Syed Mohammad Ahmad is a Pakistani playwright who started his writing career back in the '90s and since then has been producing one beautiful play after another. The word ‘beautiful’ is the apt choice for describing his works, for they are not drama serials which one would forget, or which one would like but not wish to watch again. They are like good memories one wishes to keep and nurture; the sort of memories which make on gleeful as well as sorrowful. This intermingling of two feelings that are counter to each other is brought about by Syed Mohammad Ahmad’s sprinkling of humour on his serious themes, be it ‘Tum se kehna tha’, ‘Goya’, ‘Azar ki ayegi barat’, ‘Ghar tou aakhir apna hai’ or ‘Tere Siwa’. This fusion tells that even in times of grief, happiness can be groped for.
No doubt that the female partner passes away at the end of drama serial ‘Goya’, but leaves a bunch of good memories for her better half such as their standing on the roadside to eat ice-candies. ‘Tum se Kehna tha’ does start with an orphan telling how sad and miserable her life is without parents, but eventually comes across a big, caring family which is ready to make her its member.
Syra Yusuf in ‘Coke Kahani’ does spend a major portion of her life with one parent, but eventually, things fall in place and her parents re-conciliate. Same goes for Javed Sheikh and Saba Hameed in ‘Azar ki ayegi barat’ who forget their own misunderstandings for their daughter’s sake and make her wedding all the more beautiful. All this makes us learn that life can be made beautiful and worth living by considerate friends, caring parents and lovely partners. Besides, the concern for familial relationship in these drama serials makes one feel good about Pakistan’s cultural values and familial integration.
Another aspect which makes Syed Mohammad Ahmad’s drama serials unique and attractive is that they are enriched with art and culture. Off and on, one finds a character reading a book, be it Samina Ahmad in ‘Azar ki ayegi barat’ or Badar Khalil in ‘Tere Siwa’. ‘Tere Siwa’ has in it, an artist who draws numerous sketches of his favourite model. Sana Javed and Usman Butt have their first encounter in an art exhibition in ‘Goya’. ‘Coke Kahani’ has a café named Alfonso as an important element of the play, the interior of which is artistically furnished. Usman Peerzada in ‘Goya’ has a fine taste for music.
Mohammad Ahmad has worked with some of the best directors of Pakistan such as Sahira Kazmi, Marina Khan, Rubina Ashraf, Farrukh Faiz and Mehreen Jabbar. As a consequence, his dramas have always procured a soft aura. There has always been less use of bright lights and loud music. Like the writer’s stories which bring serenity into the mind and heart, and like his characters who are close to real life, the look of his drama serials too, is soft, calm and natural.
There can be seen silhouettes of characters against windows, or warm sunlight filtering through windows and causing the rooms to gain a golden semblance. This makes his Syed Mohammad Ahmad’s works all the more charming and appealing, and does not make one forget them. One’s rumination while sitting beside a window or encountering a quiet evening will surely make him or her recall some of his drama serials.
When soil mixes with water, a scent arises that is refreshing and when fills the nostrils, makes a person feel that it is necessary to inhale it off and on. Such are Syed Mohammad Ahmad’s drama serials. They are like good perfumes, in the fragrance of which one wishes to keep swirling for life.
‘Jin baton par pehle kabhi ghaur nahi kia, ab buht ghaur karti hoon. Shaakh par phoot’ti hui nanhi si konpal aur patton ki ragon mein daurti hui zindagi ko. Kisi ke intizar mein darwaaze par jhoolti hui kundi ko, aur khirkiyon mein rakhe charaghon ko. Sarkon pe utri hui darakhton ki khushboo ko. Hatheli par baithe hue baadal ke tukre ko. Zindagi buht khoobsurat hai Umar.’ (Goya)
