TV Talk: This week’s most inspiring female characters

There are characters you love, those that stay with you even after the story concludes. And then there are characters you hate, not because they are negative (because antagonists can often be very interesting), but because they’ve been written so poorly that you want to re-write them with less annoying traits. With dozens of dramas being doled out every week, we thought we’d recap the best and worst of characters we saw on TV this week.

Let’s begin with the best.

Simi Raheal as Azka’s Amma in Ishq e Laa

Simi Rahael

To be fair, all the women in this drama serial were inspirational, right from the trailblazing Shanaya (Sajal Aly), Shanaya’s mother (Laila Wasti), to the fighter in Azka (Yumna Zaidi), Kanwal (Uzma Hassan), etc. But Simi Raheal’s character stands out for several reasons. For one, she’s written as a woman who was widowed early in life and raised her children with strength and dignity. Despite her daughter in law being (initially) a trouble maker, she dealt with her fairly and patiently. When her son dies, she encourages her daughter in law to re-marry and proceed with a full life. And even when her son – the bread winner of the household – dies, she pulls it together and keeps her family afloat.

We never see her self-pitying at her misfortune. She could have married her daughter off to awara Abid when the times were bad but she opts for the higher ground and sends her off to medical college. It was just so refreshing to see a woman so strong and dignified. Even in the last episode, when Azka is struggling with tough decisions, she doesn’t interfere and allows her the space to decide herself. Simi jee delivered a wholesome performance as Azka’s mother. Her gentle expressions and nuances left us wanting the same in so many other motherly characters we see.

Hiba Bukhari as Khajista in Mere Humnasheen

Hiba Bukhari

Khajista is a character that is shown to have lost her mother in childbirth, because of lack of medical resources. She then lost her father in a shoot-out, again, because he could not receive medical aid in time. But instead of growing up as a whimpering woman who’d withdraw in her misery (as is seen in most dramas), she grows up with a strong resolve to become a doctor and help the people of her village. She studies against the approval of her fiancé and in fact is quite strong headed and defiant when dealing with him. Khajista is a girl who’s feisty, strong and independent, and that’s something we rarely see in dramas these days.

It’s a character that Hiba plays very convincingly. The heavy Pakhtoon accent is annoying but that’s to be blamed more on the direction than the actor; a couple of episodes into the drama, you get over it. What stays with you is this motivational character.

Hadiqa Kiani as Mehrunnisa in Dobara

Hadiqa Kiani

While we’re busy hating Mahir these days, we must take out time to simultaneously appreciate Mehru, an unconventional character who has the agency to make her own decisions (even tough ones) and the decency to make the right ones. Mehru realizes the emotional vacuum her former husband has left her in and recognizes her right to remarry for companionship. That she falls for a younger man makes her ever more endearing. Legally, and even religiously, she does nothing wrong so when faced by aggressive opposition from her grown-up children, she is resolute in her decisions.

It’s not often that we see a middle aged character as a lead but Hadiqa Kiani delivers spot on the money. She’s so likeable as Mehru that you want her to find love and happiness; you want to root for her. This is excellent casting because we see Haidiqa with the sensitivity and the persona to be a Mehru.

Special mentions: We haven’t seen enough yet but Sonya Hussyn as Rohi in drama serial Mor Maharan and Ushna Shah as Ayesha in Habs are both characters that appear motivational. They are inspiring in their missions and their strength. Rohi wants to help bring the people of her village water, while Ayesha wants to bring financial stability to her household. These two drama serials have just begun so we don’t really know how their character arcs will develop but we hope they stay as interesting as they appear to be today.