Lover's Paranoia. Review on Humsafar

Womenfolk in Delhi have been caught up with a new fetish which has made them change their daily routine drastically. The working ones make it a point to come home early. The homemakers hurry through their chores before evening sets in. The reason is the same - at 8.00 PM sharp they have to take to the sofa in front of the idiot box and gawk at Fawad Afzal Khan as he caresses the camera with his ginger eyes.

My sister went to watch the film'Khubsoorat' in PVR and returned moony eyed. Yes, you've guessed it right. Its Fawad Khan all the way. "Sonam can't act even at gunpoint, " She declared. "And Fawad Khan is such an eyeful." She added in the same breath. I am sure she didn't care two hoots for Sonam and must have ogled at Fawad unashamedly, the dark interiors of the PVR providing the perfect setting for her undisguised admiration for a man who can just kill any woman by his crooked half smile and glinting gaze. My colleague says he reminds her of Rajesh Khanna, in his hey days, the way he used to look at Sharmilla Tagore. I sometimes wonder how can a married man look into the eyes of his heroine with such unbridled passion even if it is for the sake of enacting a role. It is all the more bewildering that such thought does not cross my mind when I watch Amir or SRK doing the same with a Katrina or a Kajol. The point is we all nurture a huge crush for FK. Some admit it openly, others love to keep it secret.

The brownie point in favour of FK is that besides his drop-dead good looks and devilish charm on-screen, he can act too. You get ample proof of his histrionic abilities in the tele-serial Humsafar, aired on Channel Zindagi Monday to Sunday prime time. And what with Mahira Khan, the dignified damsel complimenting the debonair FK, in measured exactitude, its a level playing field through and through.

Humsafar is the story of Khirad(Mahira) and Ashar(Fawad), cousins forced into marriage under extenuating circumstances. Despite being family, they belong to different milieu and therefore have different perspectives and values. However, the common factor for both is their inability to accept their present marital status. Yet love blooms as Khirad gradually gets glimpses of Ashar's loving and large heartedness and Ashar, in turn, gets bowled over by Khirad's simplicity and goodness. But a bed of rose is not without thorns. Sarah( Naveen Waqar), Ashar's best buddy and maternal cousin, hates his closeness with Khirad because it is she who wants to marry him. So a devious plot is hatched against Khirad to throw her out of Ashar's home and heart - an act so inconceivably heinous and divisive that even the devil shall shiver in his shoes when the curtain is raised. And when the truth, God willing be disclosed, many a scheming minds shall come to light and life shall never be the same again.

Will Khirad be able to prove her innocence? Will Ashar realize the blunder he has committed by distrusting his wife? Will Sarah be able to secure Ashar's  unfaltering attention? Whether life be the same again for Khirad, Ashar and Sarah? Only time can tell what is going to happen. But at this moment even the hands of the clock have been stilled in Khirad's grief. And as they say when innocence mourns doom is not far behind.

Humsafar, like all other Pakistani tele-dramas, raises moot questions pivoting around the success and failure of marriage - Should love not be backed by loyalty? Should trust be not the bedrock of an ideal union? And above all the biggest spoiler in any relationship - doubt - and the rationale behind its cancerous intrusion in man-woman relationship? After all, can there be any reasonability at all in support of such an annihilating force? And why is it the woman  always be put under the scanner when it comes to assessing the purity of feelings? These are universal queries which have been raised time and again. We know the answers lie within us, within the  system called society that has been created by us, within the mesh of obsolete norms infected by age-old patriarchy, which we cannot let go.

While it is easy to break, it is far more difficult to retain and repair. It is only with compassion that we can bridge the distances of the hearts. Does not our loved ones deserve a fair chance to speak their piece in defense of their esteem and self respect? What is love then if we lose faith so quickly? This is what Khirad pleas. Will Ashar halt and listen to her?

"Suspicion and insecurity are killers", says my 03.00 am friend, "I too check my husband's mobile  off and on if there are repeated messages from a singular destination" she whispers hastily. I shall be stressing a point too hard if I tell her she has already fallen into the trap. It is human failing that we disbelieve the ones whom we and who love us with all heart and soul? Perhaps God has engineered the game plan for Adam and Eve in a way that they always remain wary of each other. Its like the Earth revolving round the Sun in complete awareness that its scorching heat may someday singe its body while the Sun smiles down everyday on his beloved Earth with a trepid heart lest its warmth burns her down to ashes. Its an attraction too strong which detracts them from coming too close to each other. And that is how days are born and nights linger on.

Humsafar has too many strong points to be missed - a tightly knotted script,   high-voltage drama, restrained performances, refined dialogues which reek of tehzeeb and elegantly designed sets and costumes. In addition it has the beautiful Mahira and the dashing Fawad. Based on the novel of the same name, written by Farhat Ishtiaq and directed by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, Humsafar was first aired in Pakistan in 2011. Those who have missed the beginning can watch it on You Tube. Zindagi has also the good scheduling habit of re-telecasting all the prime-time serials in special slots(07.00 or 07.30 PM), once the premier show wraps up, for the benefit of viewers who have not watched them during their maiden viewing or wishes to watch it one more time.

So don't worry and be happy.

Watch it and don't forget to spend a few minutes to muse over it.

Love & Luck