‘Hum Bhi Jee Lain’ focuses on Pakistani children’s dilemma when their career choices differ from those preferred by
KARACHI:
In many Pakistani households, a child’s future is often decided long before they are old enough to understand what they actually want to become.
Some are expected to become doctors, others engineers or chartered accountants. But what happens when a child’s ambitions lie somewhere entirely different?
This conflict is explored in the Express Entertainment drama Hum Bhi Jee Lian, where actor Sharoze Sabzwari character Arsal finds himself caught between his family’s expectations and his own creative ambitions.
Speaking with The Express Tribune about the project, the actor Sharoze Sabwari said the story immediately appealed to him because of the contradiction at the heart of his character: a young man with a writer’s imagination who is being pushed towards accountancy.
Arsal has lost both his parents, leaving his elder sister, played by Faiza Hassan, responsible for raising him and deciding his future. She wants him to become a chartered accountant, a path he has been encouraged to follow since childhood.
But beneath those expectations is someone who wants to write stories.
“The writer inside him is what attracted me to the character,” the actor said. “There is a writer hidden inside him, but above that is accountancy. For someone who wants to write, it is a very dry subject, yet he is being made to study it.”
He believes the situation reflects the experiences of many young people whose families prioritise conventional careers over their children’s individual interests.
“People are studying medicine or law because their parents want them to, even though they want to become something else,” he said.
The actor said the drama also explores how parental and family pressure can continue even when children grow older. Sometimes, he added, elders fail to understand a child’s personality and ambitions, dismissing their choices rather than trusting them.
He believes parents need to recognise that their children belong to a different generation and should be allowed to make decisions about their own futures.
Parents, he argued, should understand their children’s age, interests and way of thinking, and encourage them in the direction where their abilities naturally lie.
“If you push them towards what they are inclined to do, they will shine even more,” he said.
While the drama explores the freedom to choose one’s own path, the actor also spoke about the challenges of pursuing creative ambitions in Pakistan’s entertainment industry.
He said he was grateful to have achieved many of the dreams he had when he first entered acting, including the opportunity to work on several well-known projects.
However, he hopes to move beyond the younger characters he has frequently portrayed.
Having played college students and characters involved in romantic and unrequited love stories, he said he now wants roles that carry greater responsibility and contribute more substantially to the narrative.
“I have a lot more to do. I want to play mature characters, roles with more responsibilities and characters that take the story forward,” he said.
He acknowledged, however, that an actor’s ambitions do not always match the commercial realities of television production.
According to him, writers and producers have different considerations from performers. While an actor may want to play a particular character, producers must also consider whether audiences will watch the project.
“Art is also a business. Production houses are there to make money, at the end of the day,” he said, adding that actors should understand the commercial considerations behind casting and storytelling.
The actor also reflected on why many performers appear reluctant to speak openly about social and economic issues.
He said the growth of social media had changed the nature of public criticism. In the past, criticism might have appeared in a newspaper or magazine, but today it can reach an actor’s family and personal circle almost immediately.
With smartphones and internet access becoming widespread, even relatives living in remote areas can encounter online criticism and comments about an actor’s work.
“It is no longer just criticism directed at me. It can reach my family members as well,” he said. He suggested that this has made some performers more cautious about expressing their opinions publicly.
The actor also acknowledged that an earlier remark he made about being grateful for one’s circumstances could have sounded dismissive of people’s economic difficulties.
He clarified that gratitude and faith should not prevent people from acknowledging the hardships others face, particularly amid rising inflation.
