Sar e Rah- let's ditch the 'laug kya kahengey' mindset in 2023

                                                            Read time: approx 20-30mins

Sar e Rah is probably the most underrated drama serial of 2023 but the most power-packed and relevant in today's society where we still face issues of workplace harassment, infertility, gender equality (and so much more the drama has to offer). The drama takes you on a journey through Saba Qamar's taxi as she meets four individuals who each have their own societal based issues in context with modern challenges faced today. Let's explore episode-by-episode the key messages and outstanding performances by this leading cast...

Structure

The drama serial Sar e Rah is a quick 6-episode watch, something quite different to the dragging of sometimes 100+ episodes of what the awam is usually used to. But the drama is packed with meaningful, clear and concise storylines that make it a fulfilling watch. Its unique structure is almost like a cyclical structure where the drama ends by showing us a quick glimpse of the next episode's character and then the next episode swiftly starts from there. It's quite a clever way of doing things in terms of grasping attention and viewers to come back again next week and watch the next episode. This simple yet effective technique of delivering the drama creates such a beautiful way of connecting the storylines and emphasising Saba Qamar's role as a medium between us and the next character.

Plot

There are many meaningful dramas our industry has created by touching on traditional societal issues but Sar e Rah attempts to unpack some very modern and current issues still prevalent in our society. These include: workplace harassment, challenges intersex people may face, fertility issues and the impact of social media. The characters each express their own struggles and develop a relationship with Saba Qamar's character and the scenes they have together with her are actually important conversations we need to be having in our house. It's a connection that these scenes are trying to create in our minds and get us thinking about changing the ball game for these current issues and our attitudes towards them. It's about time that the dramas that usually entertain us with glamour and love stories now shift the focus to educating us through such means. I'd also just like to put it there for those of you who may be unaware, but the writer for this drama serial is actually a male...and I think to myself just wow. Adeel Razzaq has penned down so many common challenges in our society today in such a thought-provoking way which in itself shows beauty in the fact that men too understand that these issues must be challenged and the stigma removed.

Saba Qamar as a female taxi driver

Rania (Saba Qamar) essentially plays the most important role in the drama as a taxi driver as each character sits in her taxi and shares their story with her- she's essentially the backbone of the drama who helps stitch the episodes together. Saba, without a doubt, nailed every aspect of the character, and we honestly couldn't see anyone else in this role. Her bravery, her body language in challenging her fiance, her sisterly relationship with Saboor's character, her supportive nature with Muneeb's character and her friendly nature with Hareem's character all bring out the best in Saba as an actress. She has managed to add depth and layers to her character between the different interactions with the individual characters. Saba Qamar has always proven to be a phenomenal lead actress but here she wins me with her natural conversations and interactions with the individual characters which are essentially whole conversations with an audience too. It's that connection between her character and the other characters in order to understand and think about the issues being discussed I loved.

So for a female taxi driver on the roads in Pakistan in itself is bahaduri ka kaam. But it's quite an excellent idea for potential in Pakistan to be put into practice in reality. With the ongoing abduction and missing girl cases, this could really be a potentially worthwhile means of earning for women in Pakistan. It's just about having the himmat that Saba Qamar's character had with her mindset that she must do what she needs to in order to earn for her family, baki sabh laug kya kahengy- bhar mein jay.

My favourite moment from the first episode was when the elderly man, her first ride, sat in the car and taught her valuable lessons for life she should implement in her work moving forward. He observed her nature and understood her majboori and explained to her that male riders should always be seated at the back. The uncle was really looking out for her and was proud of her for taking up the job. It's people like this that teach the most about life and guide us towards success and always become memorable for us.

Okay with Rania's ending it was so wholesome to see her open her own driving school for females with the rest of the characters present all in one scene together and interacting with one another. It was also nice to see that she didn't have any grudges or harsh feelings towards her ex-fiance and he genuinely seemed regretful of his behaviour and attitudes in the past.

Sunita Marshall as the doctor bahu

Mizna (Sunita Marshall) plays the role of doctor bahu and she carries the role with such grace and maturity that I think is actually quite inspiring. Her storyline tackles the challenges of working women after marriage, fertility issues and adoption. Right so, why is it that it takes so much hard work to become a doctor which is then overlooked after marriage? Why would you even bring home a working woman for your son to marry if you never wanted her to continue working after marriage? In that case, it's best you look for someone who isn't working and prefers to live as a housewife. It's upsetting to force such expectations of wanting someone to fit into your ideal home when you know they are career-orientated. 

Ahhhh fertility issues when it comes to the man...sorry to be a bit out there with what I'm about to say but well it takes 2 to have a child right? So why is it seen as impossible for a man to be infertile in a relationship? If the woman has done all the tests and come out fine why is it not common sense to then ask the man to do the same? I think it's about a man's ego getting hurt here, he doesn't like to be seen as the kammi because it brings shame to the family. So naturally, all this baggage is pushed onto the woman even when it's not her fault. Additionally, why is it that a married couple who haven't announced they're expecting a child within the first 2yrs of marriage are looked down upon? Why is there this timescale lurking above their relationship? Nobody knows what happens behind closed doors ofcourse, but essentially, the couple may not be ready for the responsibility of parenting, they may be having intimacy issues which nobody will ever know or announce, they may have had a miscarriage they don't want to speak about and the possibilities are quite literally endless and personal to the couple. 

Moving on to adoption, why is there so much hatred in our society towards adopting. I'm sorry but I think this stems from the older generation saying apna khoon apna hi hota hai. But if such circumstances arise where one person is infertile isn't that act of parenting and bringing up a yateem child with love just beautiful? Okay, maybe there is disappointment that an adopted child may not look like you but isn't this overpowered by the idea of a child picking up your habits and them growing into you personality-wise? 

Okay with Mizana's ending, personally, it didn't go as expected so has left me slightly unsatisfied. I think it would've been full circle if her storyline ended with her husband and mother-in-law accepting the baby she had been bringing up for the last few months as their own and more importantly an open sort of apology and realisation from the mother-in-law's side showing regret and now change in her mentality. But at least it was nice to see that the husband in the relationship owned up to being the infertile one in the relationship to his parents and expressed contentment in his relationship with or without a child. Sunita's emotional acting in this scene in particular was very heart-touching.

Saboor Aly as the social media star

Rameen's (Saboor Aly) storyline is probably the most contextually relevant to what is happening in the showbiz industry these days🙊. Her storyline explores the negative impacts of social media on a celebrity's life and is probably the most transparent thing for us as an audience to understand. I personally think Saboor was a spot-on choice for this role too (dare I say) as she herself has been a victim of such situations in her personal life. So casting her for a social media role allows us to understand the consequences of our actions on the internet because we tend to forget that celebrities too are humans with feelings. Why do we constantly feel the need to eagerly follow a celebrity's life like a hawk to catch them out one time when they slip up to then spread the news of their badnami? Why is it that for our own self-satisfaction and perhaps insecurities we feel the need to malign someone else's life?

It is so common to see in situations like Rameen's where the fiance will break off a marriage/proposal as he also falls prey to what the media is showing. However, it was beautiful to see in this case that Rameen's fiance stood right by her side the whole time and his attitudes and behaviours weren't once doubtful of her. It's so typical and annoying to see shakki men who are supposed to be your support system and do these bari dawe of Mohabbat to stick by you during hardships but often fail to pull through with this when the time comes. It was also nice to see when he pretended he got a call in order to leave the room so Rameen could discuss pay, it's subtle things like this that speak volumes about a person's character. The Saboor Aly-Mirza Zain Baig paring was overall quite cute chemistry to watch between the two!

Okay, let's talk about Rameen's entire look during the drama. She had the cutest getup with the bright-coloured co-ord sets, the rosey blusher, the pearly headbands. I definitely prefer her mehndi and wedding look in this drama over her real wedding looks😅. Her wardrobe stylist definitely had a good eye for aesthetic choices and knows these co-ord sets are trending right now! Her makeup was done so beautifully and naturally just to enhance her natural cheekbones and eyes which I loved!

Rameen's ending highlighted the brother-sister relationship dynamic and actually came from a very strong angle about this. It showed how far siblings can go to wrongfully instil hatred and manipulate parents against another sibling for jaydaat interests. The scene escalated dramatically when Rameen's father slapped her brother to stop him from his evil attempts of forcing Rameen out of the house permanently. Thereafter, the scene highlighted the importance of trust and forgiveness within a family questioning why a son's mistakes are often easily overlooked whilst a daughter's mistakes are used against her for the rest of her life. I'd also like to mention at this point Saboor's personal growth in her acting for emotional/crying scenes. I've been following her since 2019, and never liked her performance during such scenes but I think her recent roles and script choices have evoked such emotional response and better quality of acting in her which I just wanted to acknowledge her for during this scene. Her eyes were teary and every daughter at this point could relate to how she felt so acting wise, Saboor Aly is slowly getting there and making improvement.

Muneeb Butt as an intersex character

Muneeeeeb I'm so proud of you! Can we please give him a round of applause for how gracefully he performed such the sensitive role of Sarang. I mean props to him for even feeling so passionately towards wanting to play this character and break out the 'macho man' image he's created for himself in the industry. Muneeb himself now feels he has come to a point where it's time to try something new and experiment with his own potential in his work (meaning more versatile projects from him soon yay). Okay, let me just catch you all up with the behind-the-scenes of his preparation for this role for those of you who may be unaware. Muneeb wasn't actually selected for this role- he seized the opportunity himself. I think it's his dedication, passion and gut feeling in him knowing in himself that this character is going to be an important turning point for his career that he went as far as crafting the character's physical appearance himself. He clean-shaved, waxed his arms and did his eyebrows for this role and it all adds to the feminine touch of his character. I noticed how soft and feminine and gentle his hands looked at one point and I honestly love when dramas put in the effort to show this attention to detail. It all adds creative depth and moulds the character better for the bigger picture. Muneeb's performance in his character was thorough through his tone of speaking and the sensitivity the character showed. There was a certain aura and femininity that he subtly bought to his role which I really appreciated and noticed- I really hope he gets recognised for this role in the next awards show.

Let's talk about the father-son relationship and upbringing where I'd like to also highlight Nabeel Zafar's acting as an understanding and supportive father. I was quite literally in shock by this father's character at how beautifully he bought up and invested in his son. When do you ever see family behaviour and attitudes like this? Usually, it would be discriminative behaviour, pushing the child aside, insulting them and essentially abandoning them or cutting off ties. I'd also like to highlight the younger child's acting and sensitivity and bravery towards playing this role. The father and son shared such beautiful inspiring scenes and conversations that let out a cry in me for those who can probably relate to internal struggles of acceptance.

I absolutely loved the relationship between Rania and Sarang. It's the fact that he felt safe and reassured by her presence because essentially his stepmother and step-brother were no support system for him. It's that moment when Rania placed her hand on Sarang's hand putting herself forward as his sister in front of the doctor almost giving him a sense of warmth and reassurance. Then in the final episode when Sarang essentially gave her that position and respect in his life after his dad passed and promised to go out for lunch one day and they jokely argued about who will pay the bill. 

Whilst there may be a few controversies floating around on the internet about the underlining message of Muneeb's episode I believe it was a very necessary and brave step to take and include in the drama. The step-mum was essentially representing the evils of our society and the mindset of how typical and hurtful our thinking is towards others. She is to blame for adding fuel to the fire by provoking the younger child to dress up like a girl and dance and then do his baisati. Let me tell you what we learn from this storyline: It's about shedding light on the inequality of third-gender persons and why this becomes a hindrance to their success in life and obstacles purposefully pushed in their path? It is not wrong to be of a third gender nor should they feel ashamed of who they are or feel the need to hide or suppress their feelings because we forget that he was made by the Best of Creators so who are we to question the Superior One? 

Hareem Farooq as the corporate hotshot

Mariyam (Hareem Farooq) plays a hard-working and strong-headed girl in a work environment that sadly victimizes her and her efforts purely on the basis of her being a female. But Mariyam is not the typical type who feels threatened or majboor to stay quiet- she is bold in calling out all forms of harassment in questioning their intentions and body language towards her. Why are so many dramas with office scenes stereotypical in making it a male-heavy environment? Is this in itself a misogynistic representation towards the potential and success of working or capable women in our society? It's due to these uncomfortable working environments women feel like it's a barrier towards their success so feel hesitant in stepping out of their house for work due to fear of gandi nazar of men. Workplaces should instil some sort of protocol and policy regarding the safeguarding and welfare of employees. It's about time that these are not overlooked by managers or bosses and female employees feel comfortable and assured to report such situations in hope of a fair outcome to the situation.   

I loved how casual and outspoken Mariyam's character was and her relationship with Rania. It was so sisterly and cute to see two girls speak about and be able to relate to the same issues- but also upsetting to see that these issues still, unfortunately, exist in our society. I think the most important scene was the conversation between Mariyam and Rania about these issues in society- it felt like they were having this conversation with the viewers and making us think and reflect on such issues. It was a powerful scene executed in a very casual way because it essentially spoke to the audience in the hope for us to change our mindsets too.