Produced by Momina Duraid, directed by Shaquille Khan and written by Sarwat Nazir, Choti Si Zindagi airs on HUM TV on Tuesdays at 8pm PST. The promos of this drama got my interest for sure and I do not mean that in a positive way. The cast comprises Shahzad Sheikh, Iqra Aziz and Nimra Khan in the lead roles and since none of them have left a lasting (good) impression on me before, I was not too keen to watch this drama. Until I saw that the writer is Sarwat Nazir. There is something about her dramas and the relationship between the couples that she portrays that interests me so I decided to give this one a go and although the first few episodes, in my opinion did not have me hooked, something about this play made me keep watching and 6 episodes down – despite some glitches, I am glad I did.

Choti Si Zindagi is the tale of two cities (I could not resist and had to be a bit Charles Dickens-ish). A period drama, if you will, set in the 1970s (an assumption for the drama only tells us at the beginning that the story is of ‘some’ years ago), the drama introduces the families of two brothers, one residing in Sahiwal while the other in Multan. Furqan (Tariq Jameel) is the older brother and has four daughters and a son Urwah (Shahzad Sheikh). While his sisters’ names Muzammil and Khurshid seemed a bit more believable as women often had male names back then, the name Urwah for the male lead caught me by surprise. Not only me it appears for he is made fun of later too at university for having a girlish name. We see that Urwah is traveling to the city to begin his education at the university there. While Urwah is portrayed as the obedient, innocent and slightly awkward young man we see the beginnings of revolt when he is not too happy about his father accompanying him all the way to the university. Having been raised in a small town, his personality has however been primarily shaped by his upbringing and his surroundings.

Furqan’s younger brother Irfan (Rashid Farooqi) lives in Multan with his wife (Farah Shah) and I-am-not-sure-how-many- daughters but the oldest is Ameena (Iqra Aziz). Irfan is unwell and is suddenly worried about his daughters and their marriages and is overjoyed when his brother asks for Ameena’s hand for Urwah. Ameena’s character is meant to be that of an immature and carefree young woman but honestly the way it is portrayed has often left me confused. School/college going – okay, immature and not wanting to do any housework –okay but the childish on the border of mentally unstable behaviour that Iqra Aziz has put into her character did not impress me at all. The loud guffaws, the whining, big eyed look – not on.

Anyway, Urwah’s room mate Sohail (Afraz Rasool) takes him under his wing, well not as sweetly as that sounds, but he introduces him to his friends. He misses no opportunity to poke fun at him when they are together though and although we get he is another carefree and polar opposite of Urwah kind of character, I found the escalating laughter every other second, a bit fake. Azra (Nimra Khan) as the rich yet refreshingly unspoilt and non bratty girl finds herself drawn to Urwah. I failed to see what might attract her to him except what she says herself that he is different and respects women something which she values greatly. Urwah is very awkward around her at first but seems to get comfortable as they meet more often.

When news of his engagement to Ameena is broken to him, Urwah balks and rushes home. He goes back with the assurance though that although engaged, his marriage is no time soon. That backfires too when his father’s jasoos, I mean friend in the city spots Urwah with Azra and reports back to him. Furqan feels it is time to get things moving and has Urwah rushing back home under the pretext that he is unwell. Emotional blackmail and the way things were back in that era prevent Urwah from sticking to his refusal and he is wed to Ameena.

Since I am not a very observant person,therefore if there were any slips in attention to detail then they went unnoticed by myself. I did however like the whole feel of the drama which made me feel I was taken back in time a bit. I enjoyed watching the wedding festivities too for they lacked the overly drawn out grandiose presentations and glamour so common in dramas generally, yet drew me in and that was refreshing in itself.

For me, Shahzad Sheikh is perfect as Urwah. His stiff and awkward demeanour, a young man trying to make sense of this new modern world and liking it yet held back by ties back home, indignant over Sohail’s outrage comments, flattered and awe struck by Azra’s attention, wanting to take a stand for himself but giving in to his parent’s wishes – I can not fault his performance. Iqra Aziz, on the other hand, while I appreciate for coming out of her clogs, I mean comfort zone and throwing herself into a different character, tries a bit too hard and has left me cringing at times. If only she could ditch the childish, lower lip jutting out dialogue delivery and the overly loud crying and comments which no matter how immature you may be do not seem fitting for a teenager – I could relate to Ameena more. Nimra Khan’s acting seems effortless although I still find it a bit difficult to see how Azra is attracted to Urwah to the point of wanting to marry him.

It seems Urwah is not ready to give up Azra yet or tell her of his marriage and since he will return to the city to complete his studies, I wonder how things will develop. How soon, if anytime soon at all, will Ameena ‘grow up’ and what will be the chain of events that will get her on that track? Will Urwah give up Azra? While Choti Si Zindagi does not rank up there amongst the dramas that have us hooked from scene to scene, or shock us with controversial, out of the box stories or emotional blockbusters that have us reaching for a tissue – there is something about the drama that lets you sit back and enjoy watching it unfold.

Oh – and this would not be complete without mentioning the OST and the background music that is often played during the episode and makes you want to, well – do this:

What do you all think of the drama so far – would love to hear your thoughts.

Kunwal Javid

This episode showed us the characters moving into new phases of their lives – Saleem’s inclination towards Gulshan Ara and her family, Noor’s pregnancy and positive developments in Waseem and Zeb’s relationship. I am not sure what Khawar stands to gain by pushing Saleem towards Gulshan Ara but he seems to be making it his mission and Saleem, out of a sense of duty for his friend and also to upkeep his reputation as the respectable businessman of the neighbourhood, agrees to go deliver the grocery items to Gulshan’s house. While I found Saleem’s reactions and expressions to be spot on, the actress playing Gulshan Ara seemed to grate on my nerves. Do women trying to ‘ensnare’ a man really talk and act like that and do men fall for it? Hmm!

As far as the drama goes, Saleem seemed to be lapping it up but for now he just seems to be loving the attention being paid to him by all these women and does not seem to be blown away by Gulshan just yet. His mother and siblings love him but hearing Noor’s praise being sung day and night has started to make him feel like she has his family wrapped round her little finger and they do not love, appreciate or respect him anymore. That feeling has only magnified of late and enter Tabassum khala and her daughters and all the respect and attention and sweet talk really boosted his ego. Saleem has always been easily influenced by his friends but what I liked was that beneath all that he would have a twinge of guilt where he would question his own actions sometimes. He seems to have left all that behind and is increasingly only annoyed with Noor.

Noor fainted hence Noor is pregnant. Because obviously the two go hand in hand in our dramas. While Saleem’s family and Noor are overjoyed with this news, Saleem is nowhere to be found. Saleem’s mother’s overly dramatic and excited actions seemed a bit OTT initially but I have come to see her as a simple woman who is easily overwhelmed by her feelings and does not try to channel them or present them a certain way. Her reaction at the pregnancy did make me smile. For the first time, I truly disliked Saleem for his retorts and snide remarks when Noor tries to tell him about her pregnancy. Also, for the first time, the whole ‘I want to say/ meri baat sunein’ being left hanging in the air did not bother me for Noor could hardly be expected to just blurt out the news of the baby when Saleem was being mean or yelling at her to hurry on with his breakfast. I felt for her then and while his remarks and attitude were uncalled for and unnecessarily unfair, there was a hint of truth to them for well, that is pretty much all she says to Saleem. I like Noor but I feel she is forever trying to correct him and that makes Saleem get his back up even more. It takes two to tango and Saleem has made zilch effort to make this marriage work but while it is lovely that Noor cares about his family, maybe she could have spent more time trying to connect with him and understand him. I am not saying she is to blame, not at all or that Saleem is justified in his behaviour, except that Noor is maybe a tad too perfect and holier than thou and that irks me, I mean Saleem (!!) just a bit.

I cringed at the conversation between Noor’s older sister and her husband. When she says that a sensible loving woman is able to keep her husband from being drawn to another man, I thought automatically of Noor. For Noor is sensible and she does love Saleem and is right there in his house – yet it obviously appears that he is about to be drawn to another woman’s charms. With the exception of Saleem, Waseem and Zeb have everyone’s blessings and I liked how Zeb’s father says to her that there is nothing wrong with liking someone. With the exception of Noor’s older sister’s mother in law, I also like how the elders in this drama are sensible and positive characters.

I am curious to see what Saleem’s reaction will be when he hears he is about to become a father and whether, like Noor believes, this will change his attitude towards her at all? Is Gulshan Ara a short time distraction or will this end in marriage and will Noor find out? The two dramas penned by Sarwat Nazir that I have watched lately present a happy ending for the female lead at least but not necessarily with the male lead so I am curious to see how this plays out. I had difficulty linking Ayesha Khan to Noor at first but her hurt and feelings were very aptly portrayed in tonight’s episode especially her final scenes with Syed Jibran. Syed Jibran has totally won me over as the insecure, uneducated man who is easily swayed by anyone but his family. His mannerisms and expressions especially in his scenes with Gulshan Ara were so good that even though I can see where this is headed and I should dislike him, he still made me laugh. To be honest, I missed that there was not much screen time devoted to Saleem and Noor’s scenes together in this episode and was not very interested in Gulshan Ara or Zeb and Waseem’s track and hope to see more of Noor and Saleem in the next episode for that is another reason I find myself drawn to dramas penned by Sarwat Nazir that she focuses on the lead couple’s relationship with each other. What did you all think of this episode and the latest developments? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Kunwal Javid

Ohkay so, the production of Cereal Productions, writing & direction of Iqbal Hussain; Seeta Bagri hit our TV screens last night on TV One & can I just say, I am impressed. The moment you’ll start watching the episode, you’ll feel like you’re watching a Bollywood film & I am most certainly not complaining because I loved every bit of filminess of the episode.

The episode began with a narration telling us about the small fraction of Hindu community that chose Pakistan as their home at the time of partition. The main concern of those people was the fact that if they’ll settle in India, they will be judged on the basis of their caste but just because they felt they’d be free of all those boundaries & labels in Pakistan, they chose it as their home. Then, immediately after the narration, we were introduced to one of the families of Hindu community, settled in Karachi & oh well, that introduction was extravagant, vibrant & cheerful. Even though this drama is making the viewers familiar with the small community that resides in Pakistan, I loved the fact that the writer & the director didn’t show them as any less or any different to the rest of te Pakistanis. They were happy, they had good lives & they seemed emotionally settled otherwise I had a doubt in my mind that may be they will show us the set of problems & social pressures they face on the basis of their religion but that didn’t seem to be the case, at least in the very first episode. I am sure things will get a little complicated in the future but for starter, the director did leave such an impression that even if he will shed a light on certain issues, he will most certainly tackle everything intelligently.

We were introduced to a family of Badrinath (Qavi Khan) & his daughter Seeta (Sarwat Gillani) who belong to Bagri tribe. Badrinath did well for his small family & gave his daughter a humble yet comfortable lifestyle. Badrinath’s tenants are two orphan siblings Ratan Lal (Syed Jibran) & Mala Rani (Shameen Khan). Ratan & Seeta love each other & their love isn’t hidden from Mala who wholeheartedly supports her brother & Seeta. Badrinath suffers from epilepsy but he still tries to keep himself active because he knows he has a daughter to take care of & he has to get her married too. Even though Ratan loves Seeta a lot, he is suffering from financial crisis but at least Seeta supports him morally & motivates him to complete his education so that he can settle down & propose their marriage in front of Seeta’s father. Ratan works as a carpenter & has a huge debt to pay off. Mala Rani is young & peppy, but she also feels she should do something in order to support her brother but has no idea where to start from. Seeta believes in empowering herself from education, that is why she keeps on reminding both Ratan & Mala about the importance of education too.

We were also introduced to Nadnini Daas (Bushra Ansari), a businesswoman who owns a small business of bangles in Hyderabad. Nadini is single & she is a hopeless romantic but her instinct tells her that she should move to Karachi because her love awaits her there. Saeen (Shabbir Jaan); an iron-smith loves Nandini to an extent of being obsessed with her. Saeen wants to get married to Nandini but Nadnini keeps on rejecting his proposal because according to her, she doesn’t love him & she will only get married to the one she will actually fall in love with.

Badrinath’s friend suggests a proposal for Seeta upon hearing how Badri is concerned about her. Just when Badri tells Ratan that he is considering marrying Seeta off, Ratan gets upset but even though Badri couldn’t see it, his friend understands that may be both Seeta & Ratan are interested in each other. Even though Ratan is a tenant, he, Mala, Badrinath & Seeta share strong ties with each other & they actually live like a close knit family. Seeta & Mala share a beautiful bond with each other & they are best of friends who support each other emotionally too. Ratan feels burdened because of all the favors Badri & Seeta have done for him & his younger sister till date but Badri always tries to encourage him because he can see how hardworking Ratan is.

Nandini Daas moves to Karachi & she has a hard time escaping from Hyderabad because Saeen tails her & he openly declares that he will follow her wherever she’d go. Nandini & Ratan come across each other too because Ratan goes to Hyderabad to get a furniture order. I am sure this won’t be the first & the last time they both will meet because this small interaction will actually turn out to be a beginning of their story!

Looks like Aleezay Ahmed & Taimur Zaki; two university students will come across the Hindu community due to their volunteer work for an NGO. Aleezay feels passionately about bringing a change in the society & just because Taimur happens to be her friend, he hops on board with the idea. I am sure they will play an important role in the future episodes where may be through their NGO, they will bring some sort of change in the Hindu community.

Overall, the first episode was brilliant & I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I will say that in the initial moments I felt that the characters were acting a bit too dramatically but then as the episode progressed, everything settled down & it was only Mala & Seeta’s interaction that had the entire Bollywoodish feel to it because they both are like that, where they bring out the child in each other & they are just being themselves when they are with each other. I actually liked watching their interactions because they made my mood cheerful. I will say that every single actor, from Qavi Khan, Shabbir Jaan, Bushra Ansari, Sarwat Gillani, Shameen Khan, Syed Jibran, all of them did a wonderful wonderful job. I don’t know what is it but every single time Syed Jibran succeeds in owning his character right from the beginning & it happened this time around too. From his entry in the song to his very first conversation with Seeta, he gave it all & looked perfect as Ratan Lal. Syed Jibran is such a powerful actor & I can’t wait to see how he will elaborate Ratan’s story on screen. Sarwat Gillani looked absolutely stunning & after a long long time, I felt that Sarwat acted effortlessly, it looks like her dialogue delivery has improved a lot & she didn’t seem hesitant in delivering dialogues which actually used to be a weakest point of her acting. From being peppy with her best friend Mala, to throwing tantrums in front of her love interest Ratan, to being an overly concerned daughter to Badri, Sarwat portrayed all the roles of Seeta to perfection. All the other actors fitted their roles perfectly, Shameen Khan was effortless as Mala & then all the experienced actors like Qavi Khan, Shabbir Jaan & Bushra Ansari made their presence felt in the very first episode. I had a great time watching the first episode of Seeta Bagri, the direction for sure was phenomenal & to-the-point, it was dramatic & filmy when needed, but also very thorough in the scenes that required such detailing. The OST was quite different & good to listen to as well. I will give extra points to the set designers for adding so much of colors in the background, everything looked lovely. I can’t wait to see the next episode already, please share your thoughts about this colorful & impressive first episode of Seeta Bagri!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.