The final episode of Mere Paas Tum Ho, documented as the most popular drama serial to date, left fans divided on its tragic conclusion.
A drama serial that had picked up unprecedented following in the past few months, Mere Paas Tum Ho – directed by Nadeem Baig and penned by Khalil ur Rehman Qamar - finally concluded this weekend, leaving fans worldwide in conflict over its ending. The finale, a double episode that was screened in major cinemas across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad in addition to airing on television at the same time, was a heart breaking end to one man’s tragic love story.
Busier and more densely packed than what one witnesses at an average movie premiere, Nueplex Cinema was buzzing with over eager fans of the serial, which had picked up a cult following during its 23-episode run. One of the cinema managers commented how it looked like the cinema had gotten a temporary shot of oxygen; it’s no secret that cinemas in Pakistan have been suffering after the Bollywood ban and the mostly poor performance of local releases in 2019. MPTH had, albeit temporarily, brought business back to life.
One reason was news that the cast would be watching with the audience and sure enough, the red carpet saw Humayun Saeed (who has also produced the serial) with his family, Ayeza Khan, Hira Mani, child artist Shees Sajjad Gul, Furqan Qureshi, Savera Nadeem and Musaddiq Malik along with other known faces from the industry. Cinema 2 was a full house, with enthusiasts spilling into a cinema next door too.
“Don’t worry, no one is going to die,” a beaming Humayun Saeed went around saying, falsely reassuring people seated in the cinema, knowing very well that his character – Danish – would suffer a heart attack that he would not survive. The MPTH show began dot on time, in sync with the televised version, starting with a 23-minute long recap of the entire drama and followed by a 55-minute last episode that was screened without any intervals.
The rest, as they say, will go down in history.
“Danish was always meant to die,” Nadeem Baig, director of the serial smiled as he was questioned on the red carpet. It was a manic scene, with crowds mobbing Humayun Saeed who couldn’t leave the cinema as an influx of people moved towards him, against the current; he had to be taken out through the back door. Ayeza Khan, looking extremely pretty in pink, also had to be whisked away though she was hounded for selfies as she smiled to accept praises for her impressive performance. “People kept thinking we had recorded three endings, but we had actually just shot one,” Humayun continued. “There was no other logical conclusion for Danish, a man who had loved this woman so selflessly and had gotten his heart broken in return. He could not have found the place in his heart for another woman. As for Maham and Shehwar Ahmed, we deliberately left their conclusion open to interpretation.”
Though Adnan Siddiqui could not make it to the screening, Instep got in touch with him for his take on his character’s somewhat problematic last dialogues. It seemed that he had pinned all the blame for his adultery on Mehwish.
“It was Shehwar’s thesis that he wasn’t responsible for ruining Mehwish; it was her,” he said. “It could be any man; if a man sees greed in a woman, he tries to take advantage of it but it is the woman who decides whether to accept the offer or not,” he explained, adding, “I respect women and believe in equality between men and women.”
The serial ended with as much hype and hoopla as it had carried through its airtime. Outside the cinema, post screening, people were in two minds and had a love-hate feeling about its conclusion.
“It was absolutely beautiful,” said one lady who felt that Humayun Saeed’s performance had made the tragic end believable.
“The hospital scene was absolutely ridiculous,” said another lady who happened to be a doctor and said she took offense to the way the hospital scene had been shot. “I’m here with two of my friends, who are also doctors and we want to sue the director for portraying medics in such a poor light. Danish was flatlining and kept talking for ten minutes without any doctor intervening to save him. We would all have been able to revive him at that stage of trauma.”
This was, of course, the expected reaction when emotions are running so high. There was an aura of sadness over fans as they exited and waited for their cars, many driving by with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s vocals on the MPTH soundtrack wailing along. “Looks like someone really did die in the episode,” a couple walking in to catch the next screening commented, anxious about what they were going to watch.
