The reason this review is coming so late is because I was trying to gather my thoughts and muster up the same indignation I had felt the time when it was on air. Why indignation, you ask. Well, read on.

MNYD was written by Samira Fazal and directed by Baber Javed. It followed the life of Shahriyar (Faisal Qureshi) who had a really miserable life because his relationship with his loud-mouthed, rude wife (played brilliantly by Nadia Hussain) was really strained. Entered Roshni (Aisha Khan), an ‘escort’ (for a lack of better word). Roshni was so sweet, caring and lovely that Shahriyar fell in love with her at once.

However, even after Shahriyar and Rubab got divorced, he could not get married to Roshni because his mother (played by Sajida Syed) blackmailed him into marrying Zainab, his cousin (played by Deepi Gupta). Ironically, the wedding was held on the same day as Roshni and Shahriyar’s mehendi. How the mother managed to manipulate this (another Farida aunty no doubt) is something you have to watch to understand.

In any case, the mother also managed to convey the news of the wedding to Roshni, who decided to end her life. She tried to commit suicide but was saved by a kind soul, Faisal Rehman, who not only married her but also accepted her illegitimate son (with Shahriyar). Shahriyar thought Roshni was dead, and started his new life with Zainab. Years later, Shahriyar found out Roshni was alive (and her name was now Kiran). Another string of events followed before Shahriyar and Kiran decided they should not break up with their current spouses.

OK, I wrote the entire plot outline only because Samira Fazal’s dramas are very difficult to explain in a single paragraph (and yes, this is meant to be a compliment).

Back to the drama serial, its positive side was that the story was gripping, there was a lot of suspense as to what will happen next, and of course, the serial was the most talked about not just in my house but in my university as well. However, at that time, all of us strongly felt that the message of the drama was lost amidst the many negative parts of the story. First of all, was it really necessary to show Roshni as an escort? The story would have been just as interesting if Roshni had been an ordinary girl (albeit from a poorer family to decrease her eligibility to marry Shahriyar). Secondly, the part about Roshni and Shahriyar having an affair to the extent that Roshni became pregnant was something I found very, very hard to swallow. She could easily have had her son with her own husband.

These details actually decreased my overall liking for the serial. This was a real pity because I felt that couples could have learned a few constructive things from this, namely the fact that someone who accepts you for what you are is the one who truly deserves you. In Kiran/Roshni’s case, it was her husband, not Shahriyar. Of course, for the ladies, it was a strong wake-up call that they should really control themselves verbally and not talk down to their husbands. Rubab really acted like an illiterate individual at times, and I have seen many characters like her in real life.

However, in the end, most of those who were watching the serial felt that the drama only showed men what to do if their marriages are unsatisfactory (namely, seek comfort in escorts) and that was really, really counter-productive. To the ladies, it informed that you will eventually find someone who will overlook all your past relationships (I have yet to see that in real life – most men don’t even accept their wives’ children from earlier marriages).

I was more concerned about the former than the latter because I strongly feel that any woman who has been forced into becoming an escort because of her circumstances deserves a chance at a decent life if a man is willing to give it to her through marriage. But I did not agree with Shahriyar’s “solution” to an unsatisfactory marriage – if Rubab was wrong in being rude all the time, he was even more wrong in doing what he did. Rubab may have destroyed his life, but he destroyed so many lives through his own weakness: Roshni/Kiran, their son, Zainab and ultimately, his child with Zainab. And really, what did he get in the end? (Strangely, I found the script more inclined towards Shahriyar and Roshni/Kiran in terms of highlighting their justification for their actions but I may be mistaken; in my opinion Faisal Rehman and Deepi Gupta were more deserving of our sympathies.)

Anyway, this review has been a little too long-winded. In a nutshell, I will only say hats off to the entire team for a commendable effort – I just wish a few details in the story had been more considerate of a conservative audience but otherwise, it was something I will recommend to all couples at least to watch at leisure.

Written by Drama Buff ([email protected])