Bachpan mein, I was taught beta share karna seekho, share karna acchi baat hai, sharing is caring ki nishani … there was probably a lot more that followed along those lines, but like Falak, I too was busy rolling my eyes, thinking chalo beta ab tau full on naseehatiyen shuru, to pay much attention. Nonetheless, somewhere along the line, some of the stuff did stick. I grew up to be a reasonably well-adjusted person, sharing with and caring about those around me.

Now, ever since I’ve gotten sucked into the vortex of our TV serials, having watched a whole slew of dramas, and some of them more than once, I’ve learnt so much and realized the error of my ways and reevaluated many of the life lessons I grew up with. To begin with, my mom was wrong – sharing is most definitely not equal to caring. It is not a adage that can be applied universally. It is a good thing only within certain contexts and at certain moments in time, but otherwise there should be limits to what should be shared, when should it be shared, and with whom it should be shared.

Have I lost you? Oops! Ok, let me quit rambling and share some concrete examples to illustrate why, after having sat through innumerable TV serials, I have come to conclude that sharing is not equal to caring. Here we go:

Sharing is NOT caring when:

•  Promos give away the whole kit and caboodle: Now this is huge, talk about a major buzzkill. After a recent promo of a much talked about serial, gave away pretty much the entire episode, including the cliffhanger for the next episode as well, I was mad enough to spit fire. Seriously, what the heck was going through that promo editor’s mind? And it’s not only these editors, but also the synopsis writers, who are a bit too generous with their sharing is caring policy. Seriously guys, if you don’t know where to draw the line, then just quit sharing. If a serial is good enough we’ll watch without the aid of the detailed synopses, or the sab dekha do promos.

•  Clothes/accessories/locations/sets turn into old friends: I’ve lost count of the number of serials that have featured the Dastaan wardrobe, be it the dupattas, or the ghararas. It’s not just Dastaan though, we’ve seen some of the Mera Naseeb and Humsafar clothes also making repeated guest appearances. Similarly we’ve also seen jewelry being shared. It’s not exactly easy to forget the sight of Kuch Pyar Ka Pagalpan’s Kiran running through the streets of Istanbul (sorry USA!) decked up like a Christmas tree with that ginormous necklace and heavy earrings. This was not the jewels’ first outing though; Asghari had worn them earlier in Akbari Asghari. Along similar lines, we’ve also seen houses recycled and interior sets being shared in more than one drama.

• Everyone moves to the rhythm of the same beat: In school, weren’t we always taught about the value of being original. Then why is it then that we see the same musical scores being used in so many serials. Sorry to beat up on Dastaan again, but honestly this serial has outdone itself in the sharing business. From clothes, to locations, to music this poor drama has given its all. Not fully satisfied with sharing from our local music scene, we’ve also seen OST composers sharing baahar ka music very freely as well. This is most definitely not the kind of sharing mommy dearest would condone.

• Parents and grandparents are shared by more than one character: As if sharing clothes and other stuff was not enough, ammas, abbas, even naanis are not being spared these days. For instance, I am absolutely in love with Falak’s naani in Shehr-e Zaat. But wait, wasn’t she also Sophie’s naani in Durre Shehwar. How is that so? Are Mehrunissa and Shandana sisters? Were they separated at birth? Even as she told Shandana about her unhappy marriage, why didn’t Durre Shehwar tell her daughter about her older long lost sister? Does Mehrunissa know about Shandana? Hmm… see, this is not my fault at all, it’s these kinds of sharing of actors and roles, that too one after the other in quick succession, that then gets my mind spinning out a whole different yarn.

•  Donations are random: Until the time I watched this one serial, I really believed that to give freely of yourself is the biggest charity of all. But, boy, was I oh so wrong! Don’t believe me? Alright,  just ask Khirad… this naïve girl was so busy doing whatever she was doing that she never watched enough TV to learn this basic fact.  So, upon hearing of Khizar’s accident, na aage dekha na peeche, bas chal pari madam apna khoon dene …. Oh how she must have rued this thoughtless act every time Khizar brought his non-stop bak bak to their house. This in turn started the whole Ashar and his jealousy/insecurity issue going… leading ultimately to Khirad being kicked out of the house. After learning the facts of life the hard way I’m sure our much wiser heroine, along with teaching her daughter never to lie, must’ve also taught Hareem, beta sharing is NOT caring…

What have you learnt, or been compelled to re-evaluate, after watching these TV serials? Do share ….

Written by SZ~ [email protected]

Follow me on Twitter:  SZ_DramaPakistani  (@sz_dp)