Tanhaiyaan
| Tanhaiyaan | |
|---|---|
 The opening title screen for Tanhaiyaan | |
| Genre | Family |
| Written by | Haseena Moin |
| Directed by | Shahzad Khalil |
| Starring |
Shehnaz Sheikh Marina Khan Behroze Sabzwari Qazi Wajid Imtiaz Ahmed Asif Raza Mir Durdana Butt Yasmeen Ismail Mohammad Yousuf Badar Khalil Jamshed Ansari Subhani Bayounus Sultana Zafar Azra Sherwani |
| Country of origin | Pakistan |
| Original language(s) | Urdu |
| Production company(s) | Shalimar Recording Company (SRC) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PTV |
| Original airing | 1985 |
Tanhaiyaan (Urdu: تنہائیاں, English: The loneliness) is a 1985 Pakistani drama serial which is now considered a cult classic.[1][2]
The drama serial was directed by the legendary Shahzad Khalil and was written by the famous drama writer Haseena Moin. Tanhaiyan featured an ensemble star cast of veterans such as Shehnaz Sheikh, Marina Khan, Badar Khalil, Azra Sherwani, Asif Raza Mir, Behroze Sabzwari, Qazi Wajid, Jamshed Ansari, Yasmeen Ismail, Durdana Butt, Mohammad Yousaf, Sultana Zafar, Subhani Ba Younas and Imtiaz Ali.
It is the story of two sisters who lose their parents and go to live with their aunt. One of their efforts to buy back their parents' house leads them to realise what makes a house a home. It has re-run several times on PTV and other TV channels, owing to its popularity.[3]
Plot
Two sisters Zara (Shehnaz Sheikh) and Sanya (Marina Khan) go to Karachi to visit their maternal aunt Zubi (Badar Khalil) while their parents back home meet with an unfortunate car accident. After their death the girls find out that their father was heavily in debt and they have to sell all their assets including their house which their father had so lovingly built. All friends turn their backs and they move in with their aunt Zubi.
In Karachi while Sanya tries to adjust to their new life, Zara becomes obsessed with the idea to re-buy their house. She begins the pursuit to become rich. Here Saad Salman becomes her partner and together they start a garment factory. Sanya on the other hand soon befriends their landlord Faran (Qazi Wajid) and becomes a pain for his secretary Qutbutdin (Behroze Sabzwari) whom she calls Qabacha. Faran has a sister Apa Begum (Azra Sherwani) who lives in another house with her trusted servant Buqrat (Jamshed Ansari). Apa Begum is very keen on getting Faran married and he impulsively proposes to Zubi.
Zain (Asif Raza Mir), Zara's childhood friend, along with his fiancée Vida (Yasmeen Ismail), comes to visit them. Zara asks Vida to join in her factory as a designer and together the two start making brilliant designs which become very popular. However Zara’s quest for money takes her away from her family, especially from Sanya who feels neglected. Saad Salman proposes to Zara and even though the family disapproves, Zara accepts.
Finally Zara's dream comes true and she has enough money to buy back her house. She goes to Lahore and finalizes the deal. However, when she enters her house, she is haunted by memories of the past and all the love that she has lost. In a flash she realizes what she has achieved is an empty house and in the process has distanced her family. Loneliness consumes her, she runs out of the house terrified and meets with an accident.
She awakens to her family all around but doesn't speak and is not able to move. Initially it is explained that it might be due to spinal injuries. Later on doctors say that she has gone into shock and does not have the will to live; there is nothing wrong physically with her. It is implied to the viewer that she has lost the will to struggle as she realizes that she has pushed everyone away from her in pursuit of what she thought was important and was all alone when what should have been her biggest triumph of buying the house finally. Her fiancé Saad becomes a little unsure after the accident as he is seen to be a little skeptical about Zara's recovery. He then proceeds to leave abroad, after Zara returns the ring. Zara's family try to reassure her regarding the love and affection they have for her. During this time Zain is shown to be very concerned for Zara's well being. The closeness between Zara and Zain disturbs Vida (his fiancée); Zain's father senses this and insists that Zain marries Vida as he had promised her parents a long time back. Zain agrees to his father's wishes. Zain then meets Zara and tells her that he has to leave Pakistan and go to Canada after marrying Vida, and he wants to see Zara up and about before that. Upon hearing this Zara takes hesitant steps and is able to walk. An overjoyed Zain recounts this to Vida, who comments that he must be the happiest man on earth. She tells him that she is happy for him and urges him to see clearly as he is madly in love with Zara. She tells him that she has explained the whole situation to Zain's father and would be flying off to Canada alone.
The last sequence shows Zara sitting alone in a party surrounded by friends and family as if waiting for somebody; suddenly the sounds and surroundings dim as Zain walks in. They have an unspoken conversation across the room when she tells that she had been waiting long for him and where he had gone all this time? He is shown expressing that he was and always will be with her. In a quick transition the music and surroundings come back into focus with every body crowding in a loud cheer around them. Zara finally fills the void of loneliness (Tanhaiyaan).
Cast and characters
| Character | Played by | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Zara | Shehnaz Sheikh | She starts off as the quiet type but is later revealed to be quiet sensitive. She starts a business to buy her house back and in doing that, drifts away from her family and friends. While visiting her ancestral house after buying it back, she is overcome by haunting memories and runs away and get hit by a car, injured badly, goes into a coma and wakes up paralyzed. |
| Sanya | Marina Khan | She is lively, lazy, loud, materialistic but sensitive. She plays a lot of pranks on others, mainly Qutbudin, whom she calls Qabacha. |
| Aani | Badar Khalil | She is the sisters' maternal aunt and takes them in when their parents die. A strict teacher by profession, she is also very social. She eventually marries Faran, though she cried after accepting his proposal. |
| Faran | Qazi Wajid | He is very easy-going, intellectual businessman. Fears his sister, and marries Aani to avoid marrying a girl he dislikes that Aapa-begum arranged for him to marry. |
| Zain | Asif Raza Mir | The sisters' childhood friend. Initially, the fiancée of Vida, but later falls in love with Zara. Is very social and lively. Respects and cares for his father (Abba) a lot. |
| Vida | Yasmeen Ismail | Initially, the fiancée of Zain. She also helped Zara in her business. |
| Aapa Begum | Azra Sherwani | She is very strict and feared by all including her brother, Faran. |
| Bibi | Durdana Butt | Aaya (Mother like figure) to Zara and Sanya. She creates humor in the house. |
| Qutbutdin (Qabacha) | Behroze Sabzwari | This was perceived as a character non-existent in society, though intelligent, he was introvert and dry and is the victim of most of Sanya's pranks, getting the nickname "Qabacha" as an insult. Eventually he falls in love with Sanya and instead of her annoying him, he starts annoying her by trying to make her fall in love with him. He takes advise from Buqrat and tries to follow them but always messes up. He made Zara laugh for the first time after being paralyzed. |
| Buqrat (Taken as a spoof of Socrates) | Jamshed Ansari | He is Aapa Begam's trusted servant. Very intelligent and gives Qabacha lots of ideas on how to make Sanya fall for him. |
| Zara and Sanya's father | Subhani ba Yunus | A loving caring man. He died in an accident en route to the airport. |
| Zara and Sanya's mother | Sultana Zafar | A strict mother. She died in an accident en route to the airport. |
Music
Arshad Mehmood composed the background music for the drama serial.
Sequel
After 27 years, a sequel named "Olper's Tanhaiyan: Naye Silsilay" is on air at 8pm every Saturday on PTV and ARY Digital since October 20, 2012. The script has been co-written by Haseena Moin and Mohammad Ahmed. The plot is about gaps in relations developed over the years in lives of characters owing to events they faced and how, going forward, things change for the better. It is a 13-episode-sequel directed by Marina Khan. Six of the 16 original cast members reprises their roles as Shehnaz Sheikh (the female lead in the original) has quit acting and the rest have died. New cast members include Alishba Yousuf and Shehryar Munawar Siddiqui in lead roles and Syra Yousuf and Shehroz Sabzwari in supporting roles.[4]
References
- ↑ "Prime time: A case of old wine". Dawn News. 28 October 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ↑ "Dhoop Kinare, Tanhaiyaan still remembered fondly". The Times of India. 3 January 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ↑ "Twitter: Tanhaiyaan". Dawn. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ↑ "‘Tanhaiyan’ actors make a comeback with sequel". The Express Tribune. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.