Mein Sitara sheds light on the rise and fall of starlets
TV One’s popular
drama serial, Mein Sitara, serves as a window into a glitzy world of showbiz
where behind the flashlights of paparazzi cameras are hidden several
gut-wrenching tales of aspirants who dreams to make big in tinsel town.
Originally titled as Nigar Khana, Mein Sitara aired in two
successful seasons on TV One. It narrates Suriya’s journey to stardom -
although she can’t make to the top of the film industry but her struggle shows
us the dark side of the glamorous world.
It is true that glamor holds irresistible attraction but
with it comes pain, miseries, physical and mental exertion. The acclaimed
scriptwriter, Faiza Iftikhar, has worked on this risky idea in Mein Sitara and
crafts a story that touches hearts with its captivating plot, relatable
characters and power-packed performances of seasoned actors.
The drama leading lady, Sitara, is shown as a strong-willed
woman sans any clichéd characteristics of small screen typical heroines. Unlike
the teary-eyed miserable female lead of TV, she boldly takes steps in life and
always ready to face the consequences. Her inner strength serves as the
valuable tool to overcome obstacles life throws at her. She responds to situations quite naturally -
after a setback in career, she doesn’t give up hope and fight circumstances with
vigor.
The dynamic duo of writer-director has worked diligently to
make the characters as realistic as possible. The names of the characters have
been astutely chosen to correlate with the story - Jharna gives a new identity
to Suriya by giving her a name Sitara – she wants to see her as a rising star
of the showbiz world. The ambitious Sitara calls her daughter Falak because she
thinks that there shouldn’t be any limit to her daughter’s talent.
The director, Seema Tahir Khan’s wonderful execution of a
fascinating tale not only covers the struggle of an aspiring actress but it
also gives valuable insight into mannerism of yester year film arena.
Set in a golden era of Lolly wood, Mein Sitara is a
brilliant depiction of filmi dunya from mid-sixties to its downfall in the 80s
till the emergence of television industry at the turn of the century.
The drama beautifully exposed the bad practices that have
clamped showbiz world since inception – be it casting couch culture, inevitable
insecurities of celebrity couple or existence and influence of ‘dancing girls’
from the questionable background in the industry.
From the setting, costumes to attitude everything aptly
depicted the era the story belongs to. Jharna’s puffed-up hairdo, Sitara’s
winged eyeliner, and FarhadSethi’s bell bottoms pants and silk scarves, all
reminded us of stylish era of the 60s.
Sitara is a reflection of film star Rani’s life story whose father
was a driver and she was adopted by singer Mukhtar Begum.
The celebrated couple of Jharana and Farhad Sethi also
reminded us of many showbiz couples of yesteryears including Muhammad Ali and
Zeba, Sabiha and Santosh and Robin Ghosh and Shabnam.
We have seen several women-centric stories on the small
screen but Mein Sitara is a notch better than the rest presenting
multi-dimensional characters in a well-knitted riveting tale.
Characters are etched with precision and there isa logic
behind every move they make in the drama - be it Sitara’s marriage bargain deal
with Ilyas Khawaja or her decision to take revenge from him by letting her
daughter work in his production house.
The characters are neither holier nor painted in the darkest
shades of black – in fact, they are well-crafted with a sense of realism and
nuanced personalities.
The director, Seema Tahir Khan, has done a splendid job in
handling a complex story and managing multi-star cast with ease. The supporting
actors are not added in the story just as fillers but each one of them an
interesting story attached to their backgrounds.
In the beginning of the first season, no one has ever
imagined that a small appearance of Adnan Shah Tipu as make-up artist Pappu
will become such an integral part of the script in the second season.
Film star Meera has once again surprised us with her power
packed performance as a nasty Naseem Dilruba. While the promising act of
Meekal Zulfiqar and Aisha Gul has been the highlight of the first season, the
spellbinding act of Noman Ijaz in the second season has hooked viewers till the
last.
Mein Sitara is not only about the rise and fall of the film
industry but also exposes the bitter reality of showbiz world by showing that
how actors make a compromise stay in the business. Sometime they have to crush
their souls to run their kitchen.
The time comes when Sitara’s life gets completely shattered
but like a warrior she bounces back after every setback. When Naseem Dilruba
threatens her to destroy her career on theater – at first she gets frightened
but then composes herself and outclasses her in stage performance.
With the downfall of industry, Sitara’s hopes to earn name
and fame also get dusted. She compromises on her dreams just to make her
daughter’s life comfortable - she works as an extra in industry, gets
associated with voice over industry and even agrees to do an old aged character
on television.
Kudos to Saba Qamar who enlivens a
coming-of-age character with an engrossing act. She has worked really hard to
make this role as real and depth as possible. With oodles of talent, she
wonderfully portrays different phases of Sitara’s life – from an innocent
teenage maid, a beaming starlet, a financially-stricken theater performer to a
doting mother.
A quick recap
The first season was all about the glorious period of the
60s when cinema was at the height of glory. Everyone’s dream to become a film
star – and young Surya was no different. She adored stars, lived and breathed
films. She wanted to become a shining Sitara of showbiz world – and her mentor
Jharna Begum (ex-singer) helped her achieving her dreams.
Although Jharna’s husband (FarhadSethi(actor turned
producer) cast Sitara in his upcoming film but some unfortunate circumstances
never let her dreams fulfilled. The conspiracy of the small-time starlet,
NaseemDilRuba smashed Sitara’s career before it took flight.
FarhadSethi’s interest in Sitara further deteriorated the
situation – it also affected the bond between Jharna and Sitara. As Sitara
doesn’t want to hurt JharnaBaji she doesn’t reciprocate to Farhad’s feelings
and he suffered from a severe mental disorder.
In a hurry to make things better, Sitara marries Jamal (co-actor).
Due to Naseem Dilruba evil’s intention, the relationship of
Sitara and Jamal didn’t go too long and ended up in divorce. A bad patch with
Jamal further destroyed her career. In order to make both ends meet, she
started performing in private dance parties. Renowned filmmaker Ilyas Khwaja
spotted her at one such occasion and took her with him. He promised her to give
a big break in films but in reality, he started using her to earn his vested
interest by forcing her to perform in parties of high-profile socialites.
Sitara’s dream to be a big star badly collapsed when
Ilyas Khwaja ditched her. The pregnant Sitarawent on roads, and her friend Pappu helped
her in tough times.
The birth of Falak gave a new direction to Sitara’s life.
She once again gathered smashed pieces of her heart and started making effort
to provide a decent life for her daughter. She even sent her to boarding school
to keep her away from the dirty world of showbiz.
Times passes and a teenager Falak returned with an intention
to make a career in film industry. At first, Sitara strongly opposed the idea
of Falak making a foray into film world but later she agreed to see the
interest of her daughter.
The path of IlyasKhawaja and Sitara
crossed again when Falak gets a job offer from her father’s production house.
Although Falak turned down IlyasKhawaja’s offer but Sitara insisted her to join
his team.
What is the motive behind Sitara’s decision to send Falak to
IlyasKhawaja? Does she want to take revenge from IlyasKhawaja by using her own
daughter? What will happen when Falak get to know about her relation with
Ilyas Khawaja? What attracts Ilyas Khawaja towards Falak?
To know this and more, watch the last episode of Mein Sitara
this Thursday only on TV One.
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