Drama serial ‘Tere Bin’ managed to reach immense popularity shortly after airing. Not only South-Asians but viewers from around the globe were hooked on the intense storyline. Extraordinary talents Yumna Zaidi and Wahaj Ali portrayed the perfect on-screen couple, and people could not help but shower them with love.
It was until preview of episode 47 was aired. At the conclusion of episode 46, glimpses of next week’s episode had the public raging. The scene depicts Meerub, the female lead, sitting in distress at the corner of her bedroom. She looked frightened, almost traumatised while Murtasim, the male lead, was shown sitting on his bed, looking lost and angry.
Even with a 60 second clip, people were quick to realise what the episode was portraying and did not hold back to point it out.
Subjects such as forced marriage and marital rape are usually taboo when it comes to Pakistani dramas. For example, previously drama serial ‘Ranjha Ranjha Kardi’ also received backlash for its portrayal of forced marriage and normalising marital rape.
Viewers rushed to call out Nooran Makhdom, writer of Tere Bin, for including such a sensitive topic since the story was progressing well without it. They did not hesitate to mention the fact that a female writer was responsible for writing it.
The writer did not hold back and instead defended herself. “It was the requirement of the drama that will lead to its climax”, she said.
Much to the audience dismay, episode 47 was aired this week and left the viewers stunned once again. What seems to be a weak attempt at saving face took place when editors cut out certain scenes and showed marital rape as mutual consent.
Even though the drama continued to receive backlash due the fact that intention was to show rape in the first place, some viewers however appreciated being heard and having the scene replaced. The episode apparently received over 2 million views in just 4 hours making it one of the fastest trending Pakistani dramas of all time.
In a society where topics such as marital rape and divorce are still shrouded by cultural and religious differences, one might wonder why entertainment industries are still persistent on developing projects around it.
One might also wonder, why dramas and projects like these are popular? Are people really that naïve? Or bold subjects are what get projects to sell out? Much to think about.
