To be honest, I gave 'Zindagi Gulzar Hai' a try because I can't resist the poor girl-rich guy/opposites attract trope and also because of Fawad Khan. He doesn't have his awesome beard here but he grows on you nevertheless (did I just make a pun??).
This Pakistani TV show is about a young girl from a poor family who struggles to achieve better things in life. I really liked the story, the pace of the show, and the realistic portrayal of a lower middle class life.
I was all gung-ho about Kashaf Murtaza (played by Sanam Saeed) from the first episode. I think she is now one of my favorite TV characters ever so I'm going to focus on her here.
Kashaf is not one of those cheerful-in-the-face-of-adversity heroines. She complains incessantly, and is pessimistic and made bitter by her father's selfish ways. Her loser father was not happy with three daughters and remarried in order to produce an heir (male) supreme for his meager kingdom. He is still married to his first wife, Kashaf's mom Rafiya, who he visits from time to time and listens to her urgent demands but doesn't do anything to help her. Rafiya is a hardworking government school principal who is making ends meet with after school tuition.
Zindagi gulzar hai means 'Life is beautiful' as I learned from the subtitles. I don't know whether they were trying to show that there is beauty in the struggles of life but I couldn't find happiness or beauty for Kashaf's life until after the second half.
I liked that Kashaf remains true to her character even as her life changes for the better. She is a woman with layers in her personality. There is nothing one dimensional about her. She is expressive and vocal with her family but she is reticent about discussing her feelings with her husband. I could understand her reluctance to express her feelings to Zaroon (Fawad Khan) even while he showers her with attention and declarations of love which she obviously enjoys. Her problems with her father has made her unable to trust men. She deals with conflicting emotions even toward the end of the show when she grapples with the issue of giving birth to daughters.
I could also understand her need to be independent and self sufficient. This stems from having to do and be so for all her life. With her father neglecting his first family and her mother working so so so hard, Kashaf had no option but to contribute to her family's livelihood from a young age. Her dream is to earn enough money to ensure that her mom doesn't have to work so hard and give up on her basic needs. She also has a strong sense of dignity which doesn't allow her to lower her self respect.
Some grey areas in the show has to be the portrayal of the 'modern career' woman. Zaroon's mom and sister who are modern working women put themselves and their careers first. This is not a bad thing. But these women are shown to be stubborn and kind of egoistic, they wouldn't admit they were wrong and they refused to compromise. Of course, you might think what's wrong in these women acting as they please when men have been doing the same for years and years! But viewers will clearly be able to see (and be annoyed at) how detrimental the characters' attitudes are to their happiness.
Then there is the men's reaction to the 'modern career' woman. Male characters from these affluent and privileged backgrounds, who are educated and have had the opportunity to travel, still long for women who are the female archetype. They wish for their mothers and their wives to be educated and smart but to stay at home, not cultivate male friendships, pack their bags, cook their favorite foods. The men are either long suffering husbands/fiances or sad deprived children due to such women.
I felt that both the women and the men's reactions were extreme and frustrating. Middle ground bhanne cheej chaina ki kya ho? Perhaps that's what the writer intended to achieve. Frustrate the viewer and also give us food for thought. I am not able to articulate my exact thoughts and feelings on this so you should watch the show.
One thing that made me a bit sad was- how come Kashaf and Zaroon never exchanged their diaries? They're always scribbling and I assumed they would allow each other to read their penned thoughts as a way of understanding each other better.
But that didn't happen. 😞
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