People like Shameem are all around us, but we choose to laugh at them: Saba Qamar

'Mrs. & Mr. Shameem' deconstructs societal stereotypes around love, beauty and gender and it will make you cry

KARACHI:

The highly romanticised idea of growing up to meet a fair-skinned prince who’ll show up as a knight in shining armour and save the princess from all her sorrows has been embedded in our cultural memory. The Kashif Nisar directorial Mrs. & Mr. Shameem challenges this romanticised idea of love with an effeminate boy in the forefront instead of a typical He-Man. Naumaan Ijaz plays the male lead Shameem while the feisty and more often than not controversial, Saba Qamar plays his love interest, Umeena.

Like most of us, Umeena was raised with a rather distorted perception of love, and like most of us, she learns it the hard way, after Shameem rescues her from a heartbreak she didn’t see coming. “Umeena doesn’t know anything about love,” quips Qamar in her conversation with The Express Tribune. “Like many teenagers, she’s brainwashed by the filmy view of the fluttering butterflies kind of love. She’s in this fantasy world where she believes a fair-skinned, masculine, bodybuilder type good looking guy will come around and sweep her off her feet, till she realises it's not what love is about”

Qamar believes that wanting to look beautiful isn’t an idol concept for men or women, it’s just that our notion of beauty has been limited to certain stereotypes. Reflecting on her younger self, she shared that she used to be jealous of other women on set some 8-10 years ago. “I’d feel insecure about my nails, hair, body type, skin colour, makeup skills, everything. I’d feel jealous of anybody and everybody until I realised none of it matters because EVERYONE is beautiful.”

The trailer of Mr and Mrs Shameem portrays love as a feeling that “sets them free” and the Baaghi actor can’t agree more with the sentiment. “It sets them free from societal expectations of marriage and love. Our marriage starts off as a compromise, a patriarchal bargain but as the complex layered personality of Shameem unfolds, there’s no place for compromise. There’s love- and pure love only,” says Qamar.

She emphasised how the story echoes the experiences of those around us, of people present in our homes, in our society. “Have you not seen kids who are raised around and by women and hence adapt to similar gender characteristics? There are people in the showbiz industry, in our neighbourhoods, in our schools. We just like to ignore them or laugh at them, but truly, this show will teach people to respect beyond their false sense of entitlement.”

Having said that, the show will be released on ZEE5 which was banned in Pakistan in 2020 so the Pakistani audiences have only managed to catch the trailer (legally) the feedback to which has been great. “It’s amazing so far but I read that some people think we’ve told the whole story in the two-minute clip. Of course, we have not. Indians know storytelling better than anyone ever, and you think they’ll narrate the whole story out loud before the show even airs? You’ll be surprised when the frame opens. The show addresses human emotions and societal relationships beyond imagination. I wish I could tell you what Umeena will undergo, but you’ll have to wait for it.”

Sharing an anecdote from sets of the show, Qamar reflects on how close she feels with Umeena and Shameen’s characters. “I used to sit by the lake there and cry after the shoot of our Khanpur spell. I felt Shameem’s humiliation, his pain and how cruel society gets towards people like him. I could feel Umeena’s pain, she stayed with me for a long time. Neither of us wanted it to end despite the shoot being prolonged for two years. Dec 31st was the last day of our shooting, and I started my new year as a new person because of Umeena. I’ll make you cry for sure. Umeena will.”

It’s unfortunate that the show won’t be accessible in Pakistan but Qamar does feel Pakistani television may not be ready for something so progressive and challenging. “Perhaps, not yet. I don’t approve of the content on TV right now. It’s a sad truth but even I only watch TV when my drama is being aired. Everything has its time though and as much as we are trying, we can’t touch upon such topics right now. We have some restrictions and I respect that. They’ve made Udaari, Cheekh, Baaghi, so they’re taking it one step at a time. A few years back, even this was unthinkable. I hope there comes a day when we can talk about effeminate men like Shameem and other tabooed topics.”

Qamar had a message for those who will watch the series that premiered on Friday on ZEE5. “I’d like to request people who are watching it to leave your preconceived mindsets aside. I’m certain the show will have an impact.” Many people commented and covered the show as a bold one taking on a challenging subject, but Qamar disagrees with the term. “It is not bold, it’s sensitive. It is a family drama and it will be relatable for everyone watching. This is a story from within our surroundings, we just never pay attention to them outside of our comic reliefs.”

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