At the expense of being repetitive, I state that I am an ardent fan of Pakistani dramas though all are not watchable. Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha(I Had Fallen In Love) is one such serial which starts very promisingly but fizzes off mid way. However, this drama is worth mentioning because of some of the issues it raises and the intense performance of Wahaj Ali Khan(Saad).
Maheer(Hania Ameer) belongs to a middle class family. Her father, Azhar(Shahood Alvi), dotes on her. But her mother, Rafia(Salma Hasan), always nags about their limited financial capacity. She compares her own status with that of her sister who is very well off. Her only dream is to marry her daughter off to a very rich family. By doing so, she feels her own status will become high.
But Maheer is promised to her cousin Saad. Cousin marriage is very common in Muslim society. Saad is the son of Azhar’s elder brother, Sarwar(Noor-ul-Hasan). Sarwar’s wife Ameena(Shaheen Khan) is very fond of Maheer. Saad’s sister, Neelo(Rabya Kulsoom) and Maheer are cousins as well as friends. Saad, since childhood, has loved Maheer. But never professed his love to her. Saad and Maheer are best buddies. Neelo knows about Saad’s feelings for Maheer and is in the habit of teasing him about her. Azhar and Sarwar have good bonding and stay together as in a joint family. The ground floor belongs to Azhar while Sarwar stays on the first floor.
Maheer meets Areeb(Zaviar Noman Ijaz) at her cousin’s wedding. Areeb is Maheer’s cousin’s friend. For Areeb its love at first sight. Maheer is not so sure about her feelings for him. But gradually she gets attracted to Areeb because of his persistence. Areeb is a super rich kid. Her father, Rehan(Javed Sheikh) is a business tycoon. His mother, Beenish(Angeline Malik) is very conscious of her social status and is snobbish. When Areeb informs his parents that he wants to marry a simple middle class girl they are shocked. But Areeb emotionally blackmails them to agree.
From the very beginning, Beenish is scornful of Maheer, her family and her cramped house. She makes it quite clear that she is getting her son married to a girl beneath their social standing. But Rafia has always dreamt of a luxurious life for her daughter. She overlooks Beenish’s attitude towards her daughter and family.
Sarwar and Ameena are hurt because they have always wanted Maheer to marry Saad. Neelo constantly prods her brother to confess his love to Maheer. But Saad steps back as he realizes that Maheer is in love with Areeb.
On the day of the marriage, Rehan dies of a heart attack. Beenish knowingly does not inform Maheer’s family about Rehan’s hospitalization and subsequent death. Maheer’s family keeps waiting for the groom to arrive. When the invitees start talking and taunting about the absconding groom Sarwar comes forward to save the family from shame. He asks Saad to marry Maheer.
Maheer was once engaged to Saad before Areeb became adamant to marry her. The engagement was broken off by Saad because he knew about Maheer and Areeb. He told his uncle, Azhar, that he did not wish to marry Maheer which was a lie. Saad’s false statement created an uproar in the family. When Areeb proposed marriage to Maheer the storm calmed down for the time being. Rafia was very happy but Azhar was not because he did not want to marry his daughter into a family way above his class and status.
Saad is now in a dilemma because he knows even if he marries Maheer he will never be able to conquer her heart. However, a girl with a broken marriage is looked down in society. So, again he agrees to be the sacrificial goat and says yes to his father. By the time Areeb arrives to take away Maheer its too late. Saad and Maheer are now husband and wife.
The marriage, as expected, is not a happy one because Maheer still clings to her past. She thinks Saad has been compelled to marry her to save her from society. For her its a marriage of convenience. Rafia, on the other hand, is extremely unhappy because all her dreams of becoming mother-in-law of an upper class son-in-law have been thwarted.
Problems escalate when Areeb decides to snatch Maheer away from Saad. Maheer is caught between the two - Saad and Areeb. She cannot break away from Saad because he has always stood by her through thick and thin. She is also sad for Areeb because she understands what he is going through.
In the meantime, Areeb employs all kinds of tactics to disturb Saad and Maheer’s life. So much so that, Azhar gets a paralytic attack and is bound to wheelchair. Sarwar dies an untimely death. Neelo’s engagement is broken. Amidst all this fiasco, Maheer mops around lost, heart broken, humiliated and clueless and Saad keeps supporting her as much as he can because his love for her is selfless.
On the other hand, Areeb’s jealousy and possessiveness make him revengeful. Somewhere, in this growing turmoil, Maheer sees through her infatuation for Areeb. She starts comparing Areeb and Saad and realizes Saad is pious while Areeb is venomous. She also comes to discern that Areeb’s love is not of the kind that Saad has for her. As Areeb’s ploys grow from bad to worse Saad is put in more and more difficult situations. The rift between Ameena and Rafia grows over Maheer. Ameena blames all her misfortunes on Maheer. Rafia repents the day Maheer failed to marry Areeb.
Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha puts forth a few strong points:
For every bad befalling a family it is always the daughter or daughter-in-law who is the cause.
Even if the son is a devil he is not blame worthy or punishable.
Class difference and financial disparity are crucial as they weigh down upon the success of a marriage.
Social status, not human worth, is the eligibility factor in considering suitability of a groom.
All middle class families, especially girls, are after the bank balance of rich boys.
Middle class life, with its limited resources, is a perennially sore existence.
All the best things in life happen to rich people, however, emotionally bankrupt, they may be.
People’s perspective changes with situation. It is never static.
The flipside of the Serial:
The story begins after Maheer’s marriage to Saad. Maheer’s confusion over who to choose over whom drags the story unnecessarily.
Once married, Maheer moos around brooding over Areeb without realizing that he is unreliable. She is blind to the fact that he never turned up for marriage and did not even think it fit to inform.
Maheer is never seen performing any wifely duties except ironing Saad’s clothes once or twice. She has ample time to resent her love loss.
She is an educated girl. But, no, she is not allowed to work or support Saad financially. Saad keeps on saying that he will manage everything without managing anything except losing his job now and then.
Saad’s selflessness is at times appreciable and on others unrealistic as he goes against his family to support Maheer on occasions when it seems unnatural and unrelatable.
Neelo converts into the spiteful sister-in-law spitting fire. Ameena changes colours like the chamelion. She has no other job but to whimper or drag her daughter-in-law down the staircase to the ground floor blaming her for all the ills happening to her and her family which is not fully untrue.
Maheer is the clay doll who accepts all accusations, keeps on asking for forgiveness or forgiving others or explaining herself.
Areeb, after his father’s death, devotes all his time planning how to destroy Maheer’s married life. He does not have to attend to business or office. Money is no concern. It just flows.
Rafia, even after being openly scorned by Beenish, still repents her daughter not marrying Areeb. Its actually questionable whether she is a loving mother or just blinded by the glamour of richness.
No one accompanies Maheer to the Police Station when Saad is jailed on false charge of rape. But everyone is ready to accuse her, especially her aunt-turned-mother-in-law, when she returns without any result.
The police seems to be having no work rules except dancing to the tune of the rich and famous. They just do whatever they are asked to do by Areeb because the family fills their coffer.
The most irritating character, amongst all, is Beenish who does not seem to have respect for anyone. She has not groomed her son properly which is quite clear. She loves her status and money. She is well made up even when she is visiting her hospitalized son. The most laughable is when she suddenly lectures her son on disgracing women forgetting that all along she has been doing the same with Maheer, Rafia, Ameena and Neelo. However, she never repents her own vampish acts throughout the narrative.
Why watch the Serial?
For me, I just wanted to see the end of it all.
When will Maheer wake up from her stupor?
When will Rafia realize her mistakes?
When will Neelo stop cursing Maheer?
When will Saad get justice?
When will Beenish come to her senses that she has a worthless son?
When will the police stop licking the dust off the feet of the super rich?
And, of course, the intense performance of Wahaj Ali Khan.
Perhaps the last is the main reason! What else?