When I discovered Sanam Chaudhry and Noor Hassan were in a drama together, I immediately jotted it down on my "to watch" list and waited for the air date. When that day came, I sat in front of the TV and began watching. Within seconds, my mind was taken back to a show I watched several years ago, back in the years when I indulged in watching Indian television serials. For those who watched Indian television in the mid-2000s, an Ekta Kapoor serial ruled television screens at the time, a show called Kahin To Hoga. This show starred Rajeev Khandelwal as Sujal, Aamna Shariff as Kashish and Rohit Bakshi as Piyush and created one of the most compelling and frustrating love triangles on television
Kahin To Hoga told the tale of two best friends that lived together in one house with their families. Their children Sujal, Rishi, Piyush, Varun, Aman and Sanjana all grow up together. Kashish Sinha, the daughter of a professor, is one of four sisters and takes care of the household as a mother would. She begins working in Sujal's office and immediately, sparks fly and despite irritation with each other, deep feelings form. Kashish also befriends Piyush, who also has feelings for Kashish. In a mistake, Kashish accepts the rishta that comes from their house, assuming it to be from Sujal. However, after seeing Sujal's reaction to the misunderstanding and his mistrust of their relationship, Kashish decides to marry Piyush, a move that sends Sujal down a heartbroken path of anger. This story gets fairly messy. A side-story is also as such: Rishi, Sujal's brother, has a run-in with Kashish and Professor Sinha and in an effort to get revenge, he has a relationship with Mehak, Kashish's sister, and gets her pregnant. Does this all sound familiar? It should, because this is the exact same story as Meer Abru. The story is so similar that even the casting has been done in such a way that the Pakistani counterparts are styled the exact same way as they were in the Indian version. There are very slight changes made. For example, the "Rishi" character (Waleed) is "Piyush's" brother (Mirza Zain Baig) instead of "Sujal" (Meer) and the Aman, Sanjana, Varun characters have been erased. When I watch Meer Abru with family or friends and they say "I wonder what Meer will do now?", I answer with "Just wait and watch" - because I know exactly what he's going to do. I know exactly where this show is headed. I know exactly what is going to happen to Meer, Abru and Saim - because I've seen it all before.
The issue I take with this "copy" is simple - ethically, shouldn't due credit be given when remaking an already existing television show? "But India copies our music all the time." I know there will be someone out there who makes this statement. Two wrongs do not make a right. Regarding television shows, a remake of "Dhoop Kinaare" was made in India several years back and their opening credits stated that it was a remake of Dhoop Kinaare. Credit was given. Likewise, when Talkhiyan and Mera Naseeb were made in Pakistan, credit was given to the novels they were inspired by. I simply do not understand why this happened in an industry where we are lauded for our content and people across the border love watching our serials for their simplicity and originality.
All this being said, Meer Abru is actually an incredibly entertaining show. Despite knowing exactly how the story will play out before it happens, I tune in every Wednesday and Thursday to catch the new episodes. Noor Hassan is doing a great job in his role as Meer and his chemistry with Sanam Chaudhry is electrifying. Mirza Zain Baig is doing a great job as well as Saim, the reliable, mature character. At entertainment value, this show is high on the list - I thoroughly enjoy the show and I am not in the minority. Meer Abru has caught on and has many die-hard fans. And, quite honestly, I am one of them. I look forward to watching the show on Wednesdays and Thursdays, excitedly watching the story play out - an excitement made more possible by already knowing how the story plays out, I suppose.
Is Meer Abru a bad show? No! It's a great show. It's simply just not original - and how I wish it were a legal remake (a fact that I google searched with optimism) or even had a line in the credits, because that step alone would have excused all my complains. Alas, it is not so.
