Mujhay Jeenay Do (transl. Let Me live) is a 2017 Pakistani television series that aired on Urdu 1. Written by Shahid Nizami, the series has an ensemble cast including Hania Amir, Gohar Rasheed, Mehreen Raheel, Nadia Jamil, Salman Shahid and Iffat Rahim.[1]
| Mujhay Jeenay Do | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Shahid Nizami |
| Directed by | Angeline Malik |
| Starring | Hania Amir Gohar Rasheed Mehreen Raheel |
| Ending theme | "Mujhay Jeenay Do" Singer Arieb Azhar & Gulshan Jehan |
| Composer | Heer Waris Shah |
| Country of origin | Pakistan |
| Original language | Urdu |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab |
| Cinematography | Ahmed Ali |
| Running time | 35-40 minutes |
| Production company | Angelic Films |
| Original release | |
| Network | Urdu 1 |
| Release | 22 July – 19 December 2017 |
The show revolves around the social and economic issues, highlighting deeply rooted problems in Pakistan particularly Child marriages.[2]
Plot
editSaira, an eight-year-old, lives with her father, Khuda Baksh, elder brother Murad, his wife Khairi and their children in a backward village in Pakistan. Bushra, Saira's elder sister, married to Naseeb, is pregnant with her first child. Yasmin is the village health worker. Yasmin's son Shahab is Saira's best friend. Naseeb is devastated after Bushra dies during childbirth. Saira looks after Naseeb's newborn son. Khuda Baksh and Murad suggest to Naseeb that he should marry Saira since the newborn baby is attached to her. Naseeb is shocked and rejects the idea. Saira is distressed upon learning that she will be married off to Naseeb. Saira and Naseeb get married. Naseeb doesn't like Saira spending time with Shahab.
Shahab moves to the city with his father Iftikhar, where he is shocked to learn that his father has a second wife Saeeda and a daughter. Shahina takes charge of Naseeb's household chores and lovingly looks after Tipu and Saira. She also teaches Saira how to do household chores. Naseeb is pleased with it and offers to help her financially. Afterwards, Shahab informs Yasmin about his father's second marriage. Although Yasmin is shocked, she tells Shahab that he should learn to live with his father's second family and work hard to make his future better. Naseeb is happy to have Shahina around and begins to fall in love with her. When Tipu falls ill, Yasmin advises Naseeb to take Tipu to a city hospital. However, he gets wrongly informed that Tipu has died. Naseeb blames little Saira for it and tries to strangle her in front of the hospital staff. Later, Naseeb is arrested for marrying a minor.
Yasmin tries to make Naseeb understand that Saira, a little girl, can't be expected to care for Tipu. Afterwards, Naseeb tells Yasmin that he wants to marry Shahina as he wants someone who can look after his house, and Saira is too young to do it. Yasmin advises him to divorce Saira first. Naseeb knows that Murad will not spare him if he divorces Saira. Further, Yasmin tells Saira that she should continue her studies and that if Naseeb divorces her, so be it.
Shahina marries Naseeb. Shahina changes after marriage and makes Saira slog while she sits and enjoys life. Shahina is jealous and insecure of Saira as she knows she is the second wife and mistreats her. Further, Saira is now grown up. Her childhood friend Shahab comes to meet her and asks her whether Naseeb treats her well.
Naseeb threatens to beat Saira up if she doesn't help Shahina. Shahina continues her ill-treatment of Saira when Naseeb is away at work. Shahab tells his friend Dawood that he will stay in the village after completing his studies and help the villagers. Afterwards, Khuda Baksh apologises to Saira for putting her through a lot of suffering. Khuda Baksh then advises Naseeb to buy some property in Saira's name to secure her future. Further, Saira secretly meets Shahab.
Shahina gets upset when she learns that Naseeb has purchased a property for Saira. Shahina insists that Naseeb should give her the house now that he has brought a piece of land for Saira. Naseeb tells her that the home and hotel belong to his son and assures her that he will also make arrangements for her, but Shahina is not satisfied.
Shahina's fears come true when Naseeb spends a night with Saira. Shahina is heartbroken as she feels that Naseeb will leave her. Naseeb takes Saira to Lahore, where she secretly meets Shahab in a restaurant. She tells him that they should not meet again since she is already married. She asks Shahab to have lunch with her and Naseeb; however, Saira falls ill and gets admitted to a hospital. There the doctor tells Naseeb that Saira has suffered a miscarriage. Later, Iftikhar and Shahab assure Naseeb that they will look after Saira and go home to arrange for the money.
Naseeb gets suspicious when he spots Shahab in Saira's hospital room. On Iftikhar's insistence, Naseeb agrees to stay at his place in the city with Saira for a few days. Naseeb finds out about Shahab and Saira's relationship.
Naseeb asks Saira whether she will ever leave him. He tells her that he will kill her if she ever leaves him. Afterwards, Shahina helps Saira to run away. With the help of his friend Dawood, Shahab and Saira escape from the village. Shahab takes Saira to his home in Lahore. Iftikhar orders Shahab to return Saira to her village. Still, when the village head calls him, Iftikhar tells him that he doesn't know where Saira is.
Further, Saira sends 'khula' papers to Naseeb. Afterwards, with the village head's permission, Murad and Naseeb capture Shahab and Saira. Shahab gets beaten up, and Saira is locked up in a room. Naseeb asks Saira why she ran away. Saira tells him that he never asked her what she wanted, even when she was eight years old and growing up. She accuses him of being selfish and tells him she is ready to die. Sitara and Shahina make Naseeb realise his mistake. Later, Naseeb tells her that he will do everything to save Saira and Shahab.
Cast
edit- Hania Amir as Saira: Naseeb's second wife and Shahab's love interest
- Raeed Muhammad Alam as Shahab (Shaboo): Saira's love interest
- Gohar Rasheed as Naseeb: Saira and Shahina's husband
- Nadia Jamil as Yasemine: Shahab's mother
- Mehreen Raheel as Shahina: Naseeb's third wife
- Sarmad Khoosat as Mehmood Alam: Shahina's ex-husband
- Iffat Rahim as Saeeda: Shahab's step mother
- Salman Shahid as Khuda Baksh: Saira's father (dead)
- Minsa Malik as Sitara: Mehmood's daughter
- Omair Rana as Iftikhar: Shahab's father
- Hassan Mir as Kashif
- Khalid Butt as the village's molvi sahab
- Sabeena Syed as Bushra Naseeb's first wife and Saira's elder sister
- Ali Tahir
- Kashaf Ahmed
- Usama Khan
- Minsah Ahmed
- Samama Arham
- Meqaan Raza
- Rashid Mehmood
- Umar Khan
- Iqra Inayat
- Hamza Ishtiaq
Production
editThe serial was directed and produced by Angeline Malik of Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain fame under her banner Angeline Films, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs.[citation needed]
Nadia Jamil made her acting comeback after survival from cancer and her last appearance in Behadd (2013) while Mehreen Raheel made a comeback to television after her last appearance in the 2015 series Tum Mere Kya Ho.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Irfan ul Haq (28 February 2017). "Nadia Jamil will return to TV in child marriage drama". Images. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Shabbir, Buraq. "Mujhe Jeene Dou to tackle the issue of child marriage". The News International. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Mujhay Jeenay Do to air from 11th". The Nation. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2020.