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Parwarish, ARY Digital’s take on highlighting the lives of teenagers, their challenges, and emotions, has been immensely popular since it began airing. Its novelty has been one of the defining features of its success, and now fans are worried that it’s wearing off.

Almost every week, it sparks a conversation, and this time around, there’s criticism as well; Maya, played by Aina Asif, has taken a backseat, and the audience is not very happy about it, as they wish to see more of her journey towards becoming a doctor.

For context, recent episodes have shifted their focus to Wali, played by Samar Jafri, who is trying to navigate newfound responsibilities and independence after leaving home. The drama has an ensemble cast, and it is expected that it will have shifts in perspectives, with some characters receiving more screen time in certain episodes. Pakistani dramas have a troublesome history of sidelining their female characters for the development of male ones, but fans weren’t anticipating that would happen with Parwarish as well.

A recurrent issue with Pakistani television is its treatment of female characters as accessories to male ones; rarely are women fleshed out beyond being daughters, wives or mothers. Netizens have expressed dismay over the possibility of Maya facing a similar fate.

This disparity isn’t unusual for our television screens, but fans of the drama have rightfully pointed it out.

While there may not be a lack of female-centric stories on Pakistani television, there is a lack of stories where a woman’s career, her ambition and dreams are at the forefront rather than her matrimonial problems. Oftentimes, drama makers make it a sexist case of show, don’t tell where a woman’s career achievements are merely mentioned, but a man’s are the centre of the story. Netizens have drawn this comparison between Parwarish and Fahad Mustafa and Hania Aamir’s hit show, Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum.

Netizens are also disappointed at the recent actions of the character, where she seems to have devoted herself to supporting Wali’s ambitions. While this isn’t inherently a bad thing, it is rather unrealistic. No medical student has enough time on their hands to catch a breath, much less go around frolicking with her boyfriend to his job interviews…

The unique selling point of Parwarish was how it gave everyone something to relate to, from the Dadi’s adamancy on her old school ways to the dynamic between different sets of siblings or Maya’s aspirations of being a practising doctor. So, when the conversation around Maya’s medical pursuit was centred around an engagement and dropped right after that ended, fans felt like they got the short end of the stick.

However, the audience is also invested enough in Parwarish not to lose hope — many are reminding others about the nuances of having an ensemble cast.

It’s a natural progression for the drama to evolve beyond Maya’s story and explore other characters in depth as well. We just hope that in that exploration, they don’t kill what makes these characters so beloved.

Since Parwarish has been a rare case of fresh storytelling, fans anticipate the turns and twists that the upcoming episodes hold, as they hope to keep watching more empowered female characters.