Zaroon Junaid - Character Analysis of a Chauvinist

 "Chand Dekhre ho, ha dekhraha hu, voh asmaan me hota he, ha aise mene suna tha par kaafi same se voh mere paas aaya he" - Zaroon Junaid from Zindagi Gulzar Hai

Zindagi Gulzar Hai is a Pakistani show starring Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed. The show depicts the life of two students studying at the same university. Kashaf Murtaza played by Sanam Saeed is a lower-middle-class girl, working hard to change her financial situation at home, she's always the topper of the class. Meanwhile, Zaroon Junaid is a rich lad grown up in luxury. During their university years, both were each other's arch-rivals. Kashaf pitied Zaroon for his chauvinist and classist behavior and Zaroon despised Kashaf because she wasn't like other girls in university and took a stand for herself in front of him. 

After all the quarrels, the class finally graduates and now Zaroon and Kashaf are done for good. But life has different plans for them. They meet professionally after many years. However, their relationship is still hostile. But Zaroon finds himself drawn toward Kashaf and her character. He finds chances to talk to her even though the calls end up with Kashaf humiliating him. After much effort, they both get married. But why did Kashaf hate Zaroon?

The answer lies in Zaroon himself. We are shown that the titular head of the family at Zaroon's house is his mom and he despises this system. Even though being educated and comes from a high class, Zaroon has many conservative opinions on women. He does not let Asmara (ex-fiancee) go out with her friends meanwhile, he used to flirt with everyone in university when he was dating Asmara. He often wrote many controversial opinions in his digital diary about women. When he gets to know that Usama had proposed to Kashaf, he gets angry with her and starts a prolonged fight. Meanwhile, Zaroon's past is filled with secrets of his ex-girlfriend. He would often call out his sister and mother for not doing the household chores for him, which he can easily do himself. He once wrote that he doesn't understand the concept of feminism and the emancipation of women and accepted that he is a chauvinist.

Zaroon starts liking Kashaf because she fits his ideal woman. Instead of compromising with Asmara and coming to a conclusion. He chose a woman who would easily fit into his mold. Although Kashaf is a strong and independent woman, she is still more conservative than Zaroon. He liked that view about her. However, we see some progress in him at the end of the season, he listens to his wife, often considering her decision his important matter, and changes into a very romantic husband.

 

The most underrated character in the show I feel is Usama. Even though he's from the upper class, he is relatively kind with good values. Even though, he was friends with Zaroon. He would often stand Kashaf's stand and secretly had a crush on her. I wonder what would've happened if they would've end up together. 

Throughout the show, we see changes in Kashaf's ideas and views which would be translated through her clothing and styling. During her university years, she would wear often plain salwar kameez with a dupatta as a scarf. She is shown as a simple girl with a ponytail and no makeup on. After she gets a job, she experiments with her hair including leaving it open or braids with some studded jewelry. She starts wearing makeup after marriage. These signify her status upgrade. 

Overall, the show is great. It talks about many apparent issues like Classism, Feminism, Intersectional Feminism, Liberation of Women, and Chauvinism.