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Like father, like son is a famous adage and in our part of the world Father’s Day revolves around the father-son relationship, with commercials showing little boys being taught how to ride a cycle or the father reminding his son that he will carry forward the family's legacy. Gao Suno Badlo’s dedication to fathers aims to change this notion — to something that says that sons are not the only offspring who can support their fathers and daughters can play an equally important role.

Sung by Omar Nadeem “Meri Pyari Beti” is penned by Aliya Mirza who has previously contributed for the lyrics of ‘Kon Kehta Hai Beikhtiyar Hon Main’. Released under Gao Suno Badlo a joint initiative of social platforms Mishermayl and Aawaaz, ‘Pyari Beti’ weaves a tale of a struggling father who wants his daughter to succeed in life despite all hindrances and obstacles.

The video shows the single father, who is a handicapped fruit seller, trying hard to help his daughter reach school and look after her everyday needs.

The little girl is also shown helping her father as she accompanies him at the shack and learns to repair her bycycle. Yet the question remains: why daughters? The producer Ali Aftab Saeed said that he and along with his team members felt that this aspect of father-daughter relationship has seldom been explored.

The father smiles as the girl swings on

He explained that the video had been inspired by a true story of a wheelchair-bound man who sold newspapers for a living and raised three daughters by himself.

Instead of marrying them off at an early age, he made sure that they went to college. Although his identity is unknown, his daughters would surely be carrying his name forward: “It is father’s responsibility to enable his daughter to grow up, get education and play her role as an individual in this society."

The father gives milk to his daughter. — Screengrab

“The constant tirades by fathers reminding daughters that they have to leave homes once they get married that doli jarahi hai wapas na aye will certainly not help them in becoming better individuals. We saw many videos related to Father’s Day but couldn’t find any which would give out this particular message hence we kept it daughter oriented. We want fathers to take up this responsibility,” Aftab stressed.

Whilst the projection of the image ‘daughters are supposed to ‘daddy’s little princess’ lingers on, the video shows that the little girl doesn’t think twice in providing help to her father:

“The daughter is tagging along to his workplace, is fixing the cycle and is doing things normally associated with boys; and that’s because her father stands by her as a supporting figure.”

Girl fixes her cycle in the video. — Screengrab

But do daughters who defy their fathers to pursue their dreams take the right step?

Ali believes that we need to focus as to why the defiance is needed: “All fathers want their children to prosper and they need to understand that in order to do that they need to be supportive. Girls and boys both are equal so if a father stands up for his daughter just like he does for his son, then girls won’t feel the need to go against them.”

The daughter travels on the wheelchair-bike after graduating from college

The video which ends on an optimistic note shows the little girl now grown up, in her graduation gown holding a degree implying that the struggles of the father will finally bore fruit.