The writer-director duo – Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar – of the award-winning Darr Si Jati Hai Sila, centered on the theme of sexual harassment, are all set to bring another serial in collaboration with Hum TV. Titled Raqeeb Se, the drama has been inspired by Faiz’s poem of the same name and promises to be different from Bee Gul’s previously written dramatic works.
“It was a deliberate thought-out decision,” says the writer. “I convinced myself that I do not have to write another issue-based serial, for we seem to have amplified and unwillingly exploited social issues by presenting them inconsistently for ratings. The subjects have lost their sensitivity as a result and do not come as hard-hitting narratives anymore. Therefore, I decided to go for something that is equally important, equally meaningful and maybe equally ignored as well, and the sentiment of love came to my mind. This is how Raqeeb Se happened.”
Speaking to The Current, director Kashif Nisar says that the serial is entirely the writer’s story, her own “brainchild” as he puts it.
“It came to me in complete form, unlike most of the times in which the writer and director are working together on a project,” he said. “Bee Gul wrote it on her own and it was when it got finished that it reached me, and it is admirable like all of her works.”
When asked if he [Nisar] had any difficulty choosing actors considering Gul’s scripts require performers who can read and enunciate the Urdu language well, the director said that as much as Gul’s sentence structure is literary and complex, her dialogues have a very natural flow to them.
“It looks as if Bee Gul speaks to herself while she writes, imagining the characters delivering their respective dialogues,” he said, adding, “Apart from that, I am one of those directors who give space to the performers instead of imposing things on them, which makes execution a bit easier for everyone.”
The writer herself, when asked about her apprehensions regarding the cast for a poetic project like Raqeeb Se, said, “Well..not all of the dialogues, but yes, a few narrations in the serial might sound poetic. However, with greats like Noman Ejaz, Sania Saeed, Iqra Aziz, Saqib Sameer and Hadiqa Kiani, whose debut serial this is going to be, I do not have any apprehensions.”
“Besides, cast selection is the director’s domain. Kashif was kind enough to keep me posted regarding every choice that he made. He is undoubtedly one of those directors I trust and who I believe know who to choose for which character,” she added.
According to the director, Raqeeb Se is going to be an unconventional love story, revolving around people who get stranded in unavoidable situations when they meet their loved ones after a long, long time and therefore face difficulty trying to connect their past with their present.
The serial is expected to air by either the end of December or the start of January.
“We are done with fifty percent of it, and fifty percent is left,” tells Nisar.
