Are you watching the Pakistani Drama Teri Raza? I started the drama in great anticipation due to the stellar cast and hype of Sanam Baloch’s return. However the first episode of Teri Raza really put me off. I think I blame Shehroz Sabzwari’s V-neck shirt and the whole 90s vibe to the drama. I felt that the director was really out of touch with present times. It’s ironic then that it’s the same old school feel because of which I’m now following the drama.
The reason I started watching episode 2 after the rather disappointing and typical episode 1 was because Ayesha Khan, playing the dadi (grandmother), reminded me of my own grandmother. I grew up in a house where my dadi was the matriarch and her approval was the final decision. I was her darling much like Sohana played by Sanam Baloch. She and I could sit together and chat for hours sharing jokes and stories. She was also religious and had a deep faith in God.
I did not agree with how Sohana was rushed into marriage. Nor with how some characters are painted all black such as Rameez. The writer uses broad brushes in the story and many generalizations. Why do working women have to be conniving desperate sorts waiting for ultimate salvation i.e. marriage. Why are liberal views equated to immaturity?
I do like though how every character has space and presence (case in point Manzoora and her very important Point of View on things). How the soundtrack grows on you and there are no typical sazishein between the inlaws.
This drama shows how marriage is not the solution to issues but actually the start of new challenges. Sohana’s mother-in-law is refreshingly non-interfering and supportive. Sohana is however stuck in a parallel world where she imagines her happening life with Rameez and reality can never compete with an oasis of dreams. Because in dreams you do not have a 9-5 job, bills to pay or every day errands to run.
Marriage is also co-living and co-existence with another person who might be very different from you. The first couple of years are actually the toughest as you adapt to each other. Sohana’s clock, diet, and lifestyle are opposite to that of Imtiaz. In her mind she attributes it to the difference in age and lack of love. Her family doesn’t make it easier by repeating age-old lines such as the husband is the majazi khudda etc. Her husband on the other hand believes in equality and her mother-in-law is equally progressive. Sohana is however ironically guided by the same regressive principles she wanted to escape. She resists change. The world of day dreams is more colorful than that of reality. .
I wish she realized how common it is for husband and wife to be polar opposites in their habits when they start living together and how they learn to meet in the middle. I like how the drama shows the little details of married life which is the true reality not the honeymoon phase nor the daggers drawn stage. The charm of the drama is in it’s back-to-the-basics concentration on story and reality (and ofcourse the dadi).
I’m looking forward to see what the next episodes bring though I have a strong inclination of what will happen. Are you following Teri Raza? What do you think?
Love this review even though I didn’t mind the V-neck so much ha ha. I feel the drama has the right hint of reality thrown in which is something that is sadly missing from some other serials.