It won’t be wrong to say that Pakistani dramas have started shedding light on some of the lesser-discussed, taboo issues in our society, but this new Pakistani drama is a venture on a whole new subject. ‘Ishq Zahe Naseeb’ is based on an issue that a lot don’t have a clue about, especially in a country like Pakistan.

It’s not jaadu, it’s an illness

We are talking about the new Farooq Rind directorial, ‘Ishq Zahe Naseeb’. A topic that revolves around, something that has never been touched upon in dramas, the psychological issue of a split personality. Zahid Ahmad plays the role of Sameer who suffers from this disorder and becomes Sameera sometimes, due to his split personality.

Since this drama has started airing, it is seen that only Sameer’s step mother and a house helper know about his issue. Apparently his disorder has taken over his mind to such an extent, that it even leads to the death of a girl who gets engaged to him, leaving Sameer/Sameera alone and more vulnerable.

Split personality disorder is not recognized by most people, especially in our country where people would refer to it as attention seeking, black magic or more conveniently, a jinn ka saya. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist and causes for such behaviour. Making a whole drama serial on this issue was risky in itself, but the support and love this drama is getting is proof that changes are taking place in our society. People are much more open to such topics now, which is great and does its part in creating mental health awareness too.

Zahid’s responsibility to Sameer and Sameera

Even though doing justice to both aspects of his role can be a big challenge for Zahid, so far he’s doing a great job. Both, Sameer and Sameera, are portrayed by him flawlessly – from his expressions to wardrobe – everything is on point. For his role as Sameer, who is a feudal lord, he has to show masculinity and influence. For Sameera, however, he is bound to illustrate feminism in his speech, expressions and body language.

The contrast in both the characters and how effortlessly Zahid is pulling them off is great. We’re just hoping he stays true to both his characters, especially to when he turns into Sameera, so that audiences feel the impact of the illness that he is dealing with. It is important for it to come across how Sameer sees himself when he transitions into Sameera. The drama also shows us Sami Khan’s and Sonia Hussain’s love story on one side, but how Soniya and Zahid come to meet is still to be seen.

All in all, an amazing new story line with a never-before-seen character, ‘Ishq Zahe Naseeb’ is sure to make more headlines, and for this reason it should be on everyone’s watch list right now.