“Baddua” is one of those tales that puts emphasis on “karma” of sorts for characters who hurt others. Starring Amar Khan, Muneeb Butt, Maryam Noor, Osama Tahir and others, the story has been written by Samina Aijaz and directed by Ramish Rizvi. Unfortunately, “Baddua” seems headed down the expected path, a path of punishment for a young girl who has made some terrible choices. This is a tricky subject to tackle, because in reality, divine retribution does not come this quickly – if at all. Many go through life hurting others and themselves and even finding happiness while those they’ve hurt have to put together the pieces and move on with life. Are stories like this really putting out a good message?
In episode 8, Abeer (Amar Khan) and Junaid (Muneeb Butt) are now married and while Junaid’s family is accepting of Abeer outwardly, Junaid continues to be in touch with his old girlfriends. This will not make life easy for Abeer, especially because Junaid has brought her into his home with the mindset of punishing her. Meanwhile, Abeer’s family continues their rant over disowning her, her younger sister even refusing to take her calls while her father declares that she made them “ruswa” in the entire world. How so? By rejecting one proposal, of course! This is where the problem in the story lies. Yes, Abeer has been “bad” and yes, she broke Mohsin’s (Mohsin Abbas Haider) heart. But one cannot be physically responsible for another person’s suicide – and Abeer was not. Why then is her entire wedding plagued with thoughts of Mohsin’s mother’s curse and how that “baddua” will ruin Abeer’s life? Abeer has been mostly unaffected by both Mohsin’s death and his mother’s curse, so why would she start thinking about it now? And why should such a thought even be promoted in dramas? Junaid is a horrible human being, but will we see Abeer’s “baddua” later affect him the way Abeer will, no doubt, be affected? Probably not, because these punishments are only for women.
In the preview, we see that Affan (Osama Tahir) is a friend of Junaid’s. What part will Affan have to play in this entire scenario, particularly because he is Mohsin’s (Mohsin Abbas Haider) cousin? It’s the Affan character who appears to be the most interesting one in the show and Mohsin’s family members are the more likable ones within this story. “Baddua” is certainly an interesting show with some great actors, particularly Amar Khan, but overall, the message it’s sending out is worrisome. If more focus is put on Neelam (Maryam Noor) moving on and less on Abeer’s punishment, that would make a world of difference. But is this a direction the makers will head in?
