Lowliness is young ambition’s ladder, Whereto the climber-upward turns his face; But when he once attains the upmost round. He then, unto the ladder turns his back, looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees by which he did ascend.
Exclaimed Brutus in one of Shakespeare’s most critically acclaimed works – Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar once ruled over the heart of every plebeian in Rome, and Brutus, his best friend but growing nemesis, was quick to identify that the great Caesar himself had sown seeds of love in the hearts of all plebeians in Rome, only to look down upon them once he climbed the ladder of success.
Dur-e-Fishan Saleem – one of Pakistan’s most thriving female artists – has done a Julius Caesar in her most recent interview. When asked about Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi, the actress responded she wouldn’t like working in or watching anything similar again. The sheer impudence of the statement is such that Brutus would have died of irony – once more.
Enter Dur-e-Fishan Saleem
It was in August last year that fans saw the first episode of Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi. The relatively unknown Dur-e-Fishan Saleem played Mehak – a bold and beautiful lady from a middle-class background.
Who doesn’t remember that first episode? In fact, there still are TikTok reels of the same. A quick search and you will stumble across reels glorifying a dashing Shamsher (Danish Taimoor) travelling with his protocol. Dur-e-Fishan Saleem happened to be a modern damsel in distress – surrounded by her family but still in distress.
During the commotions, aggression, and male bravado of that first episode, the world of YouTube and pretty much every social media platform in Pakistan saw their first real glimpse of Dur-e-Fishan Saleem.
The Rise of Dur-e-Fishan Saleem
The last episode of Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi aired around mid of December. The drama failed to live up to its hype. In fact, the final episode was fairly irrelevant. However, Dur-e-Fishan Saleem had well and truly landed.
Fans spotted her in a couple of TV advertisements. She got front-row seats to the Lux Style Awards and went on to star in the music video for Asim Azhar’s latest song Dard. Mehak now had the world at her feet.
Dur-e-Fishan’s Shocking Statement
In a recent interview with BBC Asian Network, Dur-e-Fishan mentioned she wouldn’t want to work in or even watch something like Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi again. In her own words, “I would never watch a genre like this or would even like to work in something like this again.”
Fans of the serial were left questioning this statement. How does it feel to know the leading actress in your favourite drama wouldn’t waste her time watching a similar storyline again?
In fact, Dur-e-Fishan made it abundantly clear that Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi has opened doors of success for her. She can now choose scripts and, more importantly, reject scripts because she is in a position to do so.
All the commotion makes one question whether this really is the career trajectory Dur-e-Fishan Saleem wants for herself. Does she want to do controversial ‘damsel in distress’ roles to gain traction and the power that comes with it? What’s to say she won’t jump back to a similar role once her popularity falls in the time to come?
In a world where actors influence perceptions, one can at least hope for our stars to stand by their values and not chase clout.
With Dur-e-Fishan having turned her back to the hit drama, fans can indeed ask ‘Yeh Kaisi Teri Khudgharzi?“. And for the rest of us, well, ‘touché, that’s why we didn’t watch it as well.’
