Think of a toxic male lead on screens and you would see “Danish Taimoor” topping the list. He has set himself perfect for a toxic character by choosing similar scripts every time. And the award goes to him for being a Toxic Lover.
This time, you can see his toxic obsession in his drama Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi. He’s playing the role of the son of a wealthy businessman. He has been given everything decorated on a plate. He never had to listen to No in his life.
But he fell in love at first sight with a girl, Mehek and started harassing her and her family in the name of love. He tried his best to get her attention but when nothing worked, he forced her to love him.
It’s sometimes unbearable to see a man going this harsh way to make a girl fall in love. The cherry on top is that the man is incapable, all the wealth he owns belongs to his father and has earned nothing good in life. And on it, he wants a girl to marry him just because he loves her. And he’s proud of it.
There are ridiculous dialogues and scenes in the drama that you might feel the need to change the channel. The irony is that the content makers have glamorized the male character and portrayed him as a hero. He is rich, young, handsome, and carries alms and guards with him.
Another toxic trait of this drama is violence. In a scene where Shamsher learns that Mehek is alive, he hits the rickshaw driver and puts the gun on the college guard giving the impression of a psychopath. You would see him aggressively moving towards Mehek as she has done a crime by running away from him.
Read: [It’s High Time to Improve the Patriarchal Structure of Dramas]
But the point is that if our drama keeps glamorizing these characters in a patriarchal society, the destruction will continue. We already live in a male-dominated society and by glorifying abuse and harassment, these dramas are giving people more brevity to act like Shamsher if they fall in love.
A cringe script and the drama needs to be off air soon to curb its impact on society.
The Curse of Wealth
Wealthy people exist in our life. But my question to the drama makers is why they show all the riches as spoiled, who keep their guards high and love bringing other people down to brag about their wealth. It’s a piece of cake for them to break the laws, bribe the police and put people in trouble only because they want a specific thing. Why is there no other side of the wealthy families in our society? Why does drama fail to show it? In Geo TV drama Khaani, the son of a feudal lord gunned an innocent boy only because he crossed his way.
If all businessman families are the same then it’s a question mark to the rich to please have some ethics. One shouldn’t use their wealth and pride for someone’s destruction.
Danish Taimoor and his Repetitive Roles
Taimoor has a history of repeating characters. In the past, he did the same role in Ishq Hai starring Minal Khan. In that drama, you can see Danish harassing the female lead by putting a gun on his head compelling the bride to say Yes. The scene got viral as the most hounding scene ever.
Then there’s Deewangi in which Danish played the character of a rich arrogant man who kidnapped Nageen (Hiba Bukhari) from her wedding to satisfy his egoistic love. As in Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi, the female lead wasn’t interested in Mansoor Durrani (Danish Taimoor) but he forced her to love him and made her life problematic as hell.
Ab Dekh Khuda Kya Karta Hai is also next in the line of toxic masculinity of Danish Taimoor. In that drama, he harassed young girls and pretended to be in love with them. When the female lead Mariam (Sanam Chaudhary) refused to succumb to his demands, he ruined her life by taking revenge on her and making her life miserable.
Fragile Women Roles
From the first day, the character of Mehek in Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi is shown as an innocent, young girl who doesn’t know how to defend herself. She’s always hiding behind her father and looking for him to support her. Not only this drama, but every other script also shows women as tiny, little creatures who don’t have their opinions, and actions and can surrender to circumstances quite easily.
However, there’s always inner strength in women that wakes them up in a time of misery. But our dramas always hide this side and display the delicate side. It was a good opportunity in the drama to make Mehek fight her circumstances but you would see her seeking shelter in different places. Let’s see how this story unfolds or whether Mehek will be able to take revenge or later fall in love like Israh in Ishq Hai.
Read: [Dear Dramas, We Women are Strong]
That’s what our drama industry is making in 2022. Similar rotten scripts on different channels. I just binge-watched some old PTV dramas and I fell in love with them. What quality and thoughtful content they made in history. But unfortunately with the passing of time today, our dramas are losing their essence. What a pity!
I prefer books and diaries more than phones and Facebook. Soulfully connected to Pakistan. And I passionately believe that I can change the world through blogging.
