Madam Sangeeta

A STERLING director like Sangeeta would need to be blessed with a vision. And she is, indeed. The way she has tackled a literary classic, Mutthibhar Chawal on television shows what a brilliant director resides in her, and it’s unfortunate that she has been continually ignoring it for some time. When she started her career as a director, she already had that vision. She continued with that kind of inner picture, with films like Mutthi Bhar Chawal, Mehndi Lagee Mere Hath, Mian Biwi Razi, etc. which translated her vision on to the screen. But her troubled family life made her pre-occupied, and she could not continue in the same mood. As cinema crumbled due to the Martial Law regime, she was also left totally dependant on the whims of the producers. In between, though, she gave us some good films like Aashiqui Khel Naheen and Nikah, which were very well-made movies. But, cinema hit the worst period yet, from 1999 onwards, when another Martial Law made life difficult for those who wanted to make a good film on a burning subject. So, Sangeeta was left to fend for herself, and make her own films to keep her house in order. That’s when she began to make meaningless Punjabi films with producers who brought their own scripts with them as well as their own favourite cast and credit.
But when she finally came to realize that monetary gain will never associate her with quality, an elusive element in Lollywood, she took very little time to take up a quality product on television. She decided to make the full, TV version of the Punjabi classic, Mutthibhar Chawal by Mahindar Singh Bedi. And what brilliant work she has done. It’s a project she can rightfully be proud of. The direction, acting, casting according to characters, scene-divisioning, dialogue delivery, lighting, camerawork, etc. are all superbly done. At present, it is the best drama serial on any channel, although the most elaborate theatre-based serial (I forget the title) on another channel is also being aired. Resham has done wonderfully well, and she has become one of the only Pakistani film actresses, whose genuine work has impressed all audiences. Similarly, Ahsan Khan has moved way ahead of his previous work, which had become stagnant. Frieha Jabeen, Rashid Mehmood, Shazib Mirza, etc. have all done beautifully. Many young artistes, like the girl who plays Ahsan’s sister, have also been revelations. Babar, in the earlier section of the serial was as good as ever. One must appreciate the fact that Sangeeta has given important roles to many artistes of the film industry, whether they are top stars or those who were known to do just minor roles in films. It is her loyalty to the industry that she doesn’t forget her colleagues when she starts her TV projects, although many others have totally cut off their relations with film people when they turned to TV serials. No use naming any names, but everybody knows such directors.