Have you ever gotten the feeling, while watching a particular drama, that you want to punch a character right in the face? Most of you would answer yes, because fans of Pakistani dramas often experience this feeling while sitting in front of their televisions. More often than not, we come across such douchebag characters that it becomes difficult to control our emotions, even sitting on the other side of the screen. One such character, who is nowadays on the receiving end of a lot of hate for being a spineless husband is Murad Chaudhry — played by Talha Chahour — from ‘Mannat Muraad‘ on Geo Entertainment.
Where do we even begin with, mentioning all the red flags that Murad possesses? Every time, he speaks, he creates a mess. He is not only an overgrown baby but a man-child who shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place. For us qualifying Muraad as “spineless” implies that he has a lack of assertiveness, confidence, or the ability to stand up for himself or others.
Here are 5 red flags that Muraad embodies and if spotted in someone else, make sure to run away immediately!
Lack of Assertiveness
Muraad has been showcased as an obedient son, however, this obedience is a cover for the character’s lack of assertiveness. As a spineless husband or perhaps, a spineless man as a whole, Muraad struggles to voice his opinions, make decisions, or express his likes and desires in most situations. He often yields to his family’s wishes without considering his own needs, before it even comes down to Mannat. What we don’t understand is why Muraad is incapable of telling his mother that he loves his wife and he wants her to end all the conflicts with Mannat. He runs the house financially, how hard could it be for him to be the man of the house?
Inability to set boundaries
We honestly don’t even know where to start with this problematic character. Muraad is not at all capable of setting boundaries. Although we understand that desi families might not have a concept of personal space when it comes to children, Muraad is now a full-grown adult with a wife and he should be able to set boundaries for his family and his wife too. Instead, he not only lets his mother walk over him but also his wife, he can govern him as she likes.
Muraad’s Avoidance of Conflict
In the course of the episodes what we’ve seen is pretty clear. Muraad tends to shy away from conflicts or difficult conversations, opting for peace at any cost, even if it means suppressing his own feelings or needs. He runs away from his house to avoid the fact that his mother doesn’t want him to bring his wife back.
Inability to Take a Stand
Muraad often struggles to take a firm stance on things concerning his personal life. He cannot tell his mother he doesn’t want a divorce, he cannot tell his sister’s husband that he is a freeloader and is often being swayed by others’ opinions or family pressures rather than standing by his convictions, that is, if he has any.
Muraad’s Dependency
Muraad’s dependency is ill proportionate in the drama. He excessively relies on his friends, his mother and often Mannat for decision-making, guidance and emotional support, lacking the confidence to handle situations independently. He has issues with his family asking Mannat’s family for added dowry, he turns to his friend for help, asking Mannat to be quiet. In fact, in the recent episode, it was quite evident that Muraad depends on his friends, in this case, Azra, to convey messages to Mannat because he, himself doesn’t want to talk to her.
Mannat Muraad is a family show and the makers need to stop advocating such behaviour in men in an already problematic society. Not only that, the entire narrative of the show seems problematic enough, lost in various subplots that it is trying to highlight. Whether the drama talks about family pressure, a toxic dysfunctional family, female rights, or feminism, one doesn’t know for sure. What we do know is that Mannat Muraad’s story is lost amongst so many narratives set into one play and what is left of the drama is the toxic traits of Muraad, getting hate, left, right and centre.
