Should Mehwish, the former wife of Danish, be considered a characterless woman? Is Danish really a victim of poverty and his ex wife’s greedy nature? Can Shawar be labelled as a spineless man? Has Shawar really snatched Danish’s wife? Is the revenge more powerful than love? Is it fine to indulge in bribery, and muster piles of illegal wealth to save and maintain one’s marriage? Does money possess the power to buy anything, even someone’s mother or wife? Why is the rich antognist forced to lead a sad and lonely life when money appears to be the central theme of the drama? Why hate shouldn’t be given preference when love lacks the power to change one’s circumstances? Is Mehwish really a “Do Takay ki Aurat” for being disloyal to her husband and son? How many “Takas” should be given to Maham, Shawar’s wife, who has left him for years, deprived him of his conjugal rights, and ultimately sent him to jail? Can any marriage be successful when the husband and wife have different or opposing understandings of the word ‘life’? If money determines the power of a man, can beauty be taken as strength of a woman? If beauty empowers a woman, why has Mehwish landed in such a painful situation when her entire luster and beauty is still intact? What exactly is the message which the writer endeavours to give from this drama?
Well, there can be countless answers of the abovementioned questions. But it is certainly a fact that unlike most of the Pakistani monotonous dramas, ‘Mere Pass Tum Ho’ has so many layers and interpretations that one can hardly resist the temptation to discuss it in one’s social circle. The impeccable dialogue delievery by the seasoned actors, soothing melody of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice, striking lyrics of the title song, professional use of the camera and natural light, and of course, a gripping plot have certainly set the bar high for upcoming dramas.
People often come up with a question that how can it be wrong to wish for a comfortable and luxurious life? If not, then why has Mehwish been portrayed as a greedy woman? She had repeatedly indicated to her husband that she wanted to lead a lavish life, but Danish had dissappointed her every time. For instance, he always used to chant the mantra of his low income before taking her out for a cheap dinner. He couldn’t buy her a mere necklace which she badly wanted to wear on her friend’s wedding. Rumi, their son, was still out of the school just because Danish couldn’t afford the fee of an elite private school to give him a promising future. Having said this, it was vividly clear to Mehwish that their future was going to be more or less the same without any improvement or social uplift.
Some of the stereotypical viewers often come up with an absurd argument that ‘she should have demanded according to her husband’s pocket in order to evade all sorts of crisis.’ Yes, she should have. But she was not bound to wish in accordance with her husband’s salary. It was her social, religious, and legal right to ask anything from her husband which could make her comfortable, and it was the primary duty of her husband to satisfy her demands. However, the crisis kept soaring in their already troubled life, and one day Shawar, the owner of Shawar Chemicals, entered in the picture. He offered Mehwish what her husband couldn’t. It was inevitable that money thirsty Mehiwsh would be attracted to the wells of wealth possessed by Shawar Ahmed. Subsequently, she sought the divorce and started living with the rich industrialist.
If asking for divorce was wrong, if demanding beyond the means of one’s husband was inappropriate, and looking for new ways to get what one desires is haram, then lying in office, taking bribes, unlawfully extracting money out of public funds to maintain one’s crumbling marriage, breaking every oath and promise made to one’s father is also equally wrong and prohibited. Some questions might arise here, why Danish started working like a bull to get rich after parting ways with Mehwish? Why didn’t he work hard to keep his family intact when he could see it collapsing with every passing minute? Why did he sell his flat after his divorce to become rich, when the one who wanted to have an elite lifestyle had gone forever? Was it ego or self realisation? Would it be wrong to say that the lazy and lethargic behaviour of Danish had forced Mehwish to have thoughts about Shawar? If Mehwish was wrong to leave her husband and son, how could Maham be right for the same behaviour?
People have different answers to the abovementioned questions, but at the same time, they badly need to understand that there is something called ‘free will’, and everything is either destroyed or gets deformed when one is forced to go against it. Mehwish and Danish got married because they wanted to dwell together. They got separated because living together was against the will of one partner. Similarly, Shawar and Mewhish started their illicit reltionship because both of them desired to do so, and neither of them had any objections. In the earlier episodes, despite so many marriage proposals made by Mehwish, Shawar didn’t marry her because he simply didn’t want to. In the recent episodes, Shawar and Mehwish agreed to tie the knot because they had happily agreed to this decision. However, with the arrival of Maham, the zeal to live together was shattered to dust. Later on, Shawar was jailed and reduced to the position of clerk. Since then he has been struggling to digest such a painful fall. Now, he could neither afford nor want to marry Mehwish, so it is nearly impossible for the viewers to see Mehwish as his legitimate wife.
Mr. Qamar has cleverly brushed the concept of free will under the heavy carpet of established norms, and has made Mehwish look like a greedy witch. Mr. Qamar seems to have consoled Danish for his myopic thinking and lack of will to climb the ladder of success. In the drama, it has been depicted that freedom is fine and it can be easily exercised as long as it is not contradicting the prevailing conventions, but the moment it collides with them, it is regarded as something evil or demonic. Hence, Mehwish was neither wrong nor greedy, she just wanted to have an expensive lifestyle, and there was no harm in it. In addition to this, her present pitiful condition is an entirely different matter, which is certainly controlled by the writer’s pen.
Love and hate can be seen at loggers head in almost every episode, but so far hate has dominated the entire scenerio. For instance, Mehwish left her husband because she hated the idea of living a stagnant and monotonous life in abject poverty. It was certainly hate that made Danish sell his flat and invest in the stock exchange to become rich. Rumi, abhorred his mother’s decision and was finally able to find a suitable match for his father. Maham returned from America to hold her husband accountable for his deeds and had unleashed the barrage of cases against him. The question arises here is that could this drama be called a hate story instead of a tragic love tale?
The viewers seem to be very selective in differentiating between good and evil charachters. It happens owing to their similar brought-ups. Maham has been glorified by the people for teaching her husband a sound lesson, but they are at loss to understand that she has abondoned him because he could not satisfy her social and emotional needs. People feel no difficulty in demonizing Shawar on these grounds. If this makes Shawar a bad and irresponsible husband, how could Danish be a pious man for the same attitude?
People also hail Dewan, Shawar’s servant, as an unsung hero because he had timely informed Maham about Shawar’s marriage plan. If he had any soft corner for Danish or contempt for Mehwish in his aging heart, why didn’t he call her in the first place when Shawar was indulging in the sinful relationship? Why exactly did he call her when Shahwar had finally agreed to tie the knot? Were there any hidden motives? Was he nourishing any sort of revenge for the upper class, which had usurped resources and made Dewan and many like him it’s slaves? In one of the episodes, Maham had slightly indicated to the audience that Dewan used to brief her regularly about her husband’s affair, if this was the case then why didn’t she return after the very first call? Was she waiting for the right moment to knock her husband out?
In this part of the world, moral values are extracted from various sources. They might be drawn from religion, five thousand years old Indian culture, and now from the free western society. Hence, this is the reason that we have yet to reach an absolute conclusion about the characters in the drama. In Pakistan, different strata of society have distinct or perhaps opposite conceptions of the word ‘moral’. This has made people to entangle in heated arguments, and such debates have made people watch this drama regardless of their interest in TV serials. For some, it was the religious right of Mehwish to ask for divorce if she was not satisfied with her husband. Would the same section of people also support Danish if he had gone for a second marriage to exercise his religious right before parting ways with Mehwish? Similarly, people with a typical sub-continental mindset can be seen cursing Mehwish for not being an obedient and docile wife. The quarters who have been influenced by the free Westren world justify her ‘live-in’ relationship with Shawar on the grounds that both of them were living together out of their own sweet will and neither of them was compelled to do it.
There is hardly any drama in the past decade which is being discussed exhaustively in the public and private life. It seems that Mr. Qamar is fully aware of the nerve of the masses, and he has certainly struck it hard to awaken the emotions which have been dormant for quite some time owing to the monotonous productions of Pakistani dramas.
