Meray Paas Tum Ho is one serial that has taken the entire nation by surprise, and its viewership ratings keep breaking their own extraordinary benchmarks. The show’s provocative content has taken everyone by surprise and has resulted in many vibrant discussions over social media, and in the drawing rooms across the nation.
Be that Mehwish’s greedy demeanor, or Adnan Siddiqui’s wily ways, its characters have worked their magic on the audience. And all of this is reflected in the viewership response indices — according to ARY Digital, the show’s latest episode hit the highest ratings of any television program in Pakistan’s history, at 18.8 TRPs, beating the record that was held by Dil Moam Ka Diya at 18.4 TRPs. On YouTube, where it is uploaded immediately after every episode, the drama’s episodes are hovering near the 10 million mark and these unprecedented numbers have been consistent since its first episode.
All of this got our writers at Galaxy Lollywood wondering – what makes the show such an incredible success? How has it been so successfully been able to capture the audience’s imagination? The answers made for an interesting discussion, the excerpts from which are shared below.
“It explores a taboo topic — a woman cheated”
The storyline of a housewife cheating on her husband – and the husband agreeing to let her go, is something novel for the Pakistani audience. Accustomed to seeing married women behave in a more traditional manner, it was shocking for viewers to see Ayeza Khan’s Mehwish seeking a better life – even after marriage to Danish (played by Humayun Saeed).
Enter Shahwar (Adnan Siddiqui), Danish’s conniving and manipulative boss, who casts his beguiling charm on Mehwish – as well as many in the audience – and the two a few episodes later end up in a together in a hotel room. All of this is depicted in a tasteful manner, so as not to offend anyone’s sensibilities, which is why the show’s risqué theme has worked so well.
“Strong performances by Humayun Saeed and Adnan Siddiqui”
While Ayeza Khan has rightfully won many kudos for her brilliant portrayal of her character, Adnan Siddiqui and Humayun Saeed too have received much praise from the audience for the manner in which they have breathed life into their characters. While we have discussed at length previously how Adnan Siddiqui has done so well as Shahwar, Humayun’s Danish has also managed to hit the right notes, evoking much sympathy and drawing much audience support as the grief-stricken husband.
Overall, the show’s ensemble cast fits its captivating script perfectly – and credit has to be given to director Nadeem Baig for being able to extract such fantastic performances from his actors.
“It’s pretty real – and presenting neither men or women in a stereotypical light”
The show breaks the long-held standard of purity which leading female characters in dramas had to adhere to. Mehwish is a middle-class housewife – but that doesn’t mean she has given up on her dreams for a better life, and she is shown to be drawn to Shahwar’s wealth and charm and eventually ends up in a live-in relationship with him – without the usual bonds of marriage.
If this ended up casting Mehwish in a bad light, the show’s script doesn’t spare Shahwar either and shows him every bit to be the smooth-talking, conniving villain that he is. While some have felt Meray Paas Tum Ho is a tad misogynistic, others feel that it treads the real territory, showing people as they are, without falling for gender stereotypes.
“The dialogues hit you hard”
While writer Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar has come under fire for his controversial comments recently, he has done a darn good job penning the show’s captivating lines. When uttered with the right pathos by its actors, they find their way into the audience’s hearts and tug the right emotional strings. And trust us, the script has way more to offer than the ‘do takay ki aurat’ line.
“Six Sigma International’s high production quality”
The show’s realistic sets, lighting, and sharp camerawork all work rather well to create the right environment within which its story is set. Credit has to be given to Humayun Saeed’s production house Six Sigma International for getting the right technical and creative team to back up its top-billed cast and storyline.
All of these elements combine to enable the viewers to be drawn into Mehwish, Danish and Shahwar’s world in a way most television dramas cannot.
This is why we felt the show has been so popular – please let us know in the comments below, why you ended up being glued to Meray Paas Tum Ho!
