Written by: Hurmat Majid
Posted on: March 29, 2021 | 
| 中文
(L to R) Omar Khalid Butt, Khwaja Najamul Hassan, Nayyar Kamal, Kanwal Naseer and Haseena Moin
From ‘Shehzori’ to ‘Muhabbat Hogai Tumse’, there is not much that Haseena Moin wrote which failed to make an impact on Pakistani audiences. Last week, Pakistan lost Moin at the age of 79 and for many, the loss is hard to comprehend. It is not incorrect to say that she was a giant and a vital pillar of Pakistan’s literary and entertainment industries.
Born in Kanpur in the year 1941, Moin migrated to Pakistan after independence and settled in Rawalpindi. After a brief stay in Lahore, her family moved permanently to Karachi, where she graduated from the University of Karachi with a Masters’ in History. She pursued a career in academics and rose to the level of a school principal. However, she had been writing all her life, starting with the children’s monthly publication ‘Bhaijan’, and the radio program ‘Studio Number Nau’.
A Young Haseena Moin
In 1969, Moin’s first introduction to the world of television was made via Iftikhar Arif, who was heading the script department at Pakistan Television’s Karachi station. Moin’s first long-play ‘Eid Ka Jora’, an adaptation starring Talat Hussain and Neelofar Aleem, which was aired on Eid that year to great success.
At the time, PTV relied solely on novel-based scripts, and was very hesitant to let writers come forward with original scripts. However, with Arif’s help, ‘Kiran-Kahani’ became Pakistan’s first original screenplay in the early 70s. She then went on to write PTV’s first TV play in color, called ‘Parchaiyan’ in 1976. Success followed Moin throughout her long and illustrious career, during which she wrote 37 serials,19 long plays and four films.
The Team Behind Tansen, Including Haseena Moin, Khwaja Najamul Hassan and Tahira Syed
Apart from gaining critical acclaim, Moin played an immensely important role in bringing forth strong female lead characters to the television screens, who would inspire a generation of women to seek self-expression and live a life on their own terms. Most, if not all of her female protagonists had a strong voice and a meaningful role to play in the drama. They had both flaws and a capacity to grow. None of them were the run-of-the-mill stock characters whose sole purpose in dramas is to either suffer in silence or conspire against those who have wronged her. Be it Zoya from ‘Dhoop Kinare’, Zara from ‘Tanhaiyan’ or Jahanara and Roshanara from ‘Parosi’, they were all feminist icons in their own right who recognized their agency in uncertain situations, either through actions or quick wit.
Haseena Moin's Female Leads
Moin’s writing also thwarted the assumption that female-led dramas would not be commercially successful due to the imbalance of gender ratio. ‘Tanhaiyan’ is a case in point, as a story that focused on three strong but unique female protagonists. While the male characters do exist to help drive the narrative as supporting actors, they are not without thoughtful dialogue or agency of their own. Her writing proved that the viewers empathize with and enjoy watching multidimensional, nuanced male and female characters.
Losing Moin has set Pakistan’s already premature drama industry farther back and the void that her writing has left behind can never quite be filled. For those who wish to revisit or familiarize themselves with Moin’s work, we have compiled a list of her top five dramas:
- A twist of fate lands a pediatric surgeon (Rahat Kazmi) and a freshly-graduated medical student (Marina Khan) on a path to discovering their history together, while they fall in love in the process.
Dhoop Kinare
The chemistry between Rahat Kazmi and Marina Khan is hard to deny and exciting to watch. That said, the play is a master class on how to write about a strong female protagonist, whose story has both poignancy and comedy. The cast also includes industry heavyweights and legends such as Qazi Wajid, Sajid Hassan, Badar Khalil, Kehkashan Awan, Azra Sherwani, Ishrat Hashmi, Hameed Wyne.
- The coming-of-age story of a young girl (Shehnaz Sheikh) from a middle-class background, with a Bachelors’ degree and a head full of dreams. The drama discusses the economic disparity between social classes and the themes of love and family values with Sheikh’s undeniable charisma.
Shehnaz Sheikh and Javed Sheikh in 'Ankahi'
Shehnaz Sheikh is the socially awkward girl, who most viewers can recognize and relate to. Her struggles in life, her family dynamic and her relationship with those around her are both entertaining and still relevant today. Shakeel, Javed Sheikh, Jamshed Ansari, Behroz Subzwari, Badar Khalil and Salim Nasir are all a treat to watch on the show.
- After their parents die in a car crash, two sisters (Marina Khan and Shehnaz Sheikh), learn to navigate life with the help of their maternal aunt (Badar Khalil), her husband (Qazi Wajid) and their loving housekeeper (Durdana Butt).
The Cast of Tanhaiyan
One would expect a drama starting with a tragedy to be devastating, and yet Tanhaiyan is anything but that. The amazing comic relief only bolsters this tale of sisterhood, love and family values. The best part is that it is a female-led drama and there is no traditional male “hero”, and finding love is not the story’s end-goal. The cast includes Asif Raza Mir, Behroz Subzwari, Azra Sherwani and Jamshed Ansari.
- When a divorcee (Khalida Riyasat) and her younger sister (Marina Khan) move into a retired army man’s (Ali Ejaz) guest house on rent, their lives change in more ways than one. It is both a comedy of errors and a sweet love story set in the beautiful backdrops of Murree and Islamabad.
Humyra Saiyid in 'Parosi'
This is another drama revolving around strong female protagonists finding levity in uncertain circumstances. Khalida Riyasat is beautiful to watch, even in mismatched clothes and no makeup on her. The drama also sensitively discusses taboo subjects like divorce miscarriage, female infertility and adoption in an accessible and relatable way. The cast includes Badar Khalil, Humyra Saiyid, Salim Sheikh, Jamal Shah and Shamim Hilaly.
A remake of the original starring Roohi Bano and Manzoor Qureshi, the story revolves around a woman (Nadia Jameel), on a road to self-discovery after her parent’s separation. On this path, she somehow ends up engaged to three different men but vows to marry none of them.
No matter what people say, Pakistan has not seen enough female coming-of-age stories. While many believe that the remake is not as good as the original, we believe Nadia Jameel and Rehan Sheikh’s chemistry makes for a good watch. If viewers are still not convinced, the original black and white version is also available on YouTube. The remake’s cast includes Rehan Sheikh, Shahood Alvi, Safia Khairi, Sajida Syed, Latif Kapadia, Jamshed Ansari.
You may also like:
