Media Magick

Meray Paas Tum Ho is one of the most talked about dramas these days, not because of the power of content or performances at par but because of social media hype and top-notch names associated with it; like Humayun Saeed, Ayeza Khan, Adnan Siddiqui, Khalil Urrehman Qamar and Nadeem Baig. I’ll be considered as someone who is not familiar with quality oriented Pakistani dramas to expect the quality of Meray Paas Tum Ho close to Chappar Chhaon, Ehsas (1980’s) or Kashkol or even Boota From Tooba Tek Singh (by the same writer) but from what I have watched in the first 8 episodes, I am a little shocked. Here’s why!

Character development of each character, introduced by far, is very weak and under-cooked; something which has never happened in Khalil Urrehman Qamar’s dramas. Humayun Saeed as Danish is a loving husband, who can be an ideal for any woman; but poor lad is not filthy rich and is shown struggling day in and day out to give her wife and kid everything he can. His wife Mehwish (Ayeza Khan) is a woman with desires and not needs. She wants luxuries in life and wants her husband to go to any extreme to fulfil her desires whether it is exceeding monthly budget or insisting to buy a diamond necklace by taking loan from her rich friend. And if that’s not enough she doesn’t even mind Shahwer (Adnan Siddiqui) passing flirtatious remarks after knowing that he is a millionaire and that too an unhappily married one. Adnan Siddiqui is shown chanting lines which school and college going kids say to their “bae” and the touch of maturity is totally missing.

It feels like Meray Paas Tum Ho keeps justifying that it’s okay to appreciate a beautiful woman whom you bump in to and trying to get her by going at any length, what’s the biggie is she’s married; marriages don’t last always, right? Well, that’s one angle of the story from Adnan Siddiqui’s end. A married woman texting “Missing you too, please stop smoking” by locking herself in the room so that her husband doesn’t know about it; well that’s shady.

The character of Humayun Saeed is shown so naïve (rather call him a spineless man) who agrees to every insistence of his better half forgetting that it is legit or not – looks ridiculous. Plus, how can a man go wrong in judging another man who is trying to take advantage of his wife? Anyway, Meray Paas Tum Ho keeps showing instances where how a rich man can woo a married woman and a married woman being either naïve or shallow character accepts everything in the name of confusion, doubt or whatever you call it. At one point a misconception was conveyed to the viewers that she might be doing everything for her son’s better future but that’s not the truth, if viewers watch closely. Mehwish is the kind of woman who would make her husband buy her expensive gifts but wouldn’t take the same level of enthusiasm to admit her son in the school.

I have seen women justifying Mehwish’s acts and steps over social media, and arguing that even men do the same and that’s considered normal. Well, wrong is wrong no matter which gender commits it. The drama will unfold a lot more but from character sketches to dialogues and from performances to instances, Meray Pass Tum Ho is a disappointment. The analysis is based on 8 episodes.