Viewers of HUM TV are having a great time this Ramadan; apart from Chupke Chupke, they are also being treated to a half-an-hour family drama Tanaa Banaa that airs right after Iftaar daily. It not only takes the audience back to the good old 90s when life was simple and families lived together, but also when the hustle and bustle wasn’t part of anyone’s life.
Written by Hassan Imam and directed by Saife Hasan, Taana Banaa makes you forget your own problems because the issues it highlights are quite relatable issues. Also, the characters seem quite familiar as if we either know them or might have met them at some point in time. Let’s take a look at Tanaa Banaa and find out why it makes you fall in love with everyone in the play, except those who don’t want to be loved!
Daniyal Zafar and Alizeh Shah make a perfect couple!
The drama revolves around a young couple Zain and Zoya played by Daniyal Zafar and Alizeh Shah who get married first, but fall in love afterward. Although Daniyal is making his TV debut as an actor, Alizeh has proved herself in the last couple of years. But here, they look like two sweethearts who might have had an arranged marriage but are perfect candidates for a love marriage.
The way they look at each other, interact with each other and the chemistry they share is rarely seen in our dramas today where the husband usually falls for his wife’s friend, an elderly woman or even the housemaid. Thankfully, there is no such thing in Tanaa Banaa where the joint-family system is shown as the perfect family system, and where ‘concern’ keeps them happy, binds them together.
Family that eats together, stays together …
View this post on Instagram
The Joint-family system was usually promoted in Haseena Moin’s plays, and it seems the writer is heavily inspired by the later playwright’s dramas. After all, the name Zain is taken from Tanhaiyyan, Zoya from Dhoop Kinarey and I am wondering when an Ahmer would make his appearance. The good thing is that the inspiration ends here and the writer Hassan Imam weaves magic around a marriage that has taken place, a household that loves to eat together and create problems using these two scenarios.
From the Dadi (Ismat Zaidi) to the father (Aamir Qureshi), mother (Javeria Abbasi) to aunt (Komal Rizvi), everyone in Zain’s household is a character that can be found in any of our families. The youngest person in the house Bilal also reminds you of Jibran from Ankahi (also a Haseena Moin play) who seems to know more about the world than his cousin who just lost his job because he tried too hard to end up in the good books of both his wife and the mother.
Who doesn’t want a Shahid Phupa in their lives …
And then there is Shahid Phupa, played perfectly by Hasan Noman. He not only lives in his wife’s maika but doesn’t even consider it an issue. That’s why whenever he gives his two cents in a family matter, they are thrown back at him with full force. However, he is Zain’s friend-in-need and advises him whenever he is unable to think clearly. In fact, when no one in the house knew that Zain was going to meet Zoya, he handed him money to have a perfect date, much to Zain’s annoyance! His catchphrase ‘setting bana raha tha’ is becoming quite popular because not only it’s funny, it also fits perfectly in every scenario. Whenever Zain is in trouble, Shahid Phupa knows what to do, and ‘creates a setting’ that helps all parties involved.
Then there is the other kind of a ‘contract’
Finally something about the biggest issue of ‘em all – the contract Zoya made Zain sign before marriage. Here, the husband and the audience are on the same page literally for neither does he know what the clauses are, nor do the viewers. After a dozen episodes, the viewers have found out only a few clauses and they are curious about the rest. After all, making Zain pray at Fajr, buy gifts for his family members, or helping his wife continue her studies is something every parent would want their grown-up kid to do.
However, some of the viewers might love to switch places with Bilal aka Billu who caught a glimpse of the contract and memorized it by heart. He is the only person in the house beside the couple who knows what’s going on, but since he is smart, he is not disclosing the details to anyone. How he will help the young couple from embarrassment is what would be making the next few episodes of Tanaa Banaa interesting!
