Revisiting Sara and Sheena

In one sense, a comparison between Sara and Sheena says a lot about how the values and culture of the Pakistani society have changed and how our TV serials have reflected that change through story lines ad characters. Both Sara and Sheena go through the same tragedy. Actually, Sheena goes through a lot worse giver her age and her failed marriage with Nasir Jamal and yet the way each of them deals with their similar problem of unrequited love is poles apart. Sheena has her moments of envy but she never attempts to come in the way of Zoya and Ahmer the way Sara does, nor does Sheena go all obsessive-compulsive on Ahmer again the way Sara does. In addition, if Sheena is the one who suffers more than Sara then why isn’t she the crazy one? We might even forgive her for it! Also, yes Sara is initially shown in her 20s in Humsafar when Asher marries Khirad but let’s not forget that later in the drama Sara’s mom clearly implores her to move on and get married as she is 30 years old now and she has wasted all her youth (read rishta years) waiting for Asher. Therefore, age is not really the only factor here because eventually both Sara and Sheena fall in the same age bracket and it cannot be conclusively said that Sheena acted more maturely than Sara because she was older than her. 

Here I will go back to my thesis on how the media has represented the change in the culture of the Pakistani society. In the 80s, the setting of Dhoop Kinare, the Pakistani society stressed a lot on modesty, humbleness and on looking out for one another. Back then, people actually used to know who their neighbours are, what they do etc and the focus was on the ‘we’ rather than the ‘I’. The way Sheena deals with her experiences can be very much interpreted in the light of the values of the 80s as not only is she patient in the face of the many obstacles that come her way but the way she expresses her jealousy with Zoya or her desire for Ahmer is also very moderated. Today’s culture on the other hand places emphasis on opposite values and norms. It can be safely said that people in our society have relatively become very individualistic in their thinking to the extent that many embark upon downright selfishness. Moreover, ‘straightforwardness’ is a trait very much valued and embodied by most of us and it has suddenly become important to assert yourself in every little matter. Like with Sheena, the values of contemporary Pakistan can be clearly seen in Sara who literally destroys everything that comes in her of her mission to marry Asher. Interestingly, even the way Sara and Sheena commit suicide is reflective of the times they live in: Sheena ate sleeping pills which is symbolic of humility whereas Sara cuts herself which is symbolic of boldness.