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A new TV show is trying to mirror the reality of changing attitudes in society. Zindagi Gulzar Hai is a breath of fresh air on Indian Television, says this post.
A new TV show is trying to mirror the reality of changing attitudes in society, and what it means for men and women. Zindagi Gulzar Hai is a breath of fresh air on Indian Television, says this post.
I’m probably the last person on the planet to watch a television soap opera but on the insistence of some friends, I recently checked out a Pakistani romantic drama called Zindagi Gulzar Hai. The series is unlike the run-of-the-mill Indian television shows. Instead, this one was far closer to the truth and surprisingly, also very modern.
Pakistani culture is a lot like our own – and if you think the gap between the rich and the poor is stark in India, it’s several times more across the border. It appears that the wealthy class in Pakistan keeps going off to Dubai for vacations, usually complete their higher education abroad, and young girls make no bones about partying late into the night. This was all quite an eye-opener for someone even as close to the territory as me!
It’s this very liberation of its women – many of whom are shown working, returning to their homes at odd hours, and not feeling the need to be answerable to their families – that seems to irk the men in their lives, and becomes the prime source of conflict in their relationships.
The show addresses this new shift in lifestyle consuming Pakistan’s upper crust currently – and how men and women are coping with the transition. At the same time, it shows the lower class continuing to remain conservative and ‘clinging to their values’ – a character trait that finds favour with the same affluent men who are peeved off with the newfound freedom of their sisters, mothers, and girlfriends.
To some extent, the serial reiterates the cliché propounded time and again in Bollywood films like Cocktail. The simple girl who prays and dresses right (read the ‘good one’) gets the guy in the end, while the forward-looking, freethinking, and unfettered one is the ‘vamp’.
Looks like it will still be some time before these mindsets about women change – and we no longer use such parameters to judge them as human beings.
While most conventional stories end with the girl and the boy getting together and living “happily ever after,” this serial shows a completely different (and perhaps, accurate) side of it all. And that’s exactly what makes it genuine.
Post marriage, the hero and heroine struggle with their very distinct personalities – not to mention, the huge class divide that separates them. The typical man is shown suspicious about his wife’s whereabouts and loyalty, while he still stays in touch with his ex-girlfriend. Common, day-to-day occurrences are narrated, depicting how situations are often perceived dissimilarly by men and women – leading to misunderstandings between couples.
Moreover, it provides insight – suggesting that marriage is no promise of a bed of roses, and needs to be worked on with responsibility and commitment every step of the way. At a time when we are exposed to so much falseness in popular media, a portrayal of such harsh realities comes almost like a breath of fresh air! It’s unlike anything I’ve seen in a long time – let alone on prime-time television.
Overall, Zindagi Gulzar Hai is a bold attempt at baring transforming attitudes in an otherwise regressive society.
Neha Kirpal is the author of "Wanderlust for the Soul," a collection of short stories based on travel in different parts of the world. Neha lives and works in Gurgaon, India. Her hobbies include reading, read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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