Dar-e-Nijaat (the door of repentance), the new play on ARY, starring Nameer Khan, Durr-e-Fishan and Sheharyar Munawar in the lead roles, is like a breath of fresh air. Penned by the inimitable Umera Ahmed, the play, only four episodes old, has already managed to cause quite a stir. Umera has this knack of narrating extremely relatable stories, while never forgetting to include the religious angle. The psyche of Gen-Z, as they are popularly referred to, has been expertly captured in this production and the generation gap has been highlighted extremely effectively also. They come across as a bunch of wannabes who are terribly confused about what they want in life and most importantly, lack focus. They are restless souls, who want all the boxes ticked, that is, go to the right school, college or university and then, marry into the right family and so on and so forth.
Growing up with technology around them, it all appears to be a case of too much, too soon. Of course, if you hail from the upper crust of society, resources will never be a problem. Zamil (Nameer Khan) portrays a character in his late teens, who has failed to make the required grades to procure admission in an Ivy League. His love interest, Zaryab, who hails from a similar background, however, has managed to secure admission in a top ranked university in the US.
The social pressures faced by Gen-Z teenagers have been highlighted extremely well. Zamil is under immense pressure to join an Ivy League, as most of his friends have been accepted. The duress and the emotional and psychological turmoil he is confronted with, proves to be his undoing. The overly possessive Zaryab, who is obsessed with him, is willing to put her future at stake for him, but despite her repeated reassurances, his own inadequacies prey heavily on his mind.
They lack contentment and peace of mind, which to a certain extent, is due to the absence of any kind of religious or spiritual guidance in their lives.
Abu Bakar Aman (Sheharyar Munawar) enters the equation and Zamil’s insecurities hit a new high. He is a mature, cultured, hard-working and a successful Harvard graduate, whose mother happens to know Zaryab’s grandmother (a character portrayed by Saba Hamid). When Zamil learns that her grandmother is interested in marrying her to him, somehow, things start coming to a head; he googles his name and is taken aback when his profile shows up.
Although Zaryab has eyes for him and only him, Zamil feels as though everything is falling apart. Somehow, he starts nurturing an unhealthy obsession with Abu Bakar and begins to draw comparisons. Too many things are happening; his GPA is not up to the mark, his lady love gets admission in his dream university, her parents want to make their engagement official and all of a sudden, a handsome, mature, highly educated man also enters the equation, whom he views as a potential rival. All these pressures combined prove to be his undoing and he seeks solace in drugs.
As mentioned previously, this generation appears to be terribly confused and messed up; too much, too soon. The exposure and the freedom that they have from a very young age and parents who are willing to bend over backwards to please them along with all the resources that they have at their disposal, somehow, it is still not enough. They lack contentment and peace of mind, which to a certain extent, is due to the absence of any kind of religious or spiritual guidance in their lives. Their parents are more concerned with ensuring that their children join the right universities, marry into the right families and tick all the right boxes.
There is an emotional and psychological disconnect between the parents and children; they are growing up in a completely different world and have their own set of challenges which the older generation is unable to relate to. As is depicted in this play, the parents’ priorities are terribly messed up also, where rather than spending time with and guiding their children, other commitments take precedence. Materialism is at an all-time high and as mentioned earlier, attending the right university (read Ivy League), marrying into the right family (read extremely affluent and cultured) and moving in the right circles, takes priority.
An excellent and insightful portrayal of the elite, this play skillfully exposes the psyche of Gen-Z and as mentioned earlier, the emotional and psychological disconnect between the parents and children. As always, Umera does not disappoint and raises the bar higher with each production! Dar-e-Nijaat, for sure, ticks all the right boxes!