Faysal Qureshi, Sunita Marshall, and Savera Nadeem starred in this drama from a few years ago. The drama had aspects of a very traditional storyline but was also modern in some senses. ‘Qaid E Tanhai’ tackles issues of immigration, betrayal, loyalty, and family.

Savera plays Ayesha, the typical Pakistani girl (as portrayed by our dramas), who marries the love of her life, Moiz (played by Faysal) 

At the beginning of their relationship, Moiz’s mother places a lot of pressure on Moiz to earn more for the family, thus finally forcing him to move to England. This is how the show tackles the, then, mass emigration of Pakistani men at that time. Ayesha, of course, trusts her husband but feels abandoned by him, especially considering the tense relationship between her and her mother in law.

Ayesha’s worst fears are realized as she sees her husband dissociate from her, and begin to get closer to another woman, Anila, who’s in England. 

She initially just thinks they’re friends but doubt is seeded in her mind as Moiz begins to talk more and more about Anila and less about Ayesha and their daughter, Noor. She begins to get paranoid, but slowly, all her fears become reality.

Faysal spins a set of lies with both women, he undersells his relationships with Anila, while also keeping Anila in the dark about his marriage in Pakistan. 

This all catches up to him, which sets off a series of events. In the end, Ayesha is left in a ‘qaid e tanhai’ by her husband, her mother in law and her brother too. It’s just her and her daughter.

After a few years, Anila dies in a car crash, leaving behind Moiz and their son, Farhan. 

This triggers a trip to Pakistan for the father and son, and so the couple sees each other after years apart. The family is broken, and it seems it’s all beyond repair, but slowly Farhan warms his place up in the hearts of Ayesha and Noor. He becomes the reason why everyone begins to talk to each other and eventually, become a happy family.

Yes, I admit that this drama followed a lot of the archaic trends and storyline we all hope to steer away from, but it was a show that was needed at the time. 

There was always an insecurity surrounding men leaving their families in hopes of better economic prosperity. Yes, there was lots to gain in terms of money, but a lot of couples lost a lot in this distance and this was a topic that was never really talked about. The plights of wives who were left behind were never discussed because people thought it too dishonorable, and also disrespectful on the part of the wife, because, well the man left everything behind to apparently make her life better.

This drama dared to show the ugly side of men going abroad for money.

Although what Moiz did to Ayesha was horrible, the drama portrayed his actions stemming from how lonely he was abroad. Again, Ayesha didn’t deserve what happened to her and neither is loneliness a justification, but the drama did a good job in presenting both sides; the emotional aspects and pulls that each character went through.

But, the main focus of the show was always Ayesha and her ‘qaid e tanhai’. The man leaves the woman behind, and she is essentially left to her own devices, left to fend for herself against society and society’s nazar. The man may be abroad but she has face all sorts of questions and what not. Yes, the man may be lonely, but so is the woman, because of the way our society is, life is made hard for her consistently. The show brought this fact front and center and made us all empathize with women who find themselves in such situations because otherwise, people generally think of such women ‘having it easy’ and ‘sitting on a pile of cash’.

What did you think of ‘Qaid e Tanhai’? Let us know in the comments 🙂

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Cover Photo Courtesy: HUM TV