Fans of Pakistani dramas tend to be drawn to miserable plotlines with many depressing, misery-heavy shows bring in high TRPs. This is what the writers of “Mujhe Vida Kar” appear to have had in mind while writing the script of this drama, each episode pushing its lead characters (and the audience) further into darkness with little respite. Discussing manipulative, greedy in-laws and the miserable circumstances many girls face post-marriage, “Mujhe Vida Kar” stars Muneeb Butt, Madiha Imam, Saboor Ali, Raza Talish, Haaris Waheed, Shaista Jabeen, Tara Mehmood, Shabbir Jaan, Saba Hameed, Paras Masroor and many other talented actors. The story has been written by Samra Bukhari and directed by Saqib Zafar.
In the four episodes this week (9 – 12), we witness Rida (Madiha Imam) and the emotional abuse she faces at the hands of her in-laws. Not only does she have a slimy brother-in-law (Paras Masroor) making constant attempts to harass her, but her in-laws treat her like a servant, disallowing her from even checking in on her mother and so much as accuse her of having an affair when she speaks to Sadia’s brother (Raza Talish) to check on her mother’s condition. Fortunately, Usman (Muneeb Butt) makes his return back home – but will this make things better or worse? Usman arrives back home after being deported after being falsely accused of fraud. This has caused him a lot of internal pain and feelings of inferiority, changing his personality from the loving, understanding Usman to one who doubts not only himself, but Rida’s intentions and behavior as well.
Sadia (Saboor Ali) deals with her own issues up on her return home. While Tauseef has allowed her to return home without her “Hissa” of her house (which is a disgusting demand), it’s simply because his sister is getting married and the family does not want any questions to arise during the wedding festivities. However, Tauseef and his family are planning something even more disgusting – Tauseef’s second marriage to his now-divorced cousin in Canada. She is willing to provide a car for his sister’s wedding, along with an extravagant amount of “gifts” for Tauseef’s family for the marriage, which makes her a much more attractive option than Sadia…….forgetting that Sadia is already his wife.
The situations these women are in are so pitiful, it’s horrible to see them put up with this behavior. In the case of Farheen (Sana Askari), it’s understandable as to why she deals with her in-laws, because she has a loving, supportive husband who defends her at every turn and she already has a child with him. It’s also been clear that she only puts up with her in-laws for a few months in a year. But with Rida, she was almost immediately left at her in-laws’ mercy after her marriage. Given, Usman has only just returned, so she believes he will protect her now – but for how long will we have to watch her being abused by Usman emotionally before she decides to leave? Likewise with Sadia, who has been putting up with an oaf of a husband and terrible in-laws from day one, a husband who is now happily ready to marry someone else. Why won’t she leave? She is young, has been married for all of two months and has her whole life ahead of her. It’s so depressing to watch these kind-hearted brothers and mothers sending their sweet girls back into these abusive households. In cases like this, divorce is simply the best option, but for how long will we have to watch these girls suffer? The ideal case scenario is that these girls marry each other’s brothers and one has to wonder why these families didn’t do that in the first place (because where would the story be then?). Still, could that be end game? One can always hope, because neither Sadia nor Rida deserve their current spouses – they deserve something much better.
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The cast of “Mujhe Vida Kar” is wonderful and that’s why, despite the overly heavy feel of the show, the audience continues to come back. Add to that the fact that the show airs four days a week and there’s a sense of immediate gratification where the audience doesn’t have to slog through one episode of misery a week to get to the deserved happy ending. While “Mujhe Vida Kar” isn’t the greatest show in terms of “entertainment,” the story it’s telling is unfortunately a very real one many girls face and is worth watching if one can tolerate a lot of sadness.
