'Dhoop Ki Deewar' Web Review: Sensitively told tale of sunshine and strife

A still from `Dhoop Ki Deewar`

Dhoop Ki Deewar
Cast: Ahad Raza Mir, Sajal Aly
Dir: Haseeb Hassan
on: ZEE5
Rating: 3/5

There's a scene in one of the episodes of Zindagi's latest offering 'Dhoop Ki Deewar' that beautifully explains its overarching theme. Two women, whose husbands were recently martyred, are seen discussing the loneliness in their lives, the pain in their hearts, their empty beds and the memories of their late spouses that's getting them by each day. As they break down eventually in the scene, one realises that the casualties of wars aren't the soldiers but their families who have to live for the rest of their lives, holding onto the memories of their loved ones. Given the drama around the series in Pakistan, one may assume the contents of the show to be mighty explosive. But as the episodes went by, unspooling the stories of two families - Malhotras and Alis - we realise that at its core, the show is a family drama ( a genre writer Umera Ahmed is a maverick of). It makes some sharp political comments about the mercenary nature of war and its aftermath on those directly affected but Ahmed serves her pleas for peace with a judicious helping of family dynamics, simultaneously tackling patriarchy of South Asian societies. It is in these moments that the writing truly shines. Ahmed highlights the dichotomy of the hate of these two nations, who on one hand can't see eye to eye with each other but their family issues aren't very distant. From manipulative relatives descending on the grieving family like hawks hoping to prey on the martyrdom benefits, to the sarkari daftars which are equally lethargic in both countries. Even the saas-bahu sagas are eerily similar.

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The young Vishal Malhotra (Ahad Raza Mir) gets into a nasty social media war with the ‘dushman's daughter' Sara Sher Ali (Sajad Ahad Mir), after their soldier fathers are killed in a cross-border skirmish. As the days go by and the celebration of the martyrdom subsides, they realise that their grief binds them. Theirs is an unusual friendship founded in love for Atif Aslam songs, Hindi films, hatred for bickering relatives and memories of their fathers. A lot of these motifs are repeated for effect as we navigate caste divides in families, social structures and treatment of widows at large, war mongering on news channels, commodification of young girls and the question of empowering them, dependency on marriage, depression and treating it correctly amongst others. Director Haseeb Hasan has done a fine job in juggling diverse ideas, wearing them into a coherent and compelling narrative.

There is just one problem in this well-intentioned, well-directed, well-performed series. It's pace doesn't live up to the expectation of what a regular web audience might expect. By design, it's an episodic series far removed from the tonality of Zindagi's 2020 hit 'Churails', which was an out-and-out web show. The unhurried telling lends itself to television more organically than web.

But don't let that stop you from experiencing this unique show. In the jingoistic times we live in, 'Dhoop Ki Deewar' is probably the last of its kind. Why would someone dare to make a show championing peace, only for it to end up being pulled down eventually? I hope there will always be audacious artists reminding people of Manto's prophecy - "Hindustan had become free. Pakistan had become independent but man was still a slave in both these countries."