Re: HASINA MOIN
Hasina Moin interview- script writer/Haseena Moin interview
Hasina Moin/Haseena MoinDrama writer
Unedited interview about exploration of themes over the decades
Herald Special Lifestyle issue
1960s When I was in college in intermediate, I started to write caricatures. These would be published in magazines. I used to write humorous caricatures about college mates, teachers, myself and about college. Then one day radio Pakistan sent a circular to our college saying that we would like college girls to submit a drama for us and its duration should be of 25 minutes. My Urdu lecturer Mrs. Salma Haqqee asked me to submit a play but I told her that I don’t know how to write a drama or even write; all this writing that I do is just a joke, so she said just write this joke then. So I wrote the drama in 2 days in college and submitted it. The drama was titled Patriyaan and was produced by Agha Nasir, because it was hilarious it even got an award and this is how I got my break in writing. When I started to write, plays and serials in those days would be made on books and published works, I was the first person to write an original play. A lot of people were against it when I was writing Kiran Kahani, an original serial but then a lot of people also supported me as well. After my serial producers started to direct serials based on original storylines. **
1970s** Initially my writing themes were associated with my life. When a person is young, she finds life to be beautiful, colorful, every emotion is lovely. We were many brothers and sisters who were very similar and were loud, my parents were very loving towards us and towards each other and that influenced my writing a lot. This whole atmosphere I brought into my TV serials such as Shehzori, Uncle Urfi and Kiran Kahani. All of these plays were full of life, laughter and loudness. **
1980s** In the 80s my writings reflected hope, life‘s niceness and its beauty. Then I changed my style from humorous to serious upon the suggestion of Shoaib Mansoor. He told me that if you can write comedy so well you can do a good job with serious writing, why don’t you try. So for Jashn-e-Tamseel for PTV I wrote a serious play ‘sangsaar’. I even got an award for it. Then I wrote a serial ‘Parchaiyaan’ which was based on the novel ‘Portrait of a Lady’ by Henry James.
1990s Then a private production company approached me and asked me to write about Pakistani families living in pitiable conditions in Scotland. I was invited to visit them and meet them and find out about their state. So I did go and met many families and this is how I wrote Des Pardes, Aansoo and Castle. Then based on Karachi’s conditions I wrote a play Chup Darya. In 1992 I wrote Aahat, a serial based on family planning and Tansen which was a historical serial. So my style changed into more serious tone in the 1990s. Aahat was the first serial in Pakistan that dealt with family planning, **
2000s** Now I write very less. Currently my serial Meray Dard Ko Jo Zubaan Milay is on air. This serial has an historical perspective as it relates to the cruelty that women have had to endure since moenjodaro times dating almost 5000 years ago. I have always written about women simply because the Urdu literature that I grew up reading always had stories in which the woman was always sad and in it there were themes of women sacrificing themselves and that they should sacrifice and she would be praised for keeping quiet and that used to rile me up and I used to hate it. A souten would come into the household and this first wife is preparing food for her and she would be praised to the limits. I thought it was really ridiculous. This thought remained in my subconscious. So when I started to write plays I portrayed strong girls. When Shehzori first came on air, it was highly controversial. I was questioned as to what I am trying to teach the girls. Should they do whatever they want? I told them look my heroine is not badtameez but she does what she thinks is right and will not do what is wrong, this is a right which every woman should have. **
In terms of Censorship**
It used to be very strict in PTV when I started off. However we became used to it and have developed a sense of self-censorship and also learnt how to convey our message in a subtle manner. For instance in Aahat I couldn’t take the name of family planning as it would create a furore so I wrote the whole serial about it without once mentioning the name. Now people have broken a lot of censorship rules and themes are being explored which earlier one could not. Moreover earlier we had ridiculous rules about censorship in which a woman had to cover her head at all times. My serial Kasak had to go through this trouble. Initially the title role was being played by Sahira Kazmi as on her personal request I wrote the serial, but then the directors said that even when the main character is getting up from her sleep and going to the washroom her head should be covered. Although in that house there is her child and herself. Sahira refused to play the role and Rubina Ahraf stepped in. Who does this in their house? Drama should be as close to life as possible. I recall watching a scene in a play at that time, in which the girl is drowning and the women around her are covering her head with a dupatta. That was stupid and the girl was also not in her senses. During Zia’s time we did a serial Parchaiyaan which was about a mistress but we didn’t label it as a mistress due to censorship policies, it went on air and people didn’t even notice. I presented it indirectly while the book made it obvious but I left it to viewer’s interpretation.
source: http://maleehasiddiquisteps.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!F203AD963E085071!170.entry
. heroine (krishma kapoor) actually took the tie of her boss (sangay dutt)