Kinaaray Kinaaray with Sheena

            I found it quite interesting to note that the evil character per say, is definitely not as evil as the characters in contemporary dramas. Sara, her mother, and Fareeda are very good examples of the kind of evil characters present in contemporary dramas. However, the evil-ness of Sheena can be taken in another context altogether.

            Firstly, the so-called evil character is evil for a reason. In fact, evil here is a strong term for Sheena. The reason she seems like a negative character in the drama is because she herself is seen struggling and fighting her own battle. Contemporary dramas don’t usually show why the character is evil. Either it is just plain evil, or the reasons for its evil-ness are plain nonsensical. Sheena is a strong contrast when compared to contemporary negative characters.  She has a negative vibe because of genuine and mature reasons, and it actually allows the reader to sympathize, and if not sympathize, at least understand why Sheena may be acting a certain way, and allow her space to get over her insecurities for instance. Contemporary dramas however, just seem to be stereotyping and exaggerating evil characters in their scripts and putting them there to make the good-ness of the good characters stand out even more. And most importantly, they have no realistic dimension to them. No one is that good or that evil!

            In fact, the negative or intrusive behavior of Sheena allows the drama and its characters to grow. She is not there to merely highlight the good-ness of Zoya, but is there for her own independent reasons, and because she fits the realistic narrative.

            The narrative of the relationship between women is also very significant in Dhoop Kinaaray as compared to Humsafar. As mentioned earlier, the characters are realistic in Dhoop Kinaaray. In Humsafar, Khirad is too naive to understand what Sara means and what her intentions are. Zoya on the other hand, immediately gets the hint and knows something is not right when it comes to Sheena. Furthermore, while Sara is never really genuine with Khirad, Sheena, on the other hand, is genuine and there is a level of respect between the two women. And that is not just because Sheena is senior to Zoya.

            Lastly, the negative character, or rather the negative behavior of Sheena adds to the drama, and leaves the viewer with something to hold onto. Whereas the negative/evil characters in contemporary dramas seem to be there just to torture the good character, highlight the good-ness of that character, and add time to the drama. They certainly don’t leave the viewer with anything except maybe a sense of hatred for them; which is kind of sad, because the viewer nowadays seems as if it’s just being dumm-ed down really.