The word ‘liberal’ is not enough to describe Zoya’- Gul Khan

Gul Khan of Four Lions Films and Creative Producer Mrinal Jha discuss their show Qubool Hai on Zee TV

Gul Khan of Four Lions Films and veteran writer Mrinal Jha since a long time were wanting to create a show with a Muslim backdrop. That is exactly how Qubool Hai came about.

Mrinal Jha, Creative Producer of Qubool Hai explained, “We needed a Muslim story to represent the current times and made the protagonist Zoya a progressive girl. Zoya represents the educated progressive youth of today who are very well sorted and rooted in their culture. Yet they are not regressive. They are people who have adjusted to modern times and are trying to find their own place in this world.” Gul added, “The word ‘liberal’ is not enough to describe Zoya. She is a cultured and balanced girl who is very conscious of her rights.” Gul hails from Madhya Pradesh. Qubool Hai too is set in Bhopal.

Though the creative team insists that this isn’t a show about religion, won’t certain religious aspects automatically surface through the serial? Gul replied, “Some aspects about religion will come in. However it is not a show about religion. It is rather a story about the emotions of the people who follow that religion. We will try to portray Muslims in a positive light.” Mrinal added, “It is not that we are not going to touch religion. After all we are talking about a specific religion in this show. It is not our intention however in any way to question religion at all. Gul is a Muslim herself and has grown up in that culture. There is nothing wrong with religion. It is just that culturally sometimes some things don’t go right, which need to change with the times. If we question something then it will be more of the cultural aspects.”

Isn’t it a positive sign that we have come up with a show which focuses on a minority group in India? Mrinal answered, “Obviously. We have such a huge Muslim population in the country. But we don’t have much entertainment which covers that population.”

When asked about the love triangle in Qubool Hai, Gul explained, “Two brothers falling for the same girl is not the main story.” Both Mrinal and Gul were quite surprised to hear that it would be a melancholic serial as some actors were giving journalists that impression. Gul rectified, “It is not a sad story but a family saga which will have both happiness and sadness.” Mrinal seconded Gul, “This isn’t a sad show but it will have lots of emotion, drama, happiness and sadness.”