“Mujhe Vida Kar” has been a difficult watch for Pakistani drama viewers, a show following the heavy them of dowry and how women can be mistreated by their in-laws after marriage. The reason this show is so tragic is due to the realistic nature of its plot, many South Asians having seen this in some form in their own families or friends. Starring Saboor Aly, Madiha Imam, Muneeb Butt, Haaris Waheed, Raza Talish, Tara Mehmood, Shaista Jabeen, Saba Hameed, Shabbir Jan, Paras Masroor, Sana Askari and many others, the story has been written by Samra Bukhari and directed by Saqib Zafar.
In this week’s episodes, Aneeq (Haaris Waheed) proposes to Sadia (Saboor Aly), telling her he’ll always try to keep her happy – but Sadia is simply not mentally “there,” worried about a multitude of things and rejecting his proposal. Fortunately, Rida (Madiha Imam) steps in and convinces Sadia that this is the best future for her. However, when Sadia and Haaris’ engagement is announced, Usman (Muneeb Butt) has an adverse reaction, having been fed all this negativity about Sadia from Tauseef. While the two fight it out, Usman does ultimately come around (after a too-aggressive reaction) and takes Rida to the engagement, even though they are late. They are met happily by Rida and Sadia’s loving families. Honestly, the stark difference between Rida and Sadia’s families are in stark contrast to the natures of Rida’s in-laws and Sadia’s ex in-laws and one just has to wonder what they were even thinking getting the girls married in those homes. While Sadia has escaped her tragic past, Rida is still in the thick of the misery. It is commendable that the writers haven’t brushed Sadia’s trauma under the rug – she may be smiling outwardly and she may even be happy with Aneeq, but the pain of what she endured with Tauseef is still visible in her behavior. Saboor Aly is very likable in this role.
Rida’s in-laws are simply the in-laws from hell. There isn’t any rhyme or reason for their nastiness. They are just nasty for the sake of being so. This is made even more evident when Kashfa’s husband (Paras Masroor) arrives, wanting to take Kashfa home to care for his ailing mother – but even son-in-laws are not spared in this family and his wishes are rebuffed not only by his evil in-laws, but also by Kashfa herself. Who could’ve imagined feeling sorry for this perverted brother-in-law? But somehow one finds themselves feeling sorry for him on a level, if only because it highlights how truly awful this family really is. Usman is a character who struggled between being good and being bad, always influenced by his family into being bad. This is the difference between Azhar and Usman: While Usman falls into the manipulations of their parents, Azhar can see them for who they truly are, toxic and manipulative individuals. Azhar and Farheen (Sana Askari) are wonderful characters and it’s great to see a couple like this on-screen. Unfortunately, will Azhar have to suffer grave consequences for continuing to brush off their misbehavior instead of moving out?
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Overall, “Mujhe Vida Kar” is slowly making progress towards the happiness of the girls, but isn’t easy to watch. Rida’s patience is beyond commendable – one simply wishes she’d scream and yell at this family and walk out the door, moving on with someone better (specifically Safeer). Still, it seems there’s more torture in store. Will Farheen and her baby meet a tragic end next week at the hands of her in-laws? We will have to wait and see.
