The ARY Digital drama Muqabil finished last week, and wow, what a beautiful play it turned out to be. This time it was the ARY Digital entertainment channel, which had taken a very bold step to highlight an issue that normally most of the people in our society are unaware off. ‘Child Molestation’ is a dreadful sin that is now deeply rooted in our nation, and this is what Muqabil was all about. It was a Big Bang Entertainment production, who yet again have proved that why they have become a household name in a very short span.
The drama Muqabil dealt with story of a girl Pareesa, who was molested as a child by her mother’s secretary Mehmood Saheb. The emotions, the traumas and the fight that Pareesa goes through after this terrible incident is what makes Muqabil a treat to watch.
Child molestation is an issue for which we all need to have a basic understanding of it. It is basically about any older child or adult who touches a child for his or her own sexual gratification. In other words, child molestation is the act of sexually touching a child. A child is a girl or boy who is 13 years of age or younger. In Pakistan, this painful offense with every passing year is increasing. The Express Tribune, which is a renowned English daily of Pakistan, in its recent report published on March 22, 2017, revealed that at least 11 children became victims of sexual abuse while almost 100 were murdered after sexual assault in 2016, a 10 percent increase in such cases compared to the previous year.
The drama Muqabil is also a strong message to those parents, who are so much busy in their lives that they do not bother about the emotional needs of their children, which can only be fulfilled by their attention. In case of this drama, Pareesa’s father and mother are completely occupied with their personal associations and dealings. They are giving a luxurious lifestyle to their children but, they both forget that there is something else which their kids desperately need and that is their collective attentiveness to them.
The role of Pareesa was performed by Kubra Khan, and there are no words to describe how brilliantly she adapted herself to this complex task. It was all about Kubra Khan’s expressions as how she portrays the misery of a molested child, and it would be totally right to say that Kubra Khan stole the show with her phenomenal act. The legend actor Asif Raza Mir played the role of Mehmood Saheb, and he once again was outstanding with his work. Mohsin Abbas Haider made his drama debut with Muqabil, and performed the role of Armaan who is Mehmood Saheb’s son and Kubra Khan’s husband in this play. He also unquestionably gave an amazing performance, and his good on-screen chemistry with Kubra Khan was another great feature of this drama.
Apart from this, Saife Hassan and Saba Hamid performed the role of Pareesa’s parents. They complimented each other beautifully throughout this play, and once again they both have shown why they hold a special place in Pakistan drama industry. Moreover, the role of Armaan’s mother was played by Shaheen Khan, and his sister Sumbal’s role was performed by Erum Azam, who in their own capacities did complete justice with their characters.
The production team of Muqabil especially director Ali Hassan deserve a huge round of applause for perfectly executing this play. The writer Zafar Mairaj wrote a beautiful script, which gave a complete insight as to what difficulties a child molestation victim has to go through. The director Ali Hassan with his production team ensured that every minute detail should be carefully presented, and it is the beautifully executed scenes of Muqabil that made it a worth watch show.
Ahmed Raza is a frequent traveler and loves cricket. He has completed M. Phil in Mass Communication and works as Travel Editor for Kluchit.com
