Is Ali Rehman’s Amar A Hero or Antagonist in Khaas?

We share our thoughts.

By Ummara Sheraz | 4:23 pm | Jul 2, 2019

At first glance, Hum TV’s Khaas looks like your average boring drama about family issues. Save for one character – the emotionally abusive ‘hero’ Amar who is played by Ali Rehman Khan.

Most people will look at Amar as the hero and Saba (Sanam Baloch) as his lady love. But really, things are not that black and white when you dive into the characters and their actions.

The Deal With Ali Rehman’s Amar

On the surface,  Amar is handsome, pleasant and well-educated. He’s surrounded by a loving family. Plus he’s good-looking, charismatic, and downright charming. That paired with his work status and family background make him the ‘perfect man’.

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Now here’s where its get interesting. All of these qualities can be found in narcissists. They are exactly that on the outside. It isn’t until you get to know them that the you can see the signs of a narcissist.

The thing is most narcissists are exactly that on the outside. 

Sanam Baloch’s Saba Is The Real Heroine of the Series

Saba is the real protagonist in the series. We see her struggling with her husband’s (Amar) emotional abuse. She also has to put up with his attempts to make her doubt herself.

 

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Sanam Baloch plays the kind, empathetic Saba. Amar puts down her accomplishments, beauty, and opinions. He does so by employing gaslighting, and constantly upstaging her through false projections and comparisons.

When Saba tries to confront him for being inappropriate and pushing her to her limits, he resorts to gaslighting.

Audience Beware!

The show’s writer Sarwat Nazir really put a lot of research and character details into the whole scenario.

Amar is clearly an emotionally abusive narcissist. The way he can’t take it when someone else is complimented. How controlling he is towards Saba. All of it adds up.

He’ll be intentionally rude. He will manipulate scenarios as a joke. Perhaps this speaks to how formidable Ali Rehman’s performance as a narcissist is, because he tends to throw off the audience into who the real villain of the story is. Just like a real-life narcissist could.

What People Think?

Don’t believe us? Here’s what happened recently.

Hum TV’s Twitter account made a tweet regarding Saba’s struggle.

“Girls, how relatable is this? Story of our lives!”

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Inviting answers from the audience, many tweeps were quick to pounce on Saba for being ‘stubborn, unreasonable, and not a good partner.’

In the drama, Amar had promised to be a supportive partner to her. At one point he literally begs her to be his ‘trophy wife.‘Unfortunately, not many see the flaws in his ways.

This is actually a scathing commentary on modern-day society. As long as you don’t leave a scar, you can do as you please with your wife (God forbid). This is what men like Amar excel at.

Some people blame the polite and soft-spoken Saba for being tolerant towards this attitude, even though she’s smart enough to know it’s wrong.

When you’re in a relationship with a narcissist, what others see is just the ‘perfect man’. He’s a doting husband in front of others, but his ugly side comes out when alone with his partner.

Emotional abuse is brushed aside as ‘it’s a man’s world’. 

Support for Saba

Of course, cool-minded Twitterati came in to save the day. It is 2019 after all.

https://twitter.com/_zeemee/status/1143780977883435008

Even now people expect a man to swoop in as the hero and save the day. If that man’s a narcissist, what saving is there to be done? That would be a tragedy, given how Saba could not have mustered up the courage to finally confront her tormentor.

If that wasn’t enough, there is also the matter of Haroon Shahid’s ‘Fakhir’. Fakhir is a sensitive, progressive, and empathetic man, the polar opposite of Amar.

If Fakhir swoops in as the savior, in the end it will be Saba who suffers. Society will basically blame her and her ‘bad character’ (much like Varda in Mere Humdum)

This tweet basically confirms that some will see it that way:

Is HUM TV Being Regressive with Khaas?

For all the people bashing Hum TV for their regressive portrayal of Amar as a hero, lets give them the benefit of doubt.

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In the drama serial so far, it is Saba who has proven to be the real protagonist in Khaas.

Since the drama is still ongoing, we can theorize how its writers can go from here.

In one scenario, the writers can force Saba’s character to reconcile with a ‘changed’ Amar. If this happens, an argument can be made that Khaas has gone on with a regressive ending.

That’s because Amar is not the misguiding, naive young man like Mikaal Zulfiqar’s Mansoor in Durr-e-Shahwar. Amar is a narcissist who is intentionally emotionally abusive because he gets a kick out of it.

“Amar ehsan karta hai, ta kay dosron ka sar uske samne jukhay (Amar is benevolent so that others are compelled to bow before him).”

Haroon Shahid-Khaas
Haroon Shahid as Fakhir in Khaas

In another possible scenario, Saba could end up with Fakhir. Even this ending could turn out being regressive. It could end up perpetuating the gender stereotype that women are weak and will always need a man to save them.

We expect a realistic and powerful ending for Saba in Khaas (see Mariam in Beti). Its time society realized that there are other avenues available to women. People need to realize that divorce is the last resort, and even then its not something you could consider a curse or a stain.

Lets hope Khaas does its female lead justice.