Farhat Ishtiaq on Ye Dil Mera, the backlash and more.

Ye Dil Mera, the much awaited Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly starrer drama serial, is about to premiere on TV and has already generated much controversy. As soon as the first teaser was released, social media was set on fire. The scene that portrayed a ‘handsome, young boss’ asking inappropriate questions in his office while interviewing a female candidate was not well received. It seemed that the play is romanticizing workplace harassment.

While some would argue that it is unfair to ‘cancel’ a play even before the first episode has aired, many would say that women who have been a victim of workplace (or any other form) of harassment will find it enough of a trigger to anger and frustrate them. In the current global climate where more and more women are finding the courage to come out with their truths, and yet most are being silenced by victim blaming, the backlash is, to say the least, natural and expected.

On seeing the promo, my heart was divided. I have been an ardent fan that has admired Farhat Ishtiaq’s powerful writing for a long time. On my blog, I have also spoken about personal experiences of being sexually harassed by a stranger on the street, by a colleague, and by a doctor. I felt that in order to find my answers, I must speak to the writer herself, who was awarded ‘Best Writer’ accolades for Udaari, a play that aimed to create awareness about sexual harassment of children in Pakistan.

I am sharing what she had to say about the criticism received as well as some of the other questions I asked about the serial. You are free to form your own opinions based on her take.

Me: When the first teaser of Ye Dil Mera was released, on one hand, the public excitement was immeasurable. Sajal and Ahad were coming together for the first time in a play as a real-life couple. It was a Farhat Ishtiaq story once again. It seemed like a revisit to the YKS days. On the other hand, there was a severe backlash on social media as the storyline of the play was interpreted to be one based on workplace harassment. What would you like to say about that?

Farhat Ishtiaq: Anyone who has followed my plays on screen or has read my novels would know that I am a proud feminist as well as a supporter of the ‘Me Too’ movement. As a woman and as a Pakistani, I am well aware of the kind of harassment females go through on a daily basis, inside as well as outside of home. As a story writer, I never compromise on the dignity of my female lead. If you go back to Khirad in Humsafar, even in her silence, she was a strong girl. Her situation may have made her weak, but when it came to her self-respect, she didn’t compromise. You will see that even in Ye Mera Dil, the respect of the female lead will not be compromised.

As a nation, we are emotional. In a minute, we put someone up on the highest pedestal and without wasting a moment, we take away that position. A ‘teaser’ for a play is meant to ‘tease’ the audience and gain their attention. The audience will only understand the scenario or the context of that scene under question when they get watch the play once it airs. The public is then free to appreciate or criticize. I will respect the feedback.

I would also like to add that the public has not just scene my work, they have scene the work of the entire team before. Just by watching a teaser, starting a movement of backlash on social media is a little bit of a ‘ziaadati’. Once the play airs and the misunderstandings are clear, I would like to see whether those who criticized me on social media as a story writer will admit their mistake as openly. When the first teaser came out, the audience wasn’t even ware of the genre. The scene under question is not my plot, not even my sub plot. When you’re building a story that is a romantic thriller, some characters WILL be dark or grey. You need such characters to build the suspense. And for that reason, not all characters can be positive. I am hoping that the audience will eventually find the characters to be deep and will be able to connect with them. As the drama unfolds, they will understand why a certain character reacted in a certain way.

Me: Where did you find the inspiration to write a play in the genre of ‘romantic thriller’?

Farhat Ishtiaq: I drew the inspiration to include grey characters in a story laced with suspense from real life people that I have come across in my life. I have seen that people who go through some kind of an emotional trauma in their childhood often carry the burden of it throughout their life. The past keeps coming back to haunt them and that baggage negatively affects the relationships they form in their adulthood. The characters of Sajal, Ahad and Adnan Siddiqui will shed light on this side of human behavior. The very fact that I have had the experience of interacting such people in my life helped me create situations and characters which are so close to reality.

Me: If not Sajal Aly and Ahad Raza Mir for the play, then who else?

Farhat Ishtiaq: Both Sajal and and Ahad have done such tremendous jobs in their own roles that I cannot imagine anyone else doing this serial. The intensity you see in Amaan’s (Ahad’s character) eyes or the fear you see on Noor ul Ain’s (Sajal’s character) face is just amazing. I am extremely happy with the choice of actors!

Me: Your favourite character in the play?

Farhat Ishtiaq: It is not just my stories that are my babies, it is also the characters. While writing a story, I live the life of each character with them. I cry with them, I laugh with them, and I feel extremely close to each one of them. Hence, to pick a favourite from them is not possible.

Me: Your favourite dialogue from Ye Dil Mera?

Farhat Ishtiaq: Let me admit that this is the first time people don’t already know the story of my play. Usually, when my plays are based on my novels, people know what will happen beforehand. But this time, reading about the predictions based on promos people are making on social media is a lot of fun! I can’t say which one is my favourite dialogue because if I share that, I will reveal too much about the story. So, let’s wait for the play to end then we can get together for another interview (haha!).

Me: How are Noor ul Ain and Amaan different from Zubia and Dr. Asfandyar?

Farhat Ishtiaq: I would say that Zubia and Asfi are the complete opposites of Noor and Amaan. For Amaan, I would like to add that there will be times when people will love him, sometimes they will feel angry and sometimes they will feel sorry for him. But, no one will be able to hate it. People will be able to understand his reactions.

Me: For the sake of asking you a lighter question, why did Sajal Aly come so dressed up and wearing ‘jhumkas’ for a professional job interview? Also, how much of a contribution does the writer have when it comes to the wardrobe of characters for particular scenes?

Farhat Ishtiaq: Well, if it were me, I would have maybe INCREASED the size of the jhumkas, haha! I would even throw in a necklace to my look! When you will see the play, you will understand why she was dressed up in that attire.

As far as the contribution of the writer goes, each character is a product of the mind of the writer. What the characters wear, how much makeup they use, how they talk and how they carry themselves, all comes out of the writer’s imagination. Translating that on screen is the responsibility of the director and giving them life is then done by the artists. I feel the team has done a beautiful job while trying to achieve that.

Me: We can see from the promos that a large chunk of the play is shot in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Was that a requirement of the story?

Farhat Ishtiaq: Yes, the location has a huge impact on setting the mood of the audience and the backdrop plays a great role in creating the right ambiance on screen. For my story, I needed a cottage in a mountainous area that gives a haunted vibe as a shooting location. I must add here that the production team scouted just the right places to make scenes of my imagination a reality. Our producer, Momina Duraid, never compromises on the requirements of the writer, even if it means stretching the budget. Last year, when the team went to the North to dig out shooting locations and shared photos with me, I was beyond impressed by the wonderful job they did. Darya Bagh, the place which you will see in the play, is exactly how I imagined it to be. They shot in extreme temperatures just to stay true to the feel of my scenes and I couldn’t be happier.

Me: Yaqeen Ka Safar was a super duper hit play. When it ended, people missed it for weeks on Wednesday evenings. The public demanded a sequel. Now that another one of your plays is about to air with the same team and cast, do you feel any sort of pressure about meeting everyone’s expectations?

Farhat Ishtiaq: Well, you can say that once I am done writing a serial and it is about to air, I feel just like a student who has put in all her effort while preparing, but is nervous on the day of her exam. The pressure is not because of the same team, I would have felt it even if I were working with a different set of people. How this project will be received by the audience is something only Allah knows. But I sure do hope that the public loves it as much as the love we have put in to bring this serial to them. It is a play that will be packed with emotions. I pray that people are able to connect with the story just like they did in YKS, Hamsafar, Diyar e Dil and Udaari.