Written by: Hurmat Majid
Posted on: July 25, 2022 | 
| 中文
A poster of Habs
What happens when a man ends up marrying a complete stranger only so he could gain access to his own vast inheritance, while the woman’s only motivation in marrying him is to support her family? That is the theme of the drama serial Habs on ARY currently being telecast.
Written by Alia Makhdoom and directed by Mussadiq Malik, the drama sets an interesting premise, and has managed to hold the viewers’ interest 10 episodes down the line. Starring Ushna Shah as Ayesha, Feroz Khan as Basit, the story has unfolded fairly quickly. Viewers were hooked from the first episode, while watching the strained dynamics between Ayesha, her sister Bano (Dania Anwer), her unmarried aunt (phuppo) Bobby (Hina Rizvi) and the sisters’ mother, Qudsia (Saba Faisal). With no man present to run the house, the burden of earning a wage falls on Bano. Ayesha has another younger sister, but her role has not yet developed fully. While Bano, who is shown to be 32, wishes to marry a man she loves, but her mother is against the match because they are dependent on Bano’s earnings.
The main cast of Habs (L to R) Saba Faisal, Ushna Shah, Feroze Khan and Isra Ghazal
Ayesha, who has just graduated, wishes to study further but her mother’s constant pressure to find a job puts an end to this dream. Ayesha ends up working as Basit’s PA right after his father (Javed Sheikh) has passed away. Basit finds himself in a strange predicament, he must marry in order to gain access to his inheritance. Furthermore, the executor of his will is his estranged mother (Irsa Ghazal). Basit and his mother’s relationship is strained because she had left his father for another man, when Basit was just a child. Since then, not only does he hate his mother, but distrusts all women also.
Office scene of Ayesha and Basit
In trying to find a way out of his problem, Basit lies to his mother about marrying Ayesha, but ends up getting caught lying. Then he goes to Ayesha and confesses what he has done, and tells her why he wishes to actually marry Ayesha. Ayesha agrees and so does her mother, after getting Basit to agree to pay her a hefty sum in return for her blessings. She also gets Basit to agree to not tell Ayesha about this secret deal between them.
Ayesha (Ushna) and Basit's (Feroze) engagement scene
Ten episodes down, viewers are completely hooked and interested in finding out what will happen next, and how will Basit and Ayesha deal with each other’s baggage and keep their strained relationship with their mothers from getting in the way of their marriage. Furthermore, what really captivates the audience is the realistic portrayal of Ayesha and Bano’s situation as young lower middle-class girls who are trying to make a living to support their family.
Feroze and Ushna as Basit and Ayesha in Habs
When it comes to acting, it is refreshing to see Feroz in a non-toxic role, although he has issues and baggage, but he is not shown to be downright evil. Ushna’s role looks somewhat similar to her previous drama Akhir Kab Tak, and she should be wary of being typecast as the destitute girl who has to step out of the house to make ends meet for her family. That said, Ushna is a fine actor who does complete justice to any role she is given, she is natural on screen and that is refreshing to watch.
Dania Anwar as Bano, Ayesha's sister
The two actors playing Ayesha’s sisters are relatively new, and will need to hone their acting skills. Saba Faisal is a powerhouse as usual, and so is Irsa Ghazal. The last time we saw Ghazal was in Chaudhry and Sons as Dadi (grandmother), and the stark contrast between the two characters has shown how truly versatile she is.
In terms of production quality, the drama is adequate, and there are no major gaps or flaws. However, Six Sigma Productions may want to reconsider changing the way they present women on screen, women from households that can barely get by are not supposed to be this made up and artificial. Other than that, the general colour grading of the screen is too harsh and glaring.
Hina Rizvi as Aunty Bobby
Repeatedly, we are seeing dramas that are not based around the conventional saas bahu storylines, be it Habs, Fraud or recently ended Dobara. People are more interested in dramas that are not the conventional ‘formula’ plays. Although we appreciate showrunners making the effort of experimenting with plays like Habs, this is too little too late. On a roster of 50+ dramas, if we include all channels and all slots, if there are only three or four stories that do not fill the typical mold, it is simply not enough. Furthermore, there are still so many toxic regressive narratives on screen that these few dramas have a hard time getting their point across. We wish this would change soon over the years, and the narratives we present to our viewers are a more realistic portrayal and depiction of our society and the issues that plague it.
Overall, Habs is a thoroughly entertaining watch, and we wish that it will continue to run at the same pace, and not be dragged unnecessarily.
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