The ongoing controversial drama ‘Hadsa’ has been doing rounds on social media for all the wrong reasons for an insensitive plot/storyline.
Produced by Shazia Wajahat and Wajahat Rauf, and written by Zanjabeel Asim Shah, ‘Hadsa’ makers are facing heavy criticism for portraying the real story of a rape survivor.
Now, the drama maker Wajahat Rauf, who are accused of hurting the sentiments of rape survivors. has defended the drama and replied to the questions regarding the drama story.
He has denied the accusation that the drama is based on the motorway incident and said that the only thing similar in the plot is the place (highway) where the incident occurred.
Wajahat Rauf said, “The drama is not based on the motorway incident. The protagonist, her husband, her 3 children, the family dynamics, the police officers who investigate the crime, the reason behind the crime, and the trial are all fictional.”
He added, “The only thing common in the story is the part about the place (highway) where the incident occurred.” According to Rauf, the crime highlighted in the play is a very serious issue existing in our society and we want to create content that raises awareness of this and other heinous crimes committed every day.
He also replied to the questions which were asked about the ugly portrayal of society’s treatment of rape victims. To the question, “Don’t you think it is insensitive to use dialogues like ‘Izzat wapis naheen ayay gee’ whereas we should be building a narrative that her izzat is not lost at all and that shame lies with the culprits and not her?”.
Read more: PEMRA bans drama ‘Hadsa’ after outcry
Wajahat Rauf wrote, “The last thing we would want to do is to be insensitive towards someone who has been a victim of this brutal crime. It is our opinion that it would be far more insensitive towards the victims if we did not adopt a condemnation tone; in that case, one might argue that we are not at all familiar with the trauma that a rape victim goes through.”
Rauf said, “Our writer did speak to actual victims who were willing to talk about their trauma and how they eventually coped with it and that is what is reflected in the play. A character should be judged after seeing her entire role.”
He maintained that the judgment shouldn’t be passed on the basis of a glimpse of social media posts. “Writers and directors can show temporary weakness to show long-term strength of a character that develops. Please treat this as a developing story and judge only at the end if you must,” he stated.
