Mere Meherbaan, overall, was a brain-screw with over-the-top acting, black and white characters and irritating situations. However, something about the show kept viewers tuning in week after week, myself included.
The character of Muskaan stayed true to her nature from beginning to end: self-sabotaging. From beginning to end, she refused to take full responsibility for her actions, especially regarding her attitude. Hence, the "fate" of Muskaan was most fitting - she was left alone. While I did not agree with the attitude of those around her, Muskaan's arrogance was incredulous right until the end! Yes, no woman should have to deal with her husband remarrying and then expecting her to "deal with it." I didn't disagree with Muskaan on that. But the lack of remorse that Muskaan displayed towards her own role in destroying her home was frustrating. Even at the very end, when she spoke to her mother about her "haal," she blamed her mother entirely for the state of her life at that present moment. While it may have been true, it not only burned the now-reformed Shaista, but also the audience!
Moving on to the character of Iraj, I really want to stress THIS point: Sanam Chaudhry has come a LONG way as an actress! Iraj was the best, most "reformed" character, because not only was her pain real, her situation was believable. A lot of this had to do with the way Sanam portrayed Iraj and enacted her role. What's strange is that, in the past, Sanam's involvement in any drama was almost a deterrent for me. Her role in "Aasmanon Pe Likha" was the beginning of my dislike-relationship with her, but things have changed! Not only with her growth as an actress in "Mere Meherban," but also her great performance in "Khata" these days, I've suddenly turned into a Sanam Chaudhry fan. Iraj's obsession over Shehryar, her confusion over how to confess, her idle behavior in going along with her marriage, her guilt eating her alive inside and ultimately, her grief felt torn between a wife of the living and Sherry's widow.....it was all very believable and the performance itself was great!
Now coming to Hayaa, our goody-two-shoes-taken-for-granted. A character like Hayaa was a blessing for this show, only because of the way they ultimately ended her story. While Hayaa was subservient to her once-to-be-in-laws and her own family, Hayaa's outcome and the stand she took made her a great character and a great role-model. This should serve as a message to women as to what they deserve in life - a huge 180 from the role of Rudaba from Bashar Momin. Hayaa was self-sacrificing, sweet, loyal, caring - but ultimately, she understood what others inflicted upon her (namely Zeeshan and Shaista) and despite caring about them, she took a decision against them and a decision that would better serve her OWN future. Watching Hayaa accept Zeeshan would've destroyed this show entirely, therefore the conclusion was absolutely perfect.
Zeeshan made his bed and had to lie in it. Despite feeling remorse for his behavior towards Hayaa, he was unable to get his way and had to do what was right regarding his wife and child. What made my sympathy towards Zeeshan deter was in the moment between Zeeshan & Hayaa when, after Hayaa rejected Zeeshan's too-late proposal, we as viewers saw that flicker of anger in Zeeshan's eyes. Unfortunately, regardless of how sorry Zeeshan may have been, he still failed to recognize how terribly he treated Hayaa and didn't feel any shame in trying to attain her once again. Therefore, it made it so fitting that Zeeshan would now have to go back to his wife (and child) and actually work on that marriage, rather than falling on his "backup" of Hayaa.
Shaista, despite reforming her attitude and her ways, was unable to completely fit all the pieces of her life and her children's lives together entirely. While Iraj was able to piece her life together again, Muskaan was left empty-handed and Zeeshan was forced to abandon his mother (albeit temporarily). It was actually painful to watch Shaista in such a state. But isn't that the point? All wrongs cannot be made right!
It was nice to see Falah, Hayaa and Nayaara's entire family at peace at the end. This was truly a story of "good trumps evil." And while the "Evil" (Shaista and co.) reformed themselves for the most part, it was a long, painful struggle and one that would continue for them.
Alright, that's the end of Mere Meherban! I had many more shows to write about, but didn't want to "messily" combine them all together. Watch out for my next post on a batch of new shows, including Goya!
Happy watching!
(Photos Courtesy Hum TV's FB Page)
This drama was a guilty pleasure of mine. It had such a cliched story but its strong point was its solid ending. I really liked Iraj's arc since it showed redemption is possible and suicide is not the answer when faced with so many problems. I also liked Haya's decision in the end of not accepting Zeeshan. Too many heroines in our dramas end up forgiving their na liaq husbands/fiances so her taking a stand was great to watch
ReplyDeleteYes this drama was highly entertaining despite having a somewhat generic story line. What I loved was Haya'a decision in the end - I feel I would have felt very differently about the overall drama if she had gone back to the people who treated her like crap.
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