fawad before of course, in the Bollywood movie "Khoobsurat", opposite Indian Fashionista Sonam Kapoor. That movie was extremely stupid of course, but yeah that's for another time. Fawad didn't disappoint at all. And I personally added him( and Mahira too ) into my all time favorite actors - list. He is extremely versatile. The mood-variations and portrayal of humane emotional issues executed by him (and Mahira too :D ) were excellent! The most unforgettable scene of Fawad's (Asher) when he cried out in pain and heart brokenness in the car as he drove back from Khizar's apartment after the scene of accusation towards his wife (Khirad).
With regard to performance, I think every single role in the series were justly portrayed. Asher's parents, in my opinion, were the best parents any man could have. (The finale of course proved it wrong- the twist in the tale was to blame. )
Behroze Sabzwari, who I initially watched in "Mera Naam Yusuf Hai", who played the role of the father of the male protaganist there as well, did more than justice to his role. He played the caring, loving, just and nurturing father figure. My attention though, was always on Atiqa Odho, who played the role of Farida Hussain, mother to Asher and the "evil one" of the story. I thought her acting was very different and fresh from the usual norm of playing mother. And then when she turned out to be the main female antagonist during the latter half of the drama, my respect towards the actor grew. She was very natural and simple in her transformation of character, mood, and shifted gently into the mentally imbalanced victim in the finale. To me, she was actually the protagonist; the character that held the reigns of the entire plot.
I was already a fan of Hina Khawaja Bayat after the "Yusuf and Zeleikha" experience. She played the role of Sarah's mother, and I always liked her classy and graceful stature and manner of speech.
The rest of the cast were chosen very appropriately as well, as they proved to bring out the characteristics of their roles very well.
I also found the images of romanticism in the drama very appealing. The lack of physical contact, on contrary to general belief, to me, actually made the romantic scenes more attractive. Mahira and Fawad were amazing in expressing romance through their conversations and their eyes (!!!), which made even a smiple act of teasing each other playfully, very attractive and in colloquial manner, sweet.
I believe the script-writer, obviously inspired by the original writer, the novelist Farhat Ishtiaq, did more than justice to the execution of these scenes. Cheers to the director as well!
The sound track must be complimented too. I initially wasn't that attracted to the original song, but when I began to absorb the depth and seriousness of the plot, the song "Woh Humsafar Tha"started to make a lot of sense to me. And I began to love the lyrics and its nuances.
Once again, after watching the finale I had no doubt of why Humsafar was titled "the record breaking Pakistani series of the decade" all over the world wide web. I personally would love to read the book, but I wonder whether I could get my hands on a good English translation as I cannot read Urdu although I understand speech. If anyone of you readers know of one , please do let me know.
I recommend Humsafar to everybody out there. If your Urdu is good, please watch the series on Youtube. You wouldn't regret it. It is not a nonsensical waste of time like most Indian soaps that drag for years are. It has just 23 episodes full of substantial, in-depth emotion, and a great plot.
It discussues the issues of hierarcrhy, social ingratiation, and economical and social values placed over familial principles. It also shows deeply the growth of love, romance and familialrity between two well -matured people, who due to prejudices and social perceptions grow hatred towards each other temporarily, but re-bond on the base of refreshed knowledge and awareness of fidelity, and ardent love for their only child.
See Humsafar. I'm sure we'll become "Humnawa"s subsequently. :)
Comments
Post a Comment