#but anyway thank you for asking hiba and for giving me the opportunity to splurge and essay i love youuuu

[roobylavender]

Faatima, pardon me if you’ve already posted/been asked this before, and I know you’ve already answer this in part when talking to me before, but I’d love to hear what ur top fave Pakistani dramas are, with as much or as little detail as you’d like! 🩷🫶🏽📜

i don't think i've ever gone into detail with specific recs so this is a good opportunity to do so omg ty hiba 🥺

daam (2010) - two women from starkly different class backgrounds are friends and attend medical school together. maleeha (upper class) takes on an almost paternalistic role with zara (lower class) by handing her down clothes, incorporating her into her friend group, etc., despite zara's own self sufficiency outside of her financial situation. the role maleeha plays in zara's life is one zara is eternally grateful for, but maleeha never seems to move past a recognition of her own self-importance. so much so, that when maleeha learns zara may have feelings for her brother, junaid, she feels used and threatens to revoke all of the assistance she has been giving zara's family for years. it's a hard-hitting exploration into the impact of class stratification on friendship and the inherent biases that color upper class pakistanis' interactions with lower class pakistanis. and i enjoy the realism of forgiving people for their transgressions but not necessarily moving backwards in time to reforge the bonds you once used to have (no eng sub)

jackson heights (2014) - an ensemble focused drama set in jackson heights, new york. it's a wonderfully vivid depiction of a variety of working class pakistanis and one that manages to remain down to earth while nonetheless highlighting hard hitting issues, particularly emotional, financial, and physical abuse. it's hard to describe but one thing the drama does really well is not valorize its abuse victims. they aren't saints for riding out the horrors of the violence enacted against them. they're only people moving through the world like anyone else. there was a tendency in pakistani dramas of this era to dramatize the idolization of the west via the lens of unattainable romance, but this drama is far more successful in portraying the realities you have to come to terms with when you uproot yourself from your homeland and start from scratch and work a menial job. in that sense i think it's a triggering drama in a lot of ways, but never gratuitous, and very thoughtful as to its themes and conclusions (no eng sub)

raqeeb se (2021) - this play is very cryptic in a lot of ways (standard fare for screenwriter bee gul) but it does a great job at adhering to realities without necessarily fetishizing them. the storyline focuses exclusively on the intergenerational trauma of two pairs of women connected by one man. maqsood is from a gaon and once tried to run away with sakina, only for someone else to be killed in the process. as a result, sakina had to stay behind and raised a daughter ameera with an abusive husband, while maqsood was married to hajra and moved to the city where they had their daughter insha. years later sakina flees from her husband's abuse and takes her daughter to the only place she knows: maqsood's. but what's interesting about this setup is that maqsood and sakina's love story is so well known in the former's household that maqsood's wife hajra bears sakina and her daughter no ill will. she takes them in, cares for them, and shoulders their grief, all while her daughter insha watches in bewilderment. it's an incredibly captivating story in the face of so many others that would rather use love and men to sew seeds of revenge and malice between women. ultimately, ameera and insha are used to explore how women can forge their own histories and choices despite the duties and blame their mothers were bounded to by tradition (no eng sub)

sar e rah (2023) - most pak dramas in the past decade have been unforgivably long (a below-thirty episode run is unheard of now even though we used to wrap up stories in little more than twenty episodes pre-2014ish) but we're slowly seeing the rise of the miniseries, and this drama is a stellar recent example. each episode centers on a different character struggling with a societal issue. rania takes over her father's taxi driving business when he gets sick despite concerns that it is no job for a woman. dr. muzna adopts a child but subsequently deals with her husband's rejection bc he sees it as an exposure of his impotence that he has not divulged to his own mother. rameen faces familial accusations of shamelessness bc she is a tik tok star and fights to maintain her right to an inheritance when her brother seeks to disown her. sarim is a trans man brought up with love and acceptance from his father but rejection and bigotry from his step mother and step brother. and maryam is a working woman forced to take a stand for herself when constantly underestimated and even falsely accused due to workplace misogyny. it's altogether not a perfect but nonetheless significantly forward thinking drama despite societal standards, and saba qamar (rania) connects all of these characters together masterfully in a major call to action (full eng sub)

dil na umeed to hani (2021) - the central focus of this drama is human trafficking and child labor. allah rakhi and jamshed are childhood friends from the same village who are quickly made to part ways due to extenuating circumstances. allah rakhi is married off to an older man who sells her into prostitution, while jamshed runs away from home after suffering abuse from the adults in his life. the drama mainly follows both characters in their adult years, when allah rakhi finally attempts to escape the prison of the brothel, while jamshed works at a shelter for sex trafficking victims. there's also another younger character, naseem, who dreams of becoming a national women's cricketer despite being faced with her father's misogyny and the threat of human trafficking herself. this is overall an incredibly raw and painful story so novel in its attempt to highlight certain societal issues that it was nearly banned from broadcast in the country. yumna zaidi and wahaj ali are breathtaking in roles that are essentially the culmination of all of their years of hard work on more niche indie projects, and their characters' reunion towards the end of the drama will send any viewer into tears (partially eng sub)

these are probably the most well-rounded dramas that i feel really proud of recommending. while romance is a present element in some of them it's never the central element and i don't feel unnecessarily harsh in saying that our portrayals of romance still have a really long way to go to the point that i wouldn't necessarily rec any drama where romance was the focus lmao.. like i have my guilty pleasures (i rewatch humsafar often for mahira khan and fawad khan's chemistry alone despite its severe issues) but they're mostly me being willing to indulge in garbage for the sake of a) an actor's skill; b) a lead couple's chemistry; or c) a female character whom i would protect with my life despite her being trapped in the shittiest narrative imaginable

that being said, some other dramas i have also enjoyed over the years:

kuch ankahi (ongoing) -> great ensemble cast and exploration of several issues with a balance of comedy and subtlety. sajal aly and bilal abbas khan are also phenomenal in the lead roles and probably share the best on-screen chemistry of any of their peers at the moment

yunhi (ongoing) -> the set-up is a bit cringe, but the ideas it's ultimately exploring about hypocritical perceptions both diaspora and homeland pakistanis have of each other is really interesting and the tone of the drama is very calm and down to earth rather than overly dramatic or melancholic

fairy tale (2023) -> this is the only ramadan drama i'm going to put on here lmao but it's recently gone viral bc frankly despite all of its flaws (not owing to any weird societal views, only investment in plot points and side characters who are frankly uninteresting) the chemistry and comedic timing between the two leads is genuinely insane. it's a bit cliched from time to time but they really do have me smiling silly every day even though the drama's over like look at them look at them look at theeeeem

chauraha (2022) -> it's very common in pakistani media that a girl is either kidnapped or stockholm syndromed into loving a man so i really love this one bc it shows a girl get kidnapped and refuse to romanticize the situation while also remaining adamant as to her own independence rather than allowing societal pressure to force her into marrying someone to save her image

jo bichar gaye (2022) -> period drama about the events that set the stage for bangladesh's separation from pakistan. largely applauded for not romanticizing or skirting over pakistan's transgressions in alienating and harming east pakistanis/bangladeshis

dastaan (2010) -> period drama about a woman's experience before, during, and after partition. noted for its commentary on women in this era and how they faced resounding sexual violence, whether from hindu, sikh, or muslim men

o rangreza (2019) -> the pak drama version of that one essay excerpt about how the daughter ridicules her mother by establishing camaraderie with her father. a really interesting insight into how pakistani daughters can sometimes be so disgusted with their mothers' culturally curated subservience that their attempts to gain independence are also built on internalized misogyny

durr e shehwar (2012) -> a bit of a dated drama in that it recounts the experience of a woman through the early years of her marriage and the patience it took for her to win over her husband and his family. i'm sure there would be complaints now about how this drama romanticized that patience despite all of the pain and isolation the female lead suffered but i also think it's largely cathartic bc it doesn't chastise women in similar circumstances

badshah begum (2022) -> is this drama good? no. does it have anything productive to say about mob mentality and tribalism in rural pakistani villages? no. are any of the female characters truly independent and strong in the best sense of the word? maybe only one. but the ost is a banger and the performances by everyone are genuinely phenomenal so i'm putting it here anyway lmao

yaqeen ka safar (2017) -> this drama shot sajal aly and ahad raza mir to superstardom and marriage which has now unfortunately ended in divorce. but at the time their chemistry was phenomenal so while i have nitpicky issues with the plot i do enjoy the drama for the development of their relationship alone like it was pretty sweet

humsafar (2011) -> obv i said above that it's garbage and i stand by that but the chemistry between the leads here really was unprecedented for its time and has remained largely unrivaled in the industry. i also am able to rewatch for mahira khan's portrayal of khirad alone and some of the dialogues are so [clenches fist]

zindagi gulzar hai (2012) -> another super flawed drama but i really enjoy the portrayal of a female lead who struggles with coming around to the idea of marriage and baring herself to someone else bc of the trauma of growing up with a severely neglectful father. it's just real to see a girl freak out about her agency and about admitting to feelings she may have bc she is terrified at the thought of being vulnerable and weak. like that's literally me