Is Tum Kon Piya on its way to becoming a house-hold favourite?

Tum Kon Piya is a befitting title for a story that revolves around the deep affection between a father and his beloved daughter. From the first episode, you can tell that Maha Malik penned down these characters with bewitching fondness, and that has been brought to life by a string of talented actors and actresses.

[/fbvideo]

Yasir Nawaz and Abdullah Kadwani came together to launch this drama adapted from the novel by the same name written by Maha Malik. Imran Abbas and Ayeza Khan pair up in a picture perfect couple for this serial creating beautiful chemistry on screen. The story revolves around a plethora of social issues that appear in the day-to-day lives of the people living in traditional eastern societies.

Photo: Tum Kon Piya Facebook page

In just four episodes, this drama has managed to depict the intricate and ironic relationship between families from different financial standings living in the same city; how a widower manages his house with three daughters by earning an honest living in the factory of his cousin brother... How a daughter cares for her aging father with blind obedience and love... How the son of a rich factory owner remains kind-hearted and humane in his dealings with everyone... How mothers, regardless of their status in society wish to keep their sons tethered to their knees with submission... How after countless decades of civilised evolution, man is still embroiled in the war of the rich and the poor...

Photo: Tum Kon Piya Facebook page

This has all been wrapped up in a soundtrack that warms the heart. Of course it is the transcendent voice of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.


As the beginning weeks of the serial go by, there have been quite a few twists and turns in the story. The poignant moment of love at first sight has passed, followed by a few silent conversations and meaningful glances. The negative characters have been established in both the rich and mediocre segments of the society shown on screen. The written script though slightly poetic, appeals to the emotional sensibilities of the viewership in our society, especially the scenes with the imaginative conversations that Ilma (Ayeza Khan) conducts with nature around her.

Photo: Tum Kon Piya Facebook page

However, to call it a mere romance between two people on screen would be a disservice to the serial. It is like many other great serials of our television industry in terms of how it highlights the woes of the women in the society. It also manages to succeed in portraying how the plight of women is well-rooted in the stereotypes set in stone which are ironically more enforced by women themselves.

Photo: Tum Kon Piya Facebook page

Mothers trying hard to get their daughters suitably married, mothers-in-law demanding submissive daughters-in-law and in other cases mothers urging their daughters to romance mohalla boys as prospective husbands, all in all women play a pivotal role in the storyline.

However, it is pertinent to mention here that our drama serials have the tendency to create characters which are either flawless and perfect or utterly diabolical and lack redemption. The human mind is way more complex than that. It is fraught with a conscience that keeps a person’s actions deeply embedded within morally grey areas where there is no clear right or wrong.

The heroine has been portrayed as an extremely obedient daughter which is no doubt an excellent example to set for society. But her character implies that a girl’s only goal in life is to serve the household and that a woman does not require any ‘me-time’. This further strengthens the patriarchal values in society which impart the dominant role to the men, instead of recognising how significant the role of a woman is in the same society. There could have been a part in the storyline regarding the career-building of the three sisters as they have an aging father as the sole bread earner.

Photo: Tum Kon Piya Facebook page

The concept of the undue arrogance that comes hand-in-hand with excessive wealth is very real in our society. It has been quite aptly captured in this story, sometimes a little exaggerated perhaps but that is the necessary evil of storytelling. Like in many other love stories of our society, the ‘father figure’ plays the villain in this case too. The rich man with a huge ego, and extra pride stomps all over his son’s budding romance by insulting the father of the girl – who also happens to be an employee in his big factory. The very brief love affair that started only three weeks ago seems to be in grave danger. Of all these characters, who will strive for love and who will sacrifice for love, is still a ‘mystery’ to be unveiled in the upcoming episodes.

This drama attempts to highlight the issues plaguing our society since yore. Daughters are being brought up and trained for marriage as the singular most important goal in their lives. Money and status are being used as a tool to submit the downtrodden. Parents domineering over their children’s, completely legitimate, desire to marry for love.

All these issues and many more have been grappled with in this visual satire which is bound to become a household favourite in the coming weeks. I just hope it also offers solutions to the stereotypical problems that it has highlighted in a realistic manner, so the audience gets satisfied with the way the story builds up.

Happy viewing.

[poll id="523"]