A 'Current' Hasina
How could she…?
During 8 years of Musharraf's regime, all serial writers (some of them serial killers) were symbolically told not to discuss Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, suicide attacks, Wana, or Bajaur Agency. So, not more than two serials could be named with any degree of political content. Finally, we have a new serial by Hasina Moin in August 2008, titled Kaisa Yeh Junoon which is said to have discussed the plight of the Muslims in the current situation. As to how much of it is 'current', and how much pertains to 'affairs', one will have to watch the serial regularly to decide.
But Hasina's return, big time, is a pleasant surprise. It would be a warm welcome (it turned out to be a corporate welcome), but it's an undeniable fact that however well Hasina may write, those days of non-contrived drama can't be back. It's not her fault, these times are contrived. Even though the drama is well-rehearsed. People like Munnu Bhai, Bano Qudsia, Amjad Islam Amjad, and others tried to bring back 'real drama' in this era, but they also failed. The 'Real Drama' ended when the Age of Innocence (the '60s) were exploited mercilessly. Everything natural gave way to sophistication. Till the '70s, it looked tasteful, but in the '80s, it turned sordid. That was the Age of Bitter Realisation, the decade of focus on wadera/jagidar. So, when bitterness takes over in all fields, you can't have that natural fun. Thus, even Hasina, brilliant as ever as a dialogue-writer, repeated Kiran (Roohi Bano) of Kiran Kahani in the character (Perhaps named Zara) of Shehnaz Sheikh as the confused office steno in Ankahi. Aside from this fact, the serial was a grand success. But, meanwhile, Tanhaiyyan was a very original script.
So, now, if somebody wants Hasina to be in the same mould as Zer Zabar Pesh or Uncle Urfi, you are actually being unjust to Hasina. After all, times have changed, and she can only write things like Pardes, which would have to be supported by the corporate world. Just imagine. Could you ask the humourist P.G Woodhouse, for instance, to change his topics, and write suddenly on the US war in Vietnam? No, that would be foolish, and of course, he would never accede to it.
Saima &
Syed Noor
Will they survive 2010?
Eversince Saima and Syed Noor joined hands (no, I don't mean in matrimony!) they gave us one hit after another (no, I don't mean scandals!). The day they came close, they never worried about the camera close! The moment Syed Noor picked up the Ghunghat, Saima found delightful new vibrations in her rangli chooriyan! That was the period from 1996 to 2006. The question, today, is would this pair survive another decade?
Well, you know I am not talking about their marital status for the next decade. They are a blessed pair, and we pray that they may have many more (years I mean). But the on-screen pairing is more important. With Saima (slightly) showing her age, as in the recent tea ad, with Momy and Sana, it looks like both should start thinking in terms of Saima as an actress, and not just the heroine. She did brilliantly as the lead in Majajan, and she may continue for some more time. But, we have the very famous cases of Shamim Ara, Deeba, Nisho, and others, who suddenly did not find any lead roles, one day. Shamim Ara did a character role, Waheed's mother to be precise, in Waqt back in 1976. Deeba had to whiten her hair as Talat Iqbal's mother in 1976, in Aag Aur Aansoo, while Nisho could just about survived ten years. So, it's better Saima starts doing some powerful character roles before it's too late.
There's much analysis inside Lollywood regarding the Syed Noor-Saima combo. I think it's wrong to suggest that the Lollywood pundits or the Royal Park critics are totally dead; they still have some very good insiders' truths that are far above mere rumour-mongering or just visionlessness. So, they cite the fact that the Saima-Syed Noor combo only worked well for the Punjabi films. They say that from Chooriyan to Mehndiwaley Hath, Buddha Gujjar and Majajan, all their Punjabi films have been major blockbusters. Meanwhile, after Daku Hasina, there hasn't been a single Urdu blockbuster from Syed Noor. The last one to go down the drain was Jhoomar, early this year. One can see that even their last couple of Urdu hits were based on village background, like Daku Hasina and Larki Punjaban. So what is it to be for the next two years? Will they survive 2010?
Nargis
Miss her Ka-boom Dances!
When it comes to the mast screen-tottering thumka of Niggo baby, nothing tops it, if you are sitting adjacent to the big screen. I have been an avid ogler in the front benches (the other ones, stupid), and I literally saw quite a few winking whistlers make a back-flip or put-thee qalabazi, along with their unhinged chairs, on Niggo's typical hip-hip hurray kind of mind-blowing cracklers! In my opinion, if one saw Sharon Stone take a dive from a surfboard in the pool, in a string bikini, it won't give you the same thrill as that ka-boom leg work by Nargis in the Punjabi film. That's the bottomline! One misses those dances now!
By the way, if you have the time to wonder what happened to those terrible lover boys like Ghumman (who threw acid on Andaleeb) or that sordid policeman (DSP) Abid Boxer (who was supposed to have gagged and tortured Nargis), don't fret. You may find it interesting to know that they have visited their personal hells (no need to go into that mayhem)! As for the ordeal of Nargis, which made her leave Pakistan for sometime, it was not Abid Boxer, who was actually responsible. His name was mentioned because he was a smaller fry. The actual defaulter was ex-gov. Yes, the retired chap, who got offended when Nargis mentioned on a TV show that the provincial government was playing by double policy. She said that while the government was extremely strict on the matter of the stage dances, and the ethics thereof, the government officials themselves ask the local stage dancers to come to their functions and perform in their parties. How delightful, hain? Well, that made the guv'nor see red, and put Nargis through the treatment!
Guess Nargis should have paid some heed to that Reconciliation Ordinance too! But, now that is old hat, and she is going along fine on stage and films. Her own productions, Sooha Jora etc went well, and the retired official has also called it a day!
Soap Re Soap…..! Magical Combo is The Key
Why can't there be other soaps like Maney Na Yeh Dil? Well, simply because there can't be a pair like Faisal Qureishi and Ayesha! That chemistry seems unachievable. Oh man! That inflammable revived love with the ex-flame is just too much! You can't top that. Years ago, they met, and fell in love. Unfortunately, it didn't come to marriage. Well, it did, but turned a wrong corner due to interference. Years passed. They met again, and bingo, you had that qatil chemistry working again. Thus, all those magical expressions, those pregnant pauses (don't, just don't), and that delivery (dialogue) was awesome! It's all in good fun, since both are beautiful artistes, and nothing like a hoola hoop is intended.
I mean, I can say it without any shadow of doubt that those romantic expressions Ayesha gave were the best you saw since Zeba Bakhtiar batted those delicate eye-lashes at us in Anarkali or when Atiqua Odho struck us dumb with her hazel eyes in Sitara Aur Mehrunnisa. Specially, Ayesha's bewitching smile added unbelievable number of stars to the soap. Faisal, already a favourite of self, is a most sensitive artiste on the tube, and his enduring youth is also like that of Behroze Sabzwari. Only inner freshness can make it happen.
Why no other soap comes close, despite casting Faisal or Ayesha in them? Because they are soaps! They should be drama serials, not soaps, because soap suds are, by nature, flimsy and ephemeral, not something of enduring value.
