Karachi:
Spoiler alert and activation warning!
When a beloved series is an arc to draw its curtains, the audience must address the clash of elaboration between anticipation and fear, anticipation that its favorite program will end at a rather deserved point instead of fearing not to do so. The truth of this manifested after the end of Qarze Jaanthat triggered an online debate.
What began as a strong drama with a powerful story and a great cast quickly crumbled, becoming a clear example of how not to handle sensitive issues such as sexual assault.
For the silenced
Qarze Jaan It follows many stories, some buried under the weight of domestic honor and others that are silenced when they dare to fly. He focuses on the moderate lives of Nashwa and his mother Hogareña after the early death of his father, an unforeseen consequence of patriarchy. It also follows the brutal creation of an abuser, Ammar, who is guilty of many conscious crimes, an unfortunate but expected consequence of the patriarchy that can prosper.
Nashwa’s resistance explosions inside the house that belongs to his despotic uncle and his grandmother of his hands is nothing more than a flicker in his general fire for justice. His relentless search for the law is presented in marked contrast to the lifestyle induced by alcohol-directs of his reckless cousin.
Referring to a “lifestyle induced by alcohol and drugs” treats substance abuse as an instigator instead of the perpetrator. Even when it personifies, it is still only a spooky part of a much larger and more disgusting whole. The distinction between the real culprit and the inanimate accomplice is crucial, a nuance that the drama does not recognize.
Perpetrator turned into a victim
For Qarze JaanAmmar is not simply an abuser, but a product of his surroundings. In isolation, that is not an incorrect approach. Nuance is the key ingredient to make a villain scary, real enough to be considered a danger to society. The abuse cycle is vicious and tends to open the most vulnerable of its patients. It is as the saying goes: hurt people hurt people.
But there is a big difference between a sincere representation and losing the plot completely. Giving the rapist a platform in a court of justice and making Bleat about his tragic education is definitely an election. And, just to be clear, it’s poor.
When the end has his audience watching the perpetrator as a “winner” and someone worth crying, he dedicates some space for reevaluation. While Nameer Khan’s performance as Ammar deserves praise for standing out among a series of brilliant actions, he leaves much to be desired on the path of the character of the character.
For a written man to be devoid of pity in the previous episodes, the repentant confession of Ammar to his atrocious crimes is not sincere. While breaking the many times his father put a veil on his crimes, he says: “Maybe all parents protect their children. But I’m sorry, father. Your approach was wrong. Your thought was wrong.”
At this time, Ammar is no longer a predator responsible for a violation, murder and pain of many people in duel, including his own sister. On the other hand, he has become the voice of the reason of the drama, an innocent who has left the stun that made him commit those deplorable crimes.
Here is the fundamental problem: grace out of place. The drama means that this is not an opportunity for redemption, which ammar will definitely fulfill its prayer, but not without blaming its actions to another person first.
Okay, the patriarch of the family, Bakhtiar, in fact carries the features strongly represented in Ammar. Okay, facilitators perpetuate systemic problems until it becomes difficult to separate them from culture. But Bakhtiar is the only character that is still loyal to his character arch, therefore, he stressed as the only villain of the show.
You do not need to take my word as law. Ammar’s romantic editions as an misunderstood hero, a jealous husband from Booktok and an outstanding “victim” that is worth shed tears for themselves.
Doing better, being better
There is nothing inherently bad in fictitious stories willing to risk. But an explanation is not a justifiable excuse. In a world infested with men like Zahir Jaffer and Imran Ali, creators must have a caution to do justice to the growing number of victims and survivors subject to sexual assault and murder.
At least, Ammar does not deserve grace and absolutely any crying speech to reduce the seriousness of his crimes. Even if the benefit of the doubt that his actions were premeditated, that does not distract from the fact that he did commit those crimes.
The problem is not only in the end, in this case. It is in all those high scenes with a gentle background music, since Ammar takes a break of being a furious abuse to joke with his family members, yes, that includes Nashwa dejected who is obliged to a marriage with him. As if saying: ‘Hey, do you see these traces of humanity? It is not a total lost cause!
And then there is that moment in the courtroom when Ammar kneels in front of his sister and his son and, a apology of poor quality later, to her, to us, her nephew will grow to love the uncle who killed her father. Maybe Ammar is right, considering that he kills Beenish’s husband before his son can even memorize his father’s face.
The truth is that the violence of this degree is driven by the lack of empathy towards the victim. It is not difficult to imagine that the abuser does not have any, even after the world realizes its crimes.
Perhaps, Ammar was created as an attention call for facilitators, urging them to control their children before it is too late. But his final speech raises this question: should that be done while acquitting an adult man of his responsibilities?
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