Popular Pakistani TV show "Dastaan" has come to India as "Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam" -- a love story set against the backdrop partition. The narrative of the show has undergone editing to suit the Indian perspective.
Based on Razia Butt’s novel "Bano", the show revolves around Hassan (Fawad Khan) and Bano (Sanam Baloch), who unfortunately after getting engaged become a victim of the Hindu and Muslim riots, followed by the partition of India.
The show, starring Pakistani sensation Fawad Khan, went on air on Zindagi channel on Monday.
"The entire story has been told from the angle of Bano, and naturally she being a Muslim and the story revolving around the partition time, we have neutralised it from the Indian perspective. We have edited the show with a very balanced approach," Priyanka Datta, business head, Zindagi, said here.
"Dastaan” is a 2010 show, and its recap version has come to Indian screens as “Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam” -- inspired by the lyrics of the 1959 Bollywood song.
Talking about the reason of choosing the title, Dutta said: "We found a very lyrical justification to be very romantic and timeless journey. We found the title befitting."
The show revolves around the time of partition and was extensively been shot in Lahore with Pakistan as its backdrop. But the show's director Haissam Hussain says there is nothing anti-Indian in it, and viewers will just get to see a good "unbiased" love story.
“The aim of the story is to tell a tale of love, which has its own universal language all over the world. Partition has been a tragic history in the sub-continent. Women are used like objects in the war... The only thing which people will get to see in this show is the love story of Hassan and Bano in an unfortunate time,” Hussain said via video conference from Lahore.
“I think if the show would’ve been made from Indian perspective, there also it would have been the same story," he added, and then went on to say that he "can tell this story from any part of the world as it’s about love."
Actor Ahsan Khan, who plays the role of a “pro-Indian” in the show, also emphasised that "the show was not made with an intention to hurt anybody’s feeings".
Also, the flavour of romance is of that in the 1940s
"In those days, people were shy, and families used to have different values. So we did it in a balanced way. Now if somebody wants to be romantic, they express it via kissing. But in those days, it was really different. From gestures to costumes, everything was done with proper research (considering the period),” the actor added.
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