Humayun Saeed wasn’t always this good but he’s acing his character, Danish, in the recently started drama serial Meray Paas Tum Ho, which is just two episodes in.
What’s so great about his character and its portrayal? To begin with, it isn’t a simple character. Danish is a man deeply in love and committed to his wife to the extent that he’ll go to any lengths to make her happy. He lives a typical lower-middle class life and while the values his abba taught him resonate in his conscience, he’s managed to silence his deceased abba’s life lessons to please Mehwish, his wife, also played brilliantly by Ayeza Khan. He’s crossed over to the dark side and has made bribes a daily chore at the dusty government office he works in. His wife, you see, isn’t content in their lower middle class life and aspires for everything better and brighter. There’s a certain piece of jewellery she is eager to buy and he, being the bloke in love, wants to please her.
Read: Humayun Saeed plays a doting husband in ‘Meray Paas Tum Ho’
It’s often tougher to play the simpler roles and Humayun Saeed proves, through his nuanced performance, that he’s a pro. His expressions change with the script; his entire demeanour – from wardrobe to weight to posture – reflects his personality. While he’s submissive and indulgent to his wife, he’s suddenly possessive and tough when his territory is invaded. This happens when he sees Mehwish’s friend Anoushey’s brother’s boss – Shahwaar – getting fresh with his wife at the mehndi.
Danish’s first reaction to Anoushey being divorced. The way his expression changes when he sees her take Shahwaar, played so well by Adnan Siddiqui, to the bar for a drink before they dance. Danish is scandalized and he makes so bones about it. And he takes an instant dislike for Shahwaar, who he notices staring at his wife more than once.
“Jiss cheez ko koi ghair ka haath chhoo jaye woh mujhe achi nahin lagti,” Danish says to his neighbour Monty, earlier in the episode, and one feels this line will come back to haunt him, his wife and the man who’s about to unsettle their life.
