‘Do Bol’ has garnered fabulous momentum and deserved recognition for its very unique storytelling, as it enters its 10th episode this week. Produced by Humayun Saeed among others, the ARY drama is a ripe amalgamate of the terrifying realities of growing up in a conventional Pakistani household – and while we’re immune to both the harshness and neglect our women face, ‘Do Bol’ weaves a new spin on the matter that is both painful and exhilarating to watch.
*SPOILER ALERT*
Beneath its stellar writing, the success of ‘Do Bol’ lies in the twisted world of its characters that are all so incredibly flawed – making the show so frustrating but also brutally honest.
Hira is Gaiti, a beautifully simple girl who, long story short, wants to marry the boy she loves (as do we all). However, living in an overwhelmingly misogynistic and male privileged country, our brothers, fathers, grandfathers and husbands find an eery joy in suppressing female progression; Gaiti is forced to marry someone else, she tries to run away, but in a bout of confusion and misunderstanding, Gaiti’s abusive father (played by the fabulous Mehmood Aslam), suspects her of running away with not the boy she loves, but with the mulazim (Badar, played by Affan Waheed). In quite a shocking turn of events, Gaiti’s father is so utterly humiliated, he churns it up and declares his daughter’s nikkah to Badar (going back to Gaiti attempting to run away with Sameer). Amidst this primitive pretense lies his lack of care for Gaiti as he decides to punish her. The women of the house look on in disbelief, and while I found myself screaming at the telly, ordering them to stand up for themselves I realized that not everyone has it easy; you can’t just start talking back to your abusive father because, well the grim truth is he might just kill you.
That’s not the end of it -Badar, in his suffocating love for Gaiti, convinces Sameer (the boy she was going to run away with) that she’s shallow, selfish and downright awful.
While this is honestly despicable of him, it saddens me to witness a character attempt redemption (after all, we all make mistakes) and still suffer a despicable and gruesome fate. In a way, we see karma unfold for Badar when he ends up getting the girl of his dreams, only to find himself stuck in a loveless marriage that came about.
The abysmal state of affairs doesn’t stop there. Gaiti is miserable with Badar and feels trapped – despite Badar trying to mend his ways and give Gaiti everything she wants.
While the class difference doesn’t seem to affect her, it’s the fact that she just doesn’t feel the same way about Badar – and it’s in this moment you emote sympathy for Gaiti. How can you force yourself to love someone? You simply can’t! And yet, you can’t help feel for Badar because he’s honestly a good man who just let his feelings get the best of him. He vows to try and fix the mess he’s made, despite habitually lying to Gaiti. He quickly understands that he cannot force Gaiti to feel anything for him, and lets her do whatever she wants (because his guilt becomes too intolerable for him). Remember how shocking ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ was? Well, it’s remolded here in ‘Do Bol’ but has been penned in a far more realistic manner.
There is significant casual abuse prevalent in ‘Do Bol.’ It isn’t just limited to Gaiti’s father, but also other men of the house, and at one point even Badar who forcefully covers Gaiti’s mouth in a fit of rage.
The only difference between them all (not that it’s remotely acceptable in the first place) is the fact that Badar immediately apologizes. It’s a fitting and deliberate attempt to distinguish him from the other male protagonists. Badar is relatively the more bearable male; he is insecure beyond a shadow of doubt in his unwavering love for Gaiti. While at first, I felt the drama was coercing me into romanticizing Badar behavior, I realized this wasn’t the case at all. Badar remained at most, ostracized until now – bathing in the consequences he plunged himself into and continually telling Gaiti he loves her (knowing darn well she doesn’t).
This scene and their dresses 🔥#DoBol pic.twitter.com/WSqFjG85AK
— fudge (@agirlnamedfajar) April 5, 2019
We become very quick to condemn a show and its characters without realizing that the writers are simply portraying a shaky truth stemming from reality.
What really gets on my nerves are comments made by viewers who question why female characters are always crying – it’s because when you feel like you’re drowning in an abyss with no one to save you, all you can do is cry! It’s the premise of human nature; if you feel alone, you are more likely to eventually break and feel like the world is colliding around you. And despite everything Gaiti has been through, yes she has her weaker moments but they only compliment her stronger ones (for example, she informs Badar and his family that she wants to leave for Karachi (where her biological mother lives).
If you understand that ‘Do Bol’ is a sad depiction of reality, then you begin to find yourself drawn to its complexity. Watch the show folks. It’s a great one.
