Television...one of those apparatus...you browse through the numbers in the remote and most of the times I end up switching off the device in frustration... Yeah not much of a news person and not a sports freak either (I guess lots of women might get included in the bracket). I end up with a random episode of ' Friends' which most of the times was an episode I had watched earlier but still managed to evoke some laughter and surprisingly at aspects which weren't noticed earlier...and browse through the odd music channel to catch up with videos and songs of ' my time' kind and food recipes with my domestic help while we have our lunch....I guess my TV addiction is limited and so are my options. Comedy Central kept me occupied for days but being unable to catch something gripping...quit that as well. So it was about Zindagi TV I read in the entertainment section of the daily newspaper and the rave reviews...so gave it a try. Well I hardly watch soaps and not at all the kind shown last two decades..the bitching women with gaudy make up who most of the times end up doing nothing save keeping their spouses contented....
Anyways...randomly I caught an episode of Zindagi Gulzar Hain...and caught it up another day or two. Being the cynical person I am .....tried to cast it aside as another love story between a rich spoilt guy and a middle class girl. The woman protagonist....so arrogant, so rigid...her head covered all the time....nothing felt right and the typical rich boy with his pretty girlfriend. Well like falling in love I never knew when the show took me all over. Initially I marvelled at myself for still being young at heart...and enjoying a love story still...not only enjoying actually waiting with bated breath...for the two to get together!! I remembered my school days where I'd wait for Fauji...and another romantic soap called Farman...if anybody remembers!! Within a few episodes I was that school girl again waiting for Zaroon and Kashaf to fall for each other!!!!! And i have to admit Fawad Khan...Zaroon as I'd like to remember him always...slowly cast a spell on me with his eyes and intensity...and it may sound obvious but for a cynical like me...well...like exploring an unknown part of me. Well well all these from someone who was reaching thirty six is a way bit too much...but who's complaining!!
Yeah it began with Zaroon craze...but then it was the show in all, from the saplings of a sweet romantic love story, somehow it was not repetitive not at all boring, a surprise breath of fresh air with a more surprising realistic element...Kashaf just could be anyone of us...middle class, cynical after the kind of life she has endured with her mother. A real inspiration was the well etched out character of her mother...and the little tit bits she has about life...though may sound typical...but it grows on the viewer and these little tit bits in a way holds her daughter's life together. Things as simple and mundane as cooking for her husband...dismissed by her cynical daughter...but these trivial things bring the subtle changes in their lives. Normal discussions between mother and daughter if mother in law can ever replace mother which I believe most women can relate to...and the twist lies in her mothers simple gyan which strikes a chord instantly. Without being a spiritual guru or healer how simply she guides her daughter through the hardships somehow casts a deep impression on the viewer...just the right balance between respect for others and self respect. Sibling relation between the struggling sisters...love and bitterness and more love...and on the other end of spectrum sibling relation between the ' have it all' brother and sister struggling with their own hell in contrast...
There was this sweet intense love story which tickled the young girl in many of us waiting with bated breath to see the two loving fighting and coming together. Only eyes and expressions could create an impact many ' bold' scenes would fail. And yes Zaroon... for somedays I felt can,t take my eyes off him! Hopefully it mustn't,t be his looks rather the intensity he plays his role with!! When the hangover of the love story begins to fade there is this realistic story with wonderfully etched out characters filling our hearts and ending the lull in Indian television. The sensitive, brilliant portrayal of women by the writer and director all of whom are women...well just hats off to them. Years after there's something in television for which we actually wait, which plays with our imagination and make us ponder.. All that from a show across the border....how little we know our neighbours where such sensitive shows can be conceived and telecasted. My friend was telling me she could not remember any soap she had liked or watched after ' Saas' save this one....
The sweetness of the language is also another pleasing factor and so is the realistic make up. Well I believe the writer and director could pluck just the right strings where it just spelt music....music to the heart...music unheard...music buried in some corner of the heart.
I remembered bonding with my daughter's school mates' mom in the busstand and we raved and raved about Zaroon! We chirped like teens with our crush and grumbled about our hubbies! We raved about the scene where he tries to save her from spilling hot tea and her cynical reaction! Why didn't we have a Zaroon in our life!! Later we always consoled each other ' Kaam chala le with the one we have!'
The show is available on YouTube and Netflix. For lovers of romance, story here is a poignant tale with subtle performances and those heart fluttering moments. And if you are able to get past the magic of Zaroon's eyes there's a beautiful story to be unfurled with strong women enacting the scene with elan.
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