Karachi:
(Spoiler alert!)
The Internet has another day on the ground with a Danish taimoor drama. No, he is not handling a woman as he did Mann Mast Malang But it is his representation of mental illness in the last episode of Sher It brought things to a whole new level.
Let’s go back: Fajar was supposed to marry Sher’s younger brother. She bailed out. Drama ensued. Sher was shot, or his aunt did it. And now? Sher is in a full -fledged mental health crisis and has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
The episode of last night presented a scene so involuntarily hilarious that it diverted Tiktok and sparked a thousand memes. In this now viral clip, Sher is on the floor of her room, surrounded by a grouped wall. Among the chaotic scribbles, there are sentences like “Shut up, I am sad”, “Kill Me” and strangely, “Corona virus” written in Ourdou.
For reasons which would have been left to the imagination of the production team, the Psych Ward room is also decorated with brain diagrams framed in photo style photo to remind each patient that yes, they are indeed crazy. Very subtle, very sensitive, very … not how psychiatric care works.
Perhaps the most bizarre and frankly disturbing aspect of this whole arc is that Sher Zaman is shown in his hospital bed as if he were a prisoner at high risk rather than a patient in professional care. It is a shocking image, which evokes more than a prison drama than a medical establishment.
Social media react
A user on Tiktok commented: “When I was little in my room after being shouted by my parents.” Relatable!
Another user said, “How I think of trying to explain something logical to my desi colleagues.” We were all there!
“He literally said the coronavirus.” We really wonder why?
“‘Shut up I’m sad” I’m going to use it everywhere now. ” We too!
While the memes are undoubtedly hilarious and virality is a free promotion, this scene raises an important question: when do our dramas begin to deal with mental health with the nuance it deserves? Is this our understanding of treatment?
Regression of something in layers like Principal Abdul Qadir HoonA well thought out and executed drama that has explored mental health and personal growth to the Doodles wall of Sher is disappointing.
It is high time that the big production houses, veterans writers and star actors collaborate to represent mental health with dignity.
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