Pakistani dramas for decades have been instrumental in shaping up the perception of viewers. Tapping into various genres, TV dramas not just provide oodles of entertainment but also act as a strong medium of edutainment. Having said that, TV writers lately have bombarded the prime time slots with the trend of cousin marriages. It is surprising to see that three main dramas Tere Bin, Mujhe Pyar Hua Tha and Tere Bina Mai Nahi have the cousin marriage angle in common. Let’s discuss this.
Mujhe Pyar Hua Tha is riding high purely on the acting prowess of Saad (Wahaj Ali) and Maheer (Hania Aamir). If we analyze the plot, there’s hardly anything new in the offering. Even in 2023, we haven’t gotten rid of the tradition of Bachpan Mai Batt Paaki. We are done and dusted with watching the boy so deeply in love with the girl that he never dares to confess his love. The girl on the other hand makes him do all her work and walks away with another guy in the end.
Tere Bina Mai Nahi tackles the dynamics of an ambitious protagonist Noor (Sonya Hussyn) who prefers her career over love. Murtaza (Shehzad Sheikh) and Noor are childhood sweethearts and are quite devoted to each other. But once the elders fix their marriage, Noor becomes confused and expresses her hesitation. However, subconsciously she isn’t willing to let go of Murtaza and marry someone else. Apart from the cousin’s marriage complications, the narrative also makes a woman pull the other down. Why are the makers adamant about encouraging such practices?
Murtasim (Wahaj Ali) and Meerab (Yumna Zaidi) in Tere Bin are currently the viewer’s favorite on-screen couple. Not only they have discovered that they are first cousins but cannot tolerate each other. Adding more to the horror are some tragic turns that eventually leave no option for Meerab to say ‘Qubool hai’. What about Murtasim? Is no one going to hear his point of view? The adults of the family just want to intact the Khaandan Ki Izzat. Is that it?
It’s high time that this torture on viewers should stop ASAP. Don’t we have any other genre to explore? The writers should put on their thinking caps and bring something fresh rather than selling old wine in new packaging.
