Zindagi Gulzar Hai Episode 8 The Real FK Show!

The Drama Queen!

Last week in the scene where Usama and Zaroon talk about Kashaf, my brother rolled his eyes at me while watching ZGH with me and said aloud “Man this guy is such a drama queen!” I love watching ZGH with my youngest brother because his side remarks about Zaroon’s idiosyncrasies are quiet amusing. When the episode today was over, my brother was like “baas Api, Kashaf can totally take on Zaroon and crush his ego and pride in under 10 seconds…kehday aik dafa is larkay ko “Zaroon bahii” and larka is going to go under deep change…!” It seems like Umera lumped up the spectrum of our society’s male attributes and awarded them to Zaroon. Zaroon has the attention of every other girl on him yet he wants to blatantly woe a girl who is not one bit impressed by him and he will leave no stone unturned to prove that he can flirt with any girl (even if it is to humiliate and dump her in front of everyone). Although it’s not all right for his sister to roam late at night, in his mind just because he is a male, it’s perfectly all right for him to do so and he can! He is bag of contradictions even to himself. I think Zaroon should be a reflection point for all men in our society and I really hope that in future episodes especially when Zaroon and Kashaf elope, he learns that not every thing in the world revolves around one man’s thinking or their wishes and not every women is “stupid selfish or hypocrite,” as most guys perceive (maybe because they run after the wrong women?) Fawad Khan I have absolutely no doubt that you are one brilliant actor and you make even a better drama queen then, well, our baby doll Asmara…

Tum kehti ho, meray khaat mujh ko
Wapis kar do, wapis kar do…

The fiery energy of a real life concert and our favorite actor singing… I just felt time had stopped and I was transported back in time listing to JJ’s brilliant songs. Beautiful scene inside and out! I was not one bit disappointed. I am so jealous of you Indus students…grrrr. I wanted to make a few points regarding to concert scene that the song chosen “Tum Kehti Ho…” must have had some significance behind it. I am sure it is to foreshadow something to come in the future. I remember in the OST, Kashaf is holding some letters (and I am not going to share any spoilers from the novel) but I am wondering if there is a relationship to the song being put in this specific context. What do you guys think?

My Reflection moment:

Today Kashaf’s hesitation in taking a ride from a guy and her insecurity about how if someone sees her coming home like this in their neighborhood, what would be the consequences of that?

This issue is not far from my heart. A few months ago, a few of my old university friends met over for dinner. It was around 9:00 pm and I was worried about getting home as it had just snowed and I didn’t have a ride back home. My friend S had her car and she could drive me back home but my friend D offered as well because his home was closer to mine and S would have to take a whole other route late at night. I was not uncomforted with the idea of taking a ride with D because we had known each other for so long and I would be safe, however I clearly told him that I know his intensions are right but knowing that even in North America my whole family lives in the same neighborhood and if someone sees us coming home late at night, they wont understand that we are just friends and all the years of trust that my parents have built with me could be shattered in one minute. My parents don’t ever question where I am coming from but I know there are certain limits and I am not allowed to cross especially coming home in a car with a boy they have never met or are not well aware of. I would rather prefer that S could drop me back. I guess many people can question Kashaf’s mentality here, why did she then stay at a concert, why didn’t she arrange for a ride earlier? Doesn’t she go to school with boys as well, un kay sath bhi to behthithi haina?

My answer would be that maybe this is what Umera is trying to highlight that our society is so unforgiving and is inflexible to new ideas or nature of things. A girl can be as virtuous and pious but her reputation can be tarnished in seconds and she can be humiliated all around. Kashaf’s mother knows what her daughter is like, she wouldn’t cross her limits but Kashaf out of fear still lies to her mother and tells her that she came with a boy and a girl, otherwise her mother will never trust her again. It’s a sad reality of our culture and I think it was highlighted brilliantly in this scene.

“head scratch” moment:

-How do Zaroon and Usama know about Asmara’s jaghara that just happened 2 mins ago. Did she text them? Call them on her way from the library? Wahhh Pakistan main to gossip girl khoob thrive karay!

ZGH a piece of art??????

In a recent heated debate in one of my classes, we collectively came up with the conclusion that “Art is derived from experience and how we think about the world and produce meaning from our observations. Therefore art is very subjective to each one of our experience and perception of the world. A good piece of art will induce conversation and a good or better a heated debate!”

Any visual art medium to a certain extent is a perception of experiences that the screenwriter, the director and the DOP are trying to communicate to their audience. Of course not every scene, every character can be relatable and that comes back to the definition of art itself that it requires the perception from the audience’s experiences relating to the visual medium and the artists ability to convey their perception of the world and how well they have painted or stitched together a story to induce conversations. Question is, does ZGH falls under piece of art or is just commercial entertainment? I personally feel that the story is meant to be written to induce debate, however its visual execution is lacking due to tight editing of the story board and narrative. It will take time to become a piece of art as more of it reveals itself and fully engages its audience. Some visual mediums are made for pure entertainment and others for pure purpose of discussion. Very few of them can find a purposeful balance between the two. ZGH is getting their, but its not their fully! However since last week, I have thrown away my critics hat and sitting at an audience’s chair has given me a more relaxed point of view into the artists mind. ZGH does manages to induce some critical thinking and makes us, the audience, question our beliefs, our social norms that we breath in everyday yet never question as much. The relationships between parents and children, the sibling chemistry, the highlight of deeply embedded social perceptions of how women and men behave and should behave etc are really well presented and solidly brought on screen. Most of all I really have to admire how much insight and discussion you all bring and this heightens the experience of understanding ZGH even more! I am sure if I can relate to it in many aspects, many others could as well. No piece of art is perfect and no art is perfected without criticism. From now on I will always remember to highlight what I think could have been better presented to me as an audience so I could understand the meaning and also highlight some critical thinking points that we perceive.

Next week:

‘Mere dil karta hai kabhi kabhi Zaroon ko khari khari sunaa do!’

Lagta hai Zaroon ko next week kuch khari khari zaroor sunannay ko milay ginn :D

In this mongoose and cobra fight dekhiyi koon hooga mongoose aur koon ho ga cobra? Koon kisko pehle shikast deta hai? Until next time folks, stay tuned!

I am on both teams’ today guys! Kashaf made her points heard across and so did Zaroon. Whose team are you on?

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Critical thinking question for the audience:

“Are the men’s ego their greatest weakness especially with regards to anyone who bruises it. Do you guys predict that Zaroon’s behavior will change after next week?

Written by Misty