Noor Jahan is a drama that is winning hearts on ARY Digital. The drama is written by Zanjabeel Asim Shah and directed by Musaddiq Malik. Noor Jahan has a huge cast including Saba Hameed, Kubra Khan, Ali Raza, Ali Rehman Khan, Zoya Nasir, Hajra Yamin, Alina Abbas Shah and Noor Hassan. The drama looked like any other saas bahu saga as soon as the teasers dropped and that is what it can technically be classified as but after over 20 episodes, Noor Jahan has proven to be so much more than just a typical saas-bahu story without anything to remember it by. It has managed to become one of the top shows of the season and several reasons have elevated it to such a status. Here are the 5 biggest reasons that make Noor Jahan much more than your everyday drama:
Complex & Intriguing Characters
On the shallow surface Noor Jahan is the story of a toxic mother-in-law, three mama’s boys and four daughters-in-law. But that is not what Noor Jahan is. The drama is more like a political thriller or a game of chess with all the characters having special moves and limitations that keeps the game interesting. Noor Jahan is a toxic mother-in-law but she also represents a dictator who will impose his will on his people and will never take any democratic decisions. The daughters-in-law represent how populace from different economic strata are bound in such a system, with the rich having some liberty while the poor are fully bound. The sons represent the institutions and bureaucracy who will never speak against power and if somone does (like Murad), they will be put in their place. The drama is therefore connecting with Pakistanis on a deeper level as they are much familiar with such systems.
Psychological Thriller Vibes
The underlying tension in Noor Jahan is also something that sets it apart from a normal everyday saas bahu drama. The main character Noor Jahna is not a typical mother-in-law running plots against her family. She is more of a sociopath with plans that she executes to gain her objectives. She killed Mukhtar Shah and used her sons to achieve her desire. She wanted to take away all his property not because she needs the money but because she wants him to suffer even in his grave. The way she celebarted the miscarriage of her own granddaughter and justified her behaviour in front of her son by calling daughters an unnecessary burden shows how evil and manipulative she is. She is running the household not like an evil saas/ mother but more like a scientist with all her children and now grandchildren as lab rats.
Mind Blowing Performances
Noor Jahan has some mind-blowing performances with Saba Hameed taking the lead in quite the literal sense. She has hit it out of the park and she has shown once again why she is one of the best artists in this country. Her makeup, her styling and her expressions are not of Saba Hameed but Noor Jahan. She has brought the character to life like no one else could have done. Saba Hameed is rocking as Noor Jahan and she should get all the nominations in the coming year as she is literally the best.
Another stand out performance is Alina Abbas Shah who is playing Safina in the show. She is representing the majority women of Pakistan who are stuck in a situation that is causing them pain but they do not bow down and show their dissatisfaction in other ways. The way she has also represented a middle class daughter and mother-to-be to a daughter is hyper-realistic and mind-blowing. Alina is a great addition to the industry and she has surely gained a lot of new fans after playing Safina.
Yousaf Basheer Qureshi is another actor who has gained massive love for playing Mukhtar Shah. Though he was there for just a few episodes but the impact he left is still being felt by the audience.
Everyone else including Noor Hassan, Kubra Khan and Ali Rehman Khan are also doing justice to their characters.
Raising Awareness
Noor Jahan is subtly raising awareness about some huge problems prevalent in our society. The toxic obsession of having sons is represented quite realistically by Noor Jahan. She is even happy when the girl child dies, something that many of us have seen in seemingly educated families around us. Noor Jahan brought Maha home representing how giving birth to a son washes away all your sins in this society. Noor Jahan is also showcasing how women from the middle class are stuck in relationships as they cannot go back to their parents’ house and they cannot support themselves. With Noor Bano, the writer and director have shown how financial independence makes a woman stronger in every facet of her life.
Gripping & Fast-Paced Story
Noor Jahan is brilliantly directed by Musaddiq Malik who was the name behind Habs before this. Zanjabeel also came with a brillant script after a string of disappointments. Noor Jahan is fast-paced and does not drag even for a bit. This has also hooked the audience. With two episodes coming every week, something new happens every time and all the characters are evolving with no unnecessary flashbacks. The writer has also made all the tracks interesting and none of the characters bore you. Noor Jahan keeps you hooked from start till the end which is making it a winner with the audience.
Musaddiq Malik’s Noor Jahan has proven itself to be more tan your typical saas-bahu saga and it is a lesson for all the other makers that you can experiment within the same genre too if you put in a bit of effort. Let’s see how Noor Jahan fares in the coming episodes but for now, it is a definite winner!
