With just four episodes released, actor Saba Qamar’s YouTube channel is proving itself to be the perfect balance between art and awareness. After tackling issues such as misogyny and gossip-mongering in media, the Hindi Medium star has set her sights on mental health.
Unlike the previous episodes where Qamar used satire to relay her point, in the latest episode she adopts a more direct and hard-hitting approach. The video essentially is a monologue about depression and society’s role in it.
In many ways, Qamar emphasises on individuals taking up responsibility for actions that might seem mundane but can have a catastrophic effect on someone’s wellbeing. Urging the viewer to adopt a more kind and empathetic approach in their daily interactions, the Baaghi actor highlights the significance words can carry.
The video starts off with multiple shots, depicting Qamar in despair as she goes on to remind audiences of some of the people lost to suicide over the past few years. “How many lives will we take?”, Qamar asks as she lists the names of Anam Tanoli, Rushaan Farrukh, Qurutulain Ali, and Sushant Singh Rajput, all of whose suicide had at one point ignited a conversation around mental health.
Qamar then goes on to ask ” Akhir kab hum insaan ko insaan samjheingay (When will we consider a human a human),” Qamar asks as she goes on to point out the different ways people are targeted. According to her, while many are subjected to ridicule on the basis of their physical appearance, those that look otherwise flawless from the outside are belittled.
At different moments Qamar can be seen smiling, asserting the idea as to how often people have to mask their emotions in society in order to function.
Alternatively, it could also be a nod to how mental health deteriorates in waves rather than a linear fashion, with a person being happy and well-adjusted one minute and the complete opposite the next with mere words triggering a past trauma.
“Hum kyun logon kee zati zindagion mein ghustay hein, auron ko apni jaagir samajhtey hein, aur jo dil mein ata bina sochey jumlay kastey hein (Why do we butt into people’s personal lives, consider them our personal property and say whatever we want without thinking of the consequences),” Qamar goes on to criticise toxic traits normalised by society.
Moving forward, the Karachi sey Lahore actor also makes note of plight of others being gaslighted due to the labels associated with them. “Psycho, malang , pagal jaisay naam detey hein, kyun hum kisi kee madat nahi kartey ( Help others instead of calling them ‘psycho’ or ‘crazy’),” she says.
Towards the end, Qamar calls out the hypocrisy most adopt in teaching their young ones morals and ethics. On one hand, they preach them to be kind to others on the other hand they themselves encourage children to ostracise peers that appear or act a bit different.
All in all, while the video tends to rely on cliches it does deliver a powerful message that would at least make the viewer contemplate. Even if it is for a few minutes.
