This drama which is a sequel of Landa Bazar, a Khalil ur Rehman Qamar drama that was aired 15 years ago transports you into another world altogether. The writer and producer have tried to incorporate that story into the new social set up of today brilliantly. The new generation is shown to be more enlightened and advanced, yet still weaved into a complicated web of love, revenge and dynasty. It is not an entertainment play. Your heart and mind becomes heavy as it is about what is possibly the darkest side of human emotions. It would be a little too gloomy if not for some characters’ natural wit and a shady sense of humor. The credit for providing comic relief goes to Waseem Abbas, who has taken it on brilliantly. The veteran actor never fails to impress with his impeccable dialogue delivery and total ownership of the character that he is in and this play is no exception. The other experienced stars including Saba Hameed, Babar Ali, Kashif Mehmood, Tauqeer Nasir are all in full awe inspiring moods. The newcomers are all relatively new faces but they are also doing quite well in their respective characters.
The first three episodes have shown the aftermath of age old murder of Mehar Hukum, where his widow has been keeping constant fasts, praying wholeheartedly for revenge and nurturing the seed of hatred with more care in her heart than any other feeling, including motherly instincts. She had been raising her son with the sole intention of killing Baali, the man who killed her husband. She is single minded to the point of crime and loved her late husband to the point of self destruction. Her son Mehar Punaar, played by Aabi Khan has imbibed her hatred, her aggression and her revenge in the truest possible way, while her daughter, who has just returned from America after three years, tries to talk sanity and patience and self preservation with both her mother and brother, but to no avail.
Mehar Charagh, the grandfather played by Waseem Abbas is also helpless in the face of his daughter in law’s wrath. It was him on whom Baali had initially attacked but he survived and his son got killed when he was on a revenge spree from Baali. Babar Ali is nailing the role of Baali perfectly. He has been released from jail after serving his term which Hukum’s family had initially mistaken for death penalty. He is trying to gain footage in the world which is now alien to him. He has come from Rahimyar Khan jail to Lahore and is looking for his children whom Jajji took away after his wife’s death. He is still aggressive and voilent but age has certainly mellowed him down and he is quite woeful over the fact.
Another twist is that both of Baali’s kids and Hukum’s daughter Maahi were studying together in America and Maahi and Baali’s son Farhad are in love with each other. While they are still oblivious to each other’s paternal identity, Maahi has become quite disheartened at the state of hatred and revenge she finds her mother and brother in. She has decided to warn Farhad to stay away from her as she herself intends to do. She does not want him to get entangled in the game of life and death her family are playing.
Stay tuned to see how these two generations come to terms with both their pasts and futures.
Recently, he had a chance to explain his stance with more clarity on the topic. Speaking to Gulf News, the famous singer was asked about what prompted him to defend her. He replied, “For so long in this part of the world we have suppressed women in general — especially us men who think that we are superior and women are our slaves. We feel we can do whatever we want them. We own them.” He further elaborated, “Ultimately, it’s her [Mahira Khan’s] life, I do understand that when being in the limelight one needs to be more careful about various things. But at the end of the day we are all human. We all make mistakes and we need to be more compassionate and forgiving towards one another. I don’t think this is something great that I have done. These are just the basics. Our fundamentals and our basics are so wrongly placed that its taking time for us to get back to the right.” Let us know if you think his heart was in the right place in coming up for her defence.
He went on to write,
