Bee Gul is one of the finest writers in Pakistan and it’s great to see that she does not compromise when it comes to her craft. Unaffected by the commercial element of success, her writing is mature and she has the power to intelligently weave stories. Her previous hits, Talkhiyan, Dar Si Jati Hai Sila, and currently airing drama, Raqeeb Se are perfect examples of beautiful storytelling.
The success, however, did not come without struggle. While she got lucky at entering the industry, it was followed by several rejections by that same channel that launched her. Bee Gul knew her writing was for a niche audience, however, she refused to change and compromise on her scripts. Therefore, we see very limited work written by this phenomenal writer who writes from the heart and for the heart. “They wanted me to write, I was writing what I could,” said Bee Gul in an exclusive interview with Something Haute.
She also shared a fun fact that despite being rejected from HUM TV for the content she wrote, she was offered to head their content department. She introduced many new writers through her series Kitni Girhain Baqi Hain.
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Her writing was often criticized for being too artsy, dark, and bold. In fact, Dar Si Jati Hai Sila revolved around sexual abuse within a joint family and was slapped several notices from PEMRA for making the audience uncomfortable.
She said that it hurt her to commercialize such sensitive issues for ratings, however, her own script felt too bold to her and she was hesitant about producing it for television. “It’s on sexual abuse, so it has to be an uncomfortable watch,” she replied to PEMRA’s concerns adding that there is a huge responsibility involved because even the victims are watching.
Directed by Kashif Nisar, the project won recognition as well as awards that year. Now that the writer-director duo has once again teamed up, we see the same magic on screen in Raqeeb Se.
Following the success of Dar Si Jati Hai Sila, Bee Gul was expected to address social issues in her scripts.
“Then I thought what’s a bigger social issue than love, in a global society,” she shared the concept behind Raqeeb Se, adding that it is a very complex emotion that even she doesn’t understand completely. “I wanted to write about what love does to people over a period of time.”
Bee Gul is known to address social issues in her narratives without making the whole plot based on an issue. For example, Raqeeb Se addresses domestic violence and the internalized misogyny of women which perpetuates patriarchy.
“We women need to understand each other,” she says, explaining the female characters in the play. “The hate that women have for each other and their insecurities they have, helps men get away with almost everything.”
Speaking of Raqeeb Se, the writer says that it is a simple story and that is the beauty of it. “Why are we always looking for explosions and evil schemes?” she questioned.
Watch the complete interview here:
