Film actress Resham has always managed to stay away from serious scandals in her career and have been admired by her fans and followers, at times for her looks, and at times for the decency and charisma that is reflected on screen. The actress has also found busy in serving the humanity by giving charity and conducting social welfare events. Starting her filmi career with Syed Noor’s lollywood movie Jeeva in 1995, Resham’s career has almost all the colors of experiences as a versatile actress.
The actress is often asked by her fans about her plans about getting married and here comes surprising news for them. As per the latest reveals of the daily paper of Pakistan, Resham proposed Mehmood Bhatti who is known to be a leading fashion designer of Pakistan. Mehmood is currently situated in Paris. Dominating in the fashion capital of the world, Paris, France – Mahmood Bhatti is one of the best fashion designers in the world.
The newspaper wrote that the two met after 7 years and it was only then when Resham offered a marriage proposal to him. He, however, tried to change the topic of marriage but Resham asked again. On the contact of that newspaper Mehmood said, “She is interested in marriage with me but I am not”.
It is really hard to comment on the authenticity of the news but we really hope to see Resham getting married soon in near future if not to Mehmood, then at least to someone else.
Many of Mahira Khan’s fans have enjoyed watching her show, TUC – The Lighter Side Of Life. Mahira saved the best for the last episode in which Fawad Khan was her guest. Currently few of the behind the scenes videos are going around on the web. This latest video has fans fuming in anger because it gives a bad image of their favorite celebrities. Mahira Khan is dying to have a cigarette and Fawad Khan is swearing after spilling tea on his shirt!
Watch the video and tell us what you think!
Note : The following video has been deleted from the web … I wonder why;)
The most amazing thing about these “old” dramas is that they have a very new feel to them which the dramas that are currently on air mostly lack. The picture quality or the make-up may not be picture perfect but then these aspects are completely secondary especially when there is a strong script, impressive direction and spellbinding performances to keep the viewers engaged. I must say that Malal is very different from all the other plays written by Umera Ahmed. It does not involve middle class families, lectures on morality or religion and there is a variety of characters which stay with you long after you are done watching the play. Malal is the story of broken dreams, heartaches, happy endings and most of all of human relationships. Every character is a story in its own right. The beautiful and meaningful conversations make the drama a treat to watch. Everything falls into place beautifully in the end leaving no room for arguments as to how things should have turned out.
Malal has been written by Umera Ahmed, directed by Mehreen Jabbar and produced by MD productions. The main cast includes Sarwat Gillani, Faisal Rehman, Imran Abbas, Deepti Gupta, Adeel Ahmed, Tania Kazi, Badar Khalil, Shamim Hilali and Ismat Zaidi.
The story begins with Zeenia (Deepti Gupta) and Danish (Faisal Rehman) living happily as friends for ten long years in the US. Both of them have a special liking for each other but no declarations of love or verbal commitments are made between the two. Things change drastically when Danish’s mother pressurizes him into getting married to her best friend’s daughter Mahi (Sarwat Gillani) although Danish makes it clear that he wants to get married to Zeenia. His mother feels Zeenia is too old and modern and she wants him getting married to a girl who is much younger and prettier. The marriage takes place but Danish never accepts this relationship whole heartedly, he cannot help but constantly compare Mahi with Zeenia, who just cannot come up to those standards no matter how hard she tries. Mahi’s cousin Jawad (Imran Abbass) falls in love with Zeenia and he makes Zeenia realize that she too deserves to be appreciated. I am not going to go into the details of the story because people who are reading the review have either watched the play already or may want to watch it so I wouldn’t want to give away too many details.
Here are few aspects of the play that make it a must-watch
The story is new and free of clichés
The story of Malal does not revolve around a zalim saas and a mazloom baho, there are no never-ending misunderstandings between the hero and heroine and guess what there are no heroes and heroines in this one at all but just real people who everyone can relate to. There are no villains either!!! Moreover, It is not the story of a rich boy marrying a poor girl.
It is a brand new story which sets new standards.
*It is not alright to befriend people over the internet but even if you do it isn’t that big a mistake!
*It is perfectly alright to marry a woman much older than you if there is mental compatibility. Age is not a factor in marriage but compatibility is.
*An independent working woman wants and deserves to be loved too!
*We have a set of parents in the play who are open-minded and understanding.
*The writer does not rely on dramatic twists to keep the viewers engaged because the conversations are enough to keep you glued to the screen.
Watch it for the excellent characterizations
I must say that I had a difficult time disliking any of the characters except when Danish was being very selfish and unreasonable. All the characters are very relatable; you feel whatever they are going through every step of the way. All the actors have done a commendable job.
When Mahi got married to Danish, I got the feeling that maybe the writer was trying to prove that a girl like her couldn’t be a good wife but gradually she learned everything and was doing great. Mahi may have been fun, bubbly and young but she was willing to learn to be responsible and she did. She tried to save her relationship but when she found out that Danish never loved her she decided to move on. Sarwat Gillani is picture perfect as the innocent, naive, immature but still very likeable Mahi. Sarwat Gillani’s voice is very nasal in the entire serial probably because they were shooting in very cold weather and she had a constant flu.
Zeenia’s character had to be my favorite in the play. Zeenia is someone who was brought up by relatives and friends because she came from a broken home. Having lived that kind of a life, Zeenia thinks that pleasing people was the only way to win their love. Zeenia’s character is kind, soft hearted , fair but very strong. I loved the way she decided to keep her distance from Danish once he was married. Deepta Gupta’s perfect portrayal of Zeenia’s character made me feel for her and also made me fall in love with her character over and over again. Deepita’s eyes speak a thousand words, something you can’t help noticing.
Zeenia had been in Danish’s life for so long that he didn’t know how to live without her. The marriage was too sudden and he never allowed himself to fall in love with his new wife. Faisal Rehman is among my favorite actors. He breathed life into his character by
adding his own touch to it.
Jawad’s character is very inspiring, we definitely need to see more men (boys) like him in our dramas. Jawad is a very open minded person who knows exactly what he wants from life. He is confident and likeable throughout the play. I must confess that I am not a big fan of Imran Abbass but I especially liked him in this play.
Saifee’s character is also an important part of the story. Saifee is a young boy who doesn’t know how to cope with the situation he has been put into and therefore ends up making a big mistake. His character is vital to the story because the aftermath of his actions serves as a reality check for many.
The actress who played the role of Zeenia’s friend and the actor who played her husband deserve a special mention here. It was refreshing to see new talented actors on screen. The relationship between these two added a balance to the story; they went to show that all marriages are not dysfunctional!
All the characters big or small have something to add to the story. All the actors playing these characters are very well-suited for these roles.
Superb and meticulous direction
Mehreen Jabbar handles all the tracks in the story with finesse. The relationship between different characters is gratifying in more ways than one. Mehreen Jabbar is known to create such chemistry between all the actors that the viewers can’t help but relate to the dynamics that exist between them. You don’t feel bored listening to the long conversations between the characters because the setting is just perfect for every scene. The play is laced with moments that stay with you long after you are done watching a certain episode. Except for the confusion regarding the age difference between Jawad and Zeenia in different scenes, everything is picture perfect.
There is a lot of talking in the play but you can’t help but rejoice every second of it. Malal is sweet and sensitive. It was very refreshing to watch something different written by Umera Ahmed. I recommend it to everyone who is looking for something different, engaging and unhurried. It is compact, effective and definitely a must-watch!
Afzal’s longing for Farah has attained another level where he craves for Farah but cannot express,where he dreams for her but forgets everything everytime she comes infront of him. With a hope of making Farah a permanent part of his life, he asked his parents to visit Farah’s parents but he never counted the real life consequence in his plan. And when he got rejected by Farah,he was back to what he was before – rather even worse than ever before. He was unable to bear the pain of letting Farah go out of his life and to keep his mind distracted of her thoughts, he adopted every bad thing that can help him to forget the refusal.Farah did no good by insulting Afzal; Poor Afzal was unable to utter a single word after hearing what she said.
Jo chup kharay gaalyaan sun laitay hain na woh badnaam nahi kartay..
Lubna was so right about Afzal ; How can he even think of destroying Farah’s image in other’s eye. Afzal was one of his own kinds and Lubna knew it very well. Afzal knows how to respect women and if Farah was sensible enough, she might had the whole “8 lakh waali nokri” in mind for which she hired him. If not then than how can he think of putting a question mark on her character now. She made Farah realize that she should have shown patience which she lacks.
Afzal was all set to leave Hyderabad but it was his concern,love and respect for his mother that was not letting him take this very step.
Mera Zameer mujhe keh raha hai k chala jaa..
Tou phir maa se kyu pooch rahay ho chalay jao..
Chala jaoun ga Saajid, bus mujhe koi ye bata dai k maa bari hai ya zameer bara hai..
And at that very moment, his friend,Saajid,was completely short of words. The whole sequence, the silence with which Afzal left and the answer Alladyo gave, Batao na uss ko.. Maa bari hoti hai.. left mark deep inside my heart. This is the beauty of Khalil ur Rehmaan dialogues – When everything seems quiet, silence breaks the ice.
I really like the fact that both Afzal and Farah’s family share good regards for each other. Unlike typical serials,where after being insulted or rejected, all families are left with is rivalry or somewhat close to that.
Arifa turned out to be evil yet concerned tonight when she came to know that her brother was insulted by Farah right in the middle of street.Her reaction to the situation was too natural to believe and I literally felt that I was watching a real life scene; the strength of siblings relation was at its peak today.
Arifa knows when and how to react.She has all the elements that make a perfect sister – she smiles when she sees her brother happy, she cries when her brother betrays her and she can even switch herself into an evil immediately as and when she feels that her brother was insulted.Indeed,she is a typical eastern sister and I mean no harm in saying that!
Arifa revealed the letters mystery infront of Farah and Lubna and by the time, I was completely convinced that it will be Farah as she knows that Afzal won’t reveal her identity out of respect,she played with her emotions just like typical rich spoil girls by writing him letters.But I was proved wrong next minute when Farah visited Arifa and clarified everything infront of her mother. It was so nice and surprising to see how blindly Afzal’s mother trusted Farah.
From asking for coffee to the gift they gave, every action of Afzal’s family was depicting that how open heartedly and without holding any grudge,they welcomed Farah and Lubna.
It was so sad to see Afzal stepping in gambling again; I mean there are other ways with the help of which a person can keep oneself distracted from all the thoughts but for Afzal,if not gambling, than what would it be ?Afzal packed his belongings as he finally came to a decision that he will no longer stay in Hyderabad.After watching tonight’s episode,according to me, these lines fit best on Afzal’s situation:
Jisay mai keh nahi sakta usai mai farz karta houn.. Chalo mai farz karta houn, mujhe tum se mohabbat hai..
I would love to read your comments about today’s episode.
A few of our readers insisted on expanding our drama review section. So I’ll be reviewing the drama Bay Emaan Mohabbat going forward. Written by Amir Raza and directed by Kashif Nisar and Sohail Irfan, the drama airs every Sunday on ARY Digital. We’re six weeks into the drama already and till now we’ve established three main tracks. The first revolves around Dania (Saba Qamar) who’s engaged to a man she loathes- Naeem (Adnan Shah Tipu). Dania belongs to a middle class background but dreams of living a luxurious life. Naeem is a simpleton who’s biggest achievement was getting engaged to Dania. He’s a lowly clerk in a government office and Dania hates everything about him. She constantly expresses her dissatisfaction to her mother (Laila Zuberi) but her mother tries to make her understand that she too had to settle for a man like her father since she belonged to a middle class family and one of the main struggles was finding a suitable spouse.
Despite her engagement, Dania is having an affair with her next-door neighbour Babar (Agha Ali). Babar is a frustrated, good-for-nothing guy who was coerced into getting engaged to his older cousin, Sobia (Uzma Hassan). Sobia happens to be Dania’s best friend and confides every little intimate detail to her. Dania uses the information to her advantage to continue her affair with Babar. Babar scoffs at Sobia every chance he gets, in an attempt to make her hate him so she would call of the engagement since he doesn’t have the guts to do so.
The final track is that of Maria (Samiya Mumtaz)- a blind lady who has inherited her father’s enormous wealth. She is married to an opportunist, Nabeel (Nauman Ejaz) who runs her business for her. They have been married a long time but are childless. Nabeel is cheating on Maria with his co-worker who is a social climber. Maria suspects her husband is unfaithful and has hired a private detective to snoop around.
In the recent episode, Naeem has secured a part-time evening job at Nabeel’s organization so this is probably how their lives will intertwine in the coming episodes. Bay Emaan Mohabbat is a simple story about desires and the outcomes of those desires. So far, it’s progressing at a steady pace and although there are no real WOW factors, it’s engaging nonetheless. To put it simply- Love, Life, Lahore!
Have you been watching Bay Emaan Mohabbat? What character do you like/ dislike? Do you think you’ll continue watching it till the end?
It is sad that our media always gives more importance to artists from across the border but not our own celebrities. Sana Khan’s death was not even reported by the media hours after it happened. I was expecting different channels to host special shows for her because she was part of their media family but nothing like that happened. There are so many people out there who want to express their emotions but no such platform has been provided by the electronic media. Not only this her fans would also like to know more about her from her friends and families. I want to thank Aplus for dedicating their morning show to remembering the young and ambitious girl whose death left many in shock. It gave her fans a chance to know more about her. The show was very emotional.
Many of us who have not seen Sana Khan’s dramas still know her because she recently got married to Babar khan. The video was seen by everyone who uses the internet and so were the photographs. But how much do we really know about her as a person. Aplus invited all the people who had worked with Sana perhaps because her family members are not comfortable with talking about her right now. That could also be the reason that other channels have not come up with such special shows but right now anything at all they can do would show to her fans and her family that the media cares. I had no idea that Sana Khan had decided to quit showbiz after her marriage. Everyone who has not watched the Aplus special show for Sana Khan should watch it.
None of the morning shows hosts even bothered to go easy on the make up or the heavy dressing while hosting the next show after Sana Khan’s death. If they could not dedicate a whole show to her, they could have at least cut down on the make up. Even the people who had never met her were in a state of mind that they could not enjoy anything but some people in the industry sadly believe in the notion “out of sight, out of mind”.
I am shocked at how lightly the media has taken this sad incident.
It has been reported that Annie Jaffery got married a couple of weeks back. There isnot any buzz about her wedding on Television but I found enough news on social media. Annie got engaged to 32 years old UK resident,Faris Rehman in Oct,2013. Out of all three days, I loved her Mehndi costume and overall get up; It was different from conventional Mehndi getups.Annie looked ravishing in emerald Green Velvet choli and red and green Chunari Lehnga.Alongwith that, her Maatha Patti was equally complementing her charming look ( I have hardly seen any bride who looked good with Maatha Patti).
Enjoy the wedding pictures :
We wish the couple best of health and prosperity.
I have told mine, which one turns out to be your favorite look of Annie among all three days ?
As a follow up to my earlier article about the quintessential man in our dramas, (Read article here: https://reviewit.pk/the-quintessential-male-of-pakistani-dramas/), let’s take a closer look at our female lead. Since most of our dramas are women-centric, it’s only fitting that we list out some of those unique qualities that distinguish them from others.
Here’s a look at what comprises the quintessential woman in our dramas:
She believes her husband will live up to every promise he has ever made while courting her.
She puts up with her mother-in-law’s unfair treatment towards her and continues to try her utmost to please her by getting up early, taking care of her tea-making duties, scraping and scrubbing without a single “uff”. It doesn’t matter that her mother-in-law continues voicing her contempt, she’s after the “Bahu of the Year Award”.
When her husband slaps her, she keeps her silence since how could she possibly tell her parents how her husband really is.
When her mother-in-law accuses her of having an affair, she cries her lungs out and would even drop to her knees and beg her mother-in-law to believe in her piety.
When her husband questions her about the father of her baby, she suddenly turns silent and her only response is “Kya aap mujhe itna gira hua samajhte hein?”
When her husband divorces her in a jiffy, she remains distraught for months endlessly and finds it difficult to convince anyone that it wasn’t due to any fault of hers. She loses her self-esteem and wonders what went wrong!
She befriends the woman who is after her husband and in-fact, on more occasions than one, trusts her husband blindly enough to leave him alone with the other woman.
When her husband takes a second wife, she is ready to accept and forgive him so long as he stays with her.
She complies with the unreasonable house-arrest restrictions placed upon her by her mother-in-law.
She keeps her silence and doesn’t confide in her husband when another man- be it her husband’s brother or an ex-stalker are pursuing her.
She thinks that cooking hearty meals are sufficient to keep her man. She neglects herself completely and is more than content being a housemaid and puts her husband and in-laws first.
Her family and friends constantly remind her how lucky she is to be married and she feels truly blessed!
How many more can you add to the list? I’d love to hear your take. P.S This article is a satirical take on the female lead and is not intended to offend any actor in particular.
Characterization is indeed very necessary in every play. Every character is very important which contributes in driving the play from top to bottom. Variety of characters in a play is very important in order to attract audience. When a writer design characters for the story, He/she pay special attention towards the fact that for which purpose they are designing characters. We all know that not every character will give a positive vibe and not all characters will give a negative vibe and even some characters changed from positive to negative and negative to positive in a story. So there is a huge responsibility on actors/actresses to understand the nature of character before performing and in my opinion the successful actors/actresses are those ones who can blend themselves very well according to the nature of characters and should be able to bend and conform themselves according to the situation because many actors/actresses lacks when a twist comes in a play and they are failed to conform themselves according to the scenario.
Characters also throws messages for example the character of AFZAL in drama Pyaray Afzal throws a strong message of honesty and faith. So where writers write positive and negative characters they also write some irritating characters and their purpose is to irritate audience normally these types of characters can be found when actors are playing negative characters. Sometimes writers include irritation in negative characters and sometimes when actors are performing negative characters they themselves make the character irritating through their bad performance and acting.
So I have made a list of some irritating characters that were and are being shown in dramas:
Faraz of Ankahi: I know that this character is a lead character alongside taimoor and sana’s character but honestly speaking I found this character very irritating, on few occasions this character was good. I have watched the drama ankahi on internet so I have an option available that every time this man comes in a scene I have forwarded those scenes. I guess for specifically that purpose Haseena Moin have written this character because if you have noticed he was after sana in a quite irritating manner. This character was well performed by Javiad Sheikh.
Sheena of Dhoop Kinarey: I simply hate this lady in this drama, oh and the screeching voices she had made while crying I got no choice but to forward her scenes. She had given Zoya really tough times in order to get Dr Ahmer and literally while watching this drama I felt that I should strangle her. This character is portrayed to irritate people and Badar Khalil had played this character really well.
Fiza of Daam: This drama is absolutely a gem by Umera Ahmed and I consider it as one the best plot by Umera Ahmed because it is a different story from her usual trend to show marital affairs, evil husbands and mother in laws. Like me I am sure many people are irritated by the character of Fiza because the way she had made plans to destroy Zara and Junaid lives and in the end she was quite successful in it. Despite debut performance Sanam saeed was successful to irritate people through her negative character, indeed a great job by Sanam saeed.
Tabinda of Shehr e Zaat: Young smart business man salman running his father’s factory fell in love with an uneducated and unattractive woman Tabinda despite having a beautiful and modern wife Falak. Surely bangali baba’s love potion worked fine on salman, I should have recommended falak to do so as well. Tabinda is a perfect example of an irritated character but the good thing is that she had appeared less in this drama. The whole drama was not appealing to me despite having a brilliant story and a good cast. Anyways Nadia Afgan is another talented lady who performs supporting roles very well.
Faiqa (Aarzoo’s mother) in Kankar: This drama is nothing but another set of petty issue by Umera Ahmed showing “mazloom aurtein” that’s it. The whole drama revolves around marriages and marriages but overall this drama was interesting as conspiracies were made against Kiran and Kiran fought against those conspiracy with such bravery that’s why everyone was telling her “Kiran tum buhat bahadur ho”. Amongst conspiracy makers the biggest conspirator was Aarzo’s mother Faiqa, who have not just tried to destroy Kiran’s married life but also destroyed Kiran’ elder sister Erum’s first engagement. This character seems irritating to me since first episode and it becomes more irritating episode by episode. Sabahat Bukhari is another good senior actress.
Khizar of Humsafar: As this is a top rated drama so this character is also a top rated Irritating character. As soon as this character had made an entry in the drama I got a feeling that it will destroy Ashar and Khirad’s life and that’s what exactly happened. Not only we had found this character irritating but Khizar had created Irritation too in the drama, he had literally pissed off Sara like a hell. My sympathies are for sure with Sara.
Zeni of Aik Nayee Cinderella: Those who have watched this drama which is a modern retelling of Cinderella story, then surely you have hated zeni and felt like to kill her. This character was nothing but a pure headache and I forwarded many scenes of Zeni and Mayer. Although in the middle of drama Mayer discovers that Meesha was the one whom he met her in a ship but I guess it would be better if he would have moved on with Zeni. Thank God in the end Meesha rejected Mayer because of his cowardly behaviour and embraced Rooman’s love. Eshita Mehboob’s Character plus her acting made this character irresistible any ways Eshita is a good actress when playing positive roles.
Nigar of Zindagi Gulzar Hai: She was Murtaza’s second wife and most irritating and typical wife I have ever seen whose only work is to investigate about Rafia and her daughters and to pray that nothing happens good in their life. This character is specifically written to irritate people and Shazia Afghan had performed this character beautifully.
Natasha and Rana of Aasmano pe Likha: There are tons of irritating characters in this drama and this drama was nothing but to receive tensions in the name of Natasha and Rana. Rana’s character was same like Nigar in Zindagi Gulzar Hai and Natasha got no job but to scream on Aaliyan every time. I wonder why Aaliyan was tolerating her even at the end he didn’t want Natasha to go away from his life. Natasha’s character is another perfect example of Irritating character. Sanam Ch had done a perfect job her acting was good and you know Saba Faisal she is an extremely talented senior actress.
Meenu of Meri Zindagi Hai Tu: This character was specifically written by Faiza Iftikhar to Irritate people at highest point even people are commenting that Thanks God she died as she is a “Kebab ki Haddi” in Aman’s and Nazo’s life. The success of this character is that people will get irritated by it and so Maya is successful in playing this character.
Hamnah and Nabeel’s mother in Muhabbat Subah Ka sitara Hai: Another drama with tons of Irritating Characters in it but my most votes go to Hamnah who played the role of Nabeel’s sister and her husaband. Indeed Nabeel’s mother is also Irritating but Hamnah and her husband tops the Irritation list because of Hira Tareen’s flop acting and the guy performing her husband role is also very immature in acting.
So which character is irritating in the dramas that you have watched or watching?
Wallah! Another disappointing result. I know that not all of them can win the title but what’s disppointing is the order in which they all are getting eliminated. I am gutted to see another deserving contestant going home this week.
When asked by the contestants about the best performances on the Friday night, their clear picks were Asad Raza Sonu with 4 votes & Mohammad Shoaib with 3, followed by Waqas Ali Vicky, Shahmir Quidwai & Zamad Baig with 1 vote each to their credit. Even the contestants knew who performed well in the Gala round but still the results were shocking.
The first duo that faced the result was of Ali Asad Zaidi & Mohammad Shoaib & as expected they both were safe which makes me happy because Ali Asad Zaidi is performing brilliantly with consistency & Mohammad Shoaib is improving & has a great voice.
After them the trio that came for the results was of Rosemary, Kashif Ali & Asad Raza Sonu. At this point I wasn’t too sure about who’d be safe & who wouldn’t be because Kashif & Asad are great singers & have been performing perfectly while Rosemary was good on the Friday night too. So, yes the first shock of the night came when Asad Raza Sonu was made to sit in the danger zone, leaving Rosemary & Kashif Ali safe from elimination.
The next duo that came in for the results was of Zamad Baig & Waqas Ali Vicky. I was hoping for Waqas Ali Vicky to be safe & yes he was making Zamad Baig the second person to go to the danger zone.
The last duo that came in for the results was of Abdul Rafay Khan & Shahmir Aziz Quidwai. It was a half lucky day for us all to see Shahmir being unsafe & obtaining the last seat of the danger zone, but the good phase came to an end pretty quickly.
It was now time for the final announcement when Zamad Baig, Shahmir Aziz Quidwai & Asad Raza Sonu were told to come on the stage. I hoped that it was Shahmir but to see him go to the safe zone before anyone else was a huge disappointment & sadly the shock didn’t end there because we had to go through another one in the form of an elimination of one of the best singers of the lot & yes, it was unfortunately Asad Raza Sonu.
I am glad he took it positively & the judges were supportive of him too. I have one thing to say here that Hadiqa looked clearly disappointed when Shahmir got safe, so, why don’t they use their energies in letting the whole Pakistan know how much of a weak singer this guy is. She seems to be degrading Waqas Ali Vicky & Mohammad Shoaib clearly may be because she wants to influence the voting trend against them, so why not do it against Shahmir Aziz Quidwai because sorry to say being just the viewers we can clearly pinpoint his weaknesses which they can’t seem to be doing being the judges. There you go people, I can clearly see the Baysura becoming the very first Pakistan Idol, congratulations to the judges for making the biggest mistake by selecting him. Job well done guys!
Anyways, I wish luck, power, success & a brighter future to Asad Raza Sonu.
Keep Supporting,
Cheers, Zahra Mirza.
ps: Can someone wipe that smug look off his face? I think if Shahmir is a dignified person, he must leave his seat gracefully for any deserving contestant.
Imran Abbas, who is absent from television dramas for quite a while now, will be seen on big screen in his first Bollywood movie Creature. Imran has not been working in television dramas, since he signed this film, his only appearance was in drama Dil-e-Muztar in this duration.
Now finally the release date of film is announced to be in June 2014. It is second overall film of Imran, earlier he has worked in Pakistani film Waapsi in 2006
After successful launch of first Service HUM Awards last year, the ceremony of second Service HUM Awards is announced to be held on 29 March 2014 in Karachi. The awards will be decided by a mixed criteria of popular choice and jury choice. In four categories awards will be decided on popular choice vote. These categories and nominations are as mentioned below:
Best On Screen Couple
Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed – Zindagi Gulzar Hai
Imran Abbas Naqvi and Sanam Jung – Dil-e-Muztar
Fahad Mustafa and Sanam Baloch – Kankar
Best Drama
Zindagi Gulzar Hai
Dil-e-Muztar
Aseerzadi
Humnasheen
Kankar
Ullu Baraye Farokht Nahi
Rehaai
Rishtay Kuch Adhoray Se
Mujhe Khuda Pe Yaqeen Hai
Best Male Actor
Noman Ejaz – Rehaai
Ahsan Khan – Mujhe Khuda Pe Yaqeen Hai
Adnan Siddiqui – Humnasheen
Mikaal Zulfiqar – Mujhe Khuda Pe Yaqeen Hai
Imran Abbas Naqvi – Dil-e-Muztar
Fahad Mustafa – Kankar
Fawad Khan – Zindagi Gulzar Hai
Best Female Actor
Sanam Saeed – Zindagi Gulzar Hai
Sanam Jung – Dil-e-Muztar
Sania Saeed – Aseerzadi
Saba Qamar – Ullu Baraye Farokht Nahi
Yumna Zaidi – Rishtay Kuch Adhooray Se
Sanam Baloch – Kankar
Samina Peerzada – Rehaai
Tonight’s episode, the season finale of TUC- The Lighter Side of Life had Fawaad Khan as a guest. This was the most awaited show of the season since Fawaad has a huge fan following. The preview seemed to hint at a very entertaining episode but unfortunately for me, it seemed half-baked. There wasn’t enough oomph- Fawaad and Mahira who shared incomparable chemistry on Humsafar had absolutely no rapport on the talk-show. See preview here:
I’ve said it before, the show has plenty of potential. But Mahira wasn’t the best fit probably because she isn’t as comfortable extempore. Given a script, she has done wonders but as a talk- show host, she is far from the big league. Maybe the creators need to look into this before the start of the next season.
Getting back to today’s episode, there were some light moments- the Humsafar parody attempt was strictly okay- not overly humorous. However, Fawaad nailed the “Mummy, ye aap kya keh rahiye hein”. Fawaad is a self-proclaimed introvert which was evident here as he barely spoke unless spoken to. Fawad spoke a bit about the love of his life- his wife Sadaf, his initial days acting in “Jatt and Bond”, his personal opinion about fame and how he hasn’t allowed it to take over his life. I guess it might have helped that he hails from a middle class background that has kept him level-headed. The rapid fire round, or Turki ba Turki was a little mundane and I think on more than one occasion Mahira tried to extract some information about Shaan but she failed. Still, I had sky-high expectations of this episode. Fawaad and Mahira’s reunion on the set should have been phenomenal. Yet, there was something missing- maybe they should have invited Naveen Waqar to spice things up. Just saying!
I have found that the episodes where the guests take over like the one with Adeel Hussain and Shereyaar Munawwar or the one with Sanam Saeed and Ayesha Omer were far more interesting and the conversations were flowing naturally. Here, that wasn’t the case.
Mahira’s hair and wardrobe haven’t been top notch. For the life of me I fail to understand why they couldn’t get a more ethnic wardrobe for her. There’s no dearth of talented fashion designers and surely what better way to broadcast our flair for Pakistani fashion!
Have you been watching the show? What did you think about tonight’s episode? Was it one of your favorite ones?
Premiere of Bollywood film ‘Total Syaapa’ is held in Karachi on 7th March 2014. The film stars famous singer and actor Ali Zafar who also participated in the event. The event is also attended by famous celebrities including Humayun Saeed, Humaima Malick, Shamon Abbasi, Feroz Malik, Amanah Sheikh, Aijaz Aslam, Faakhir Mehmood, Ali Azmat, Asif Raza Mir , Maira Khan and others.
Ali Zafar thanked his fans and followers saying support of Pakistani fans has contributed a great deal towards his success.
Singer Huma Khawaja has released a new video of her song Justuju. The video starring Huma Khawaja and Jared Schaefer is shot in Houston, United States. Huma Khawaja has released this song after a long gap.
Huma Khawaja got fame for being part of Pakistan’s first female pop band ‘Symphony’ in 1990’s. Her famous album is Laaj. Professional wise Huma is an air hostess, but she also pursue singing.
Round 2 of Who Will Win Shaam was not the least bit engaging. This was a filler episode which did not add much to the story. Shaam continued to “care” for Sehrish although he has decided to divorce her. The logic that he wanted to end this relationship on a good note sounded very twisted to me because when you divorce someone who loves you, you can’t possibly expect that person to have fond memories of you. Saniya continuously doubted Shaam’s intentions but that was of no consequence because he has made a decision and he will stick to it. I understand that the drama is titled Shukk but I must say that the word Shukk has been overused in the play! The story has come to a standstill now. If Shaam and Saniya are living in Sehrish’s house then they should move out without even thinking twice because I am sure many viewers like me are not interested in watching these two women making 2 cups of tea and arguing over who will have dinner with Shaam!
News flash…Sania samajhdari dikhatey dikhatey tang aa gaye hai!! But Shaam still has a very high opinion of her although she is not the person she once was. If Sehrish was being selfish and unreasonable at one time then Saniya is doing the same now. Her insecurities are getting the best of her. The dialogue “tumhari hur cheez ka khayal amanat samaj ke kiya hai, meinay tumahara kuch nahi churaya” was rather ironic! Saniya is slowly turning into Sehrish…does Ehtesham know what he is getting himself into? At least Sehrish was original, Saniya is turning out to be a cheap copy of his first wife who he does not even like anymore!
Everything that Roomi has gone through in the past few months has changed how he feels about his mother. There was a time when he used to run to Saniya for comfort and support but now he does not have that kind of faith in his mother. Saniya can blame Sehrish all she wants but the fact is that her relationship with Roomi has not been her top priority in the past few months.
After watching the previous episode I was quite convinced that Shaam still loved Sehrish but my opinion has completely changed after watching tonight’s episode – that is Shukk for you!! I really felt like Shaam had moved on and there was no place for Sehrish in his life. Sehrish’s attempts to win him over totally put me off, I really would like her to move on with life because there is no point of running after someone who does not love you anymore. That is especially true for someone like Shaam who didn’t take very long to fall out of love with Sehrish. He still feels there is nothing wrong with “flirting” with Sehrish to make her feel better!
I must say that the play has been elevated to excellence because of the extraordinary performances by all the actors and the superior quality of direction but the obsession with stretching stories unnecessarily in order to make the most of the viewership of a certain play leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I wish our producers in particular would understand that. Tonight’s episode was strictly okay. I really want to know where is Ehtesham’s mother and what happened to Ali!!! The preview of the next episode did not give away much and this particular episode did not give me much to look forward to!
Don’t forget to share your thoughts about this episode.
There are a number of Pakistani celebrities who are highly brand conscious and pick ones which have a standard and name in market as their own choice. Some of those brand conscious Pakistani celebrities are:
Sanam Saeed:
She is the kind of Pakistani actress who loves to wear western outfits more and still managed to look really beautiful in them. She is known for her brand consciousness and loves to wear KHAADI a lot. According to her the clothes are very much trendy and it is easy to carry yourself around in them but no matter what she wears she will always be admired by all of her fans for her way of dressing.
Fawad Khan:
Fawad khan is one of those celebrities of Pakistan who are highly brand conscious and in his case, it is his own clothing line known by the name of SILK BY FAWAD KHAN. He has recently launched a new store in Lahore and is in collaboration of this line with his wife Sadaf Khan.
Ayesha Omar:
She is one of the most renowned actress and model of Pakistan and for her it is all about style and being brand conscious. She is fonder of beautiful accessories and jewelry than any other Nike bracelets and charms like little hearts, crosses and fairies are her favorites and she loves to wear diamond stuff which is arranged in turn with some very precious stones including emerald and sapphire.
Hadiqa Kiani:
She is the famous Pakistani singer and model and sis known very much for being brand conscious. She is in love with her own brand named KAMLEE, having dresses all boutiques designed and are available in all sizes and colors according to the modifications a person may like. Conferring to her, better designing and branding is the only thing that makes her fabric world more burgeoning.
Mikaal Zulfiqar:
He is one of the top rising stars of Pakistani TV and fashion industry. He is now appearing on many channels altogether and is brand ambassador of many brands as well, making him a brand conscious person. He loves to wear the dresses designed by Nabeel and Aqeel outfits as he calls the designs his inspiration. He like keeping things composed between subjective and professional life and it is imperative for him to retain both of them seamless and of a precise standard.
So what are your stands on the list above? Share your views,
What makes a drama hit? There are a hundred factors that play an important role in determining the success of the drama and here are some of the suggested factors that can play a major role in making any TV drama serial super hit, as per my observation.
Have a look!
05. Well Written Script:
The main essence that any drama has is its script but the main question is if everyone settles with it. Dramas are basically an imitation of what’s actually happening in our daily life so if the script s really powerful and well written and is able to reflect the actual happenings of the surroundings without having to have a bad impact on the story line then it will have much more possibilities to flourish in the audience and possible niche.
04. Well Executed Direction:
It is the duty of the director to have an entire overlook of the drama and make sure that the quality of the script remains constant and actors are able to perform according to the character they are playing in the production which requires multitasking and inspiration. A well-executed direction means that the director has got an artistic vision and he is very much able to execute the required magic in the spectacle.
03. Timings of the Drama:
The timings at which these drama serials should be aired are of crucial importance as well. It has been surveyed that most of the people enjoy primetime shows on TV as compared to those being put on show late night.
02. The OST:
Without a soundtrack the drama has no soul whatsoever because it shows the inner asset and the perceptions of any drama serial before it has been released. Having a good soundtrack will help directors slide the whole landing of any drama. It has happened with a number of TV drama serials that the title song has given a comprehensive well-appointed look to the entire text and recital and because music is forever, a soundtrack may have an undying impact on the audience.
01. The cast:
When it comes to casting the crew, having the most wanted people in your group is an ultimate requirement. A good actor must know how to deliver the dialogue, how to interpret emotions and bring the liquor of reality in his/her performance. Audience today is clever enough to know if the cast of any dram serial is well chosen or not and they know if any actor is being a dummy or a genuine one thus attracting their attention towards their work.
So these were 5 of the most important elements that I think, play a vital role in making a drama hit.
As soon as I have finished watching last episode of this drama I cannot stop myself to explain this drama. I am noticing that A&B Productions are now giving some quality dramas example Aik Nayee Cindrella, Ranjeesh Hi Sahi, Aasmano Pe Likha etc.
BRILLIANCE OF FAIZA IFTIKHAR
This drama is an unusual story by Fiaza Iftikhar, Faiza Iftikhar truly deserve round of applause for writing such entertaining stories. Her stories are always different and that’s why she holds a unique position amongst all writers AUNN ZARA is the best example of one of her stories. Faiza Iftikhar’s stories are not only different but the character she portrays in her every play are interesting. I have never seen such distinctive characters in any other writers’ stories, it seems like she pays special attention for designing characters to attract audience. Other writers write good stories but they only design one strong character. Faiza Iftikhar do not design strong characters unlike others instead she design interesting characters and that’s her speciality which no writer got.
I have started watching this drama very lately because I have heard that this drama is also a drift by Faiza Iftikhar like Khoya Khoya Chand but I would say that they were wrong. I started watching this drama when I read some good views about it later on and from the first glance this drama attracted me.
This story is about the trio Aman, Nazneen(Nazo) and Narmeen Safeer(Meenu) and their life which is on a roller coaster ride. Now I will tell you the short stories of these main characters and I will include some other important characters as well who made this story much more interesting.
MAIN CHARACTERS OF DRAMA
AMAN: He was engaged to Nazu and deeply loves her and always expresses her feelings. He loves every person who is in Nazu’s life and in Nazu’s life there is only person and that is her niece Meenu. Aman develops close friendship with her and this friendship is so strong that he shares everything with Meenu more than Nazu and that’s the reason why he always fell in the trap of meenu. When Nazu misunderstood him he refuses to marry her and also held her responsible for Meenu’s death. Later on he married her on his parents request and also understood Nazu afterwards. The problem with Aman is that he loves Nazu and Meenu but failed to understand both of them and this is the beauty of this character who expresses feelings but never understands other feelings. Ahsan Khan was good but I found some flaws when he is playing this character. However his acting in 2nd last episode was mind blowing and he again proven himself a great actor.
NAZNEEN (NAZU): She was enagaged to Aman, she also loves Aman but never expressed her feelings as she is a shy personality. She lost her parents in her childhood and her sister and brother in law also dies in a tragic car accident, she took care of Meenu her niece after their death. When Nazu moved into Aman’s house after her sister and brother in law’s death she diverted her attention to Aman’s family matters and she started investigating about Aman’s Big brother Anas affection towards other girl. This had allowed Meenu to come closer to Aman and Meenu started sharing all her problems with Aman. Nazu also have never expressed feelings to Aman in fact on wedding day she misunderstood Aman and when Meenu killed herself, Nazu held herself responsible for her death. So in a nutshell Nazu although understands everyone but never tries to come closer to her own ones who are Aman and Meenu. Ayeza Khan in a usual role had done absolute justice to this character.
NARMEEN (MEENU): Meenu is a character of selfish and stubborn girl who withstand no one in front of her stubbornness and whatever she decides to do she will do without caring for anyone even when she felt the guilt that she had done wrong with aman and nazo she decided to kill herself and hence she attempts suicide without thinking about her aunt nazo. Meenu reaching at the age of 18 misunderstood the love of Aman and because of this she started creating misunderstandings between Aman and Nazu. She later kills herself when she realizes she had done wrong with both of them and her death results in patch up of Nazu and Aman. The actual success of this character is that people got irritated from Meenu and for exactly that purpose faiza iftikhar had written this character. Maya had made this character absolutely successful especially I was stunned by her acting when she performs the death scene. I have never seen such a painful death scene, literally I got goose bumps while watching this scene round of Applause for Maya.
AHAD: This is the most interesting character of the whole drama. Ahad is Aman’s youngest brother and the most sensible brother amongst all. His decisions and advices had always been helpful for the whole family. His each and every step is towards betterment of the family. He helped Aman a lot in making decisions and explaining different situations and also helped Nazu when she came to knew about Anas’s affair. He tried a lot to stop Meenu by making dangerous plans to destroy Aman and Nazu’s Relation but failed. However at the end he was the only one to explain Aman without telling the reality of Meenu that he was doing wrong with Nazu and Nazu is not responsible for Meenu’s Death and how Nazu needs his support after Meenu’s death. Yasir Shoro had performed this character splendidly, he is a talented actor no doubt.
Some other characters: RODABA: She was Nazu’s sister in law at first she didn’t like Nazu as she wants Aman to get married to her sister. However when Nazu helped her by telling the secret of her Husband’s affair she changed her thinking towards Nazu and started supporting her. She was the one who gave idea in last episode to leave Aman and Nazu alone so that they can rectify their misunderstandings.
Anus: He is Rodaba’s husband, because of rodaba’s arrogant behaviour he decided to marry other girl but the other girl was two steps ahead of rodaba. When Nazu opened his secret, Rodaba decided to go away from his life but at the end Anus convinced her to stay after realising his mistake and rodaba’s changed positive nature.
Bella: She was Meenu’s best friend, at first she was the one gave stupid advices to Meenu that Aman loves her but afterwards realises that she had done wrong and she tried to stop Meenu as well but she also failed. She felt regret after Meenu’s death.
FLAWS IN DRAMA:
There are indeed many flaws in the drama but I will tell two. First is that Aman and Nazu got engaged for almost 10 years but never get married with each other in fact Aman’s parents never forces Aman to get married, second is when meenu is attempting suicide through gas leakage no one felt the smell of gas.
The common flaw is that this drama got dragged long way for no reason, after 13 episodes the drama becomes lame as hell and seriously I also started to lose interest and that’s why I have missed some episodes in between which are totally useless and a waste of time. Don’t know why our directors love to drag dramas to 25 episodes and just because of this a good story is destroyed. After episode 13 only episode 22, 23 and 24 is engaging one. The dragging has destroyed this wonderful story and drama.
So have you watched this drama? if Yes then please share your views. Again I am saying if you want to criticise then criticise drama not me personally
It was a great episode with an amazing theme of Party songs & with some fun-filled performances. The guest judge was also one of my favourites & I am sure everyone loves his song ‘Dekha Na Tha’.
I was surprised to see his performance in tonight’s episode because his energy was reciprocal of his age. It was so good to see Alamgir come to Pakistan Idol & give pointers to the contestants & also to the judges too. :)
I am not sure what’s going on but seems like Hadiqa Kiyani was on a justification spree tonight. She seemed too explanatory as if she herself is now getting conscious of public’s opinion about her judgement.
The list of performances of tonight’s episode is as follows:
Asad Raza Sonu (RS) of Lahore sang ‘Dil Mai Baji Guitar’ from the Indian movie ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’. He was good at it & glad that he chose a different song. I think as the weeks are passing by he is proving himself to be versatile, which is great. Alamgir said that without getting into the details he found his performance really good. Bushra said Sonu is one of her favourites & he did complete justice to the mood of the song. Hadiqa said he had a clear voice, clear notes & clear expressions in this performance. Ali liked his performance as well.
Rosemary (RM) of Karachi sang ‘Pardah’ from the Indian movie ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbai’.She was amazing this time around, the start was perfect but yes she struggled a bit in the middle of the song, otherwise on the whole her performance was amazing. Alamgir said he was surprised to see such a young girl having a mature voice. Hadiqa said her energy was amazing & this was a difficult song which she sang with perfect notes. Ali said she chose a scale out of her range but otherwise he liked her performance & Bushra once again felt that she had the breathing issue but overall she liked her singing as well.
Waqas Ali Vicky (WV) of Mian Channu sang ‘Jeene Ke Hain Char Din’from the Indian movie ‘Mujhse Shadi Karogi’. I enjoyed his performance, I think he pushed himself hard & he nailed it but the comments that he got were shocking. Ali didn’t like his song choice & said he didn’t think the song matched the theme of the episode. Hadiqa agreed to Ali & felt that the energy was missing & his voice wasn’t syncing well with the song. Bushra wasn’t happy either & Alamgir said that he wasn’t clear on the notes.
Kashif Ali (KA) of Lahore sang ‘Mai Tere Agal Bagal’from the Indian move ‘Phatta Poster, Nikla Hero’. No doubt he sang it well but very conveniently he picked a slower song again. Ali liked the fact that he chose a song that doesn’t match his personality but thought he sang it well. Bushra whistled for him & said he made us enjoy his song. Alamgir thought he was a complete package & he is a God gifted singer who already sounds professional. Hadiqa started justifying herself as to why she can’t pick any mistakes of Kashif & as always thought he was great.
Mohammad Shoaib (MS) of Peshawar sang Daler Mehandi’s ‘Na Na Na Na Re’. I loved his performance & totally enjoyed it, it was good to see the judges say so many good things about him & fortunately his performance was appreciated too. Bushra said she enjoyed his singing a lot & he has proved his versatility. Ali said that he was happy because Shoaib chose a pop song, no doubt he has sung difficult songs but this time around Ali suggested him to become a pop idol instead of picking the songs that were too mature for his age. Alamgir said he was fantastic & he conveyed the Bhangra feel of the song perfectly. Hadiqa found him improving & liked his performance.
Abdul Rafay Khan (RK) of Karachi sang Sonu Nigham’s ‘Bijuriya’. Not sure why he chose that song because he wasn’t impressive at all. Bushra felt that he got carried away with the excitement that he forgot to take care of his notes. Hadiqa said he has not been consistent & felt his performance was weak right from the start till the end. Ali said his energy was good but he missed the details in his singing tonight. Alamgir felt that he concentrated on the performance & the energy more in stead of the notes.
Shahmir Aziz Quidwai (SQ) of Islamabad sang ‘Dhan Te Nan’ from the Indian movie ‘Kaminay’.He came, he screamed, he left. Ali said he has improved but he fell flat at times too. Bushra said his low notes were weak once again. Alamgir said something is missing because of which each performance of his becomes average (lol). Hadiqa thought that his tonal changes were impressive & a difficult thing to achieve while performing but he kept on missing the notes.
Zamad Baig (ZB) of Mandi Bahauddin sang ‘Mai Tera Hero’ from the Indian movie ‘Desi Boys’.He was good but I felt that he made the song a bit more Punjabi than it was required, I felt that he changed the feel of the song & for that I didn’t enjoy it much. Bushra said that the start was weak & he missed the performance in bits & bobs. Alamgir praised the husk of his voice & said he likes it. Ali said the first impression is the last & his start was weak but he was still good. Hadiqa liked the performance & felt it was soulful.
Ali Asad Zaidi (AZ) of Karachi sang ‘Batameez Dil’from the Indian movie ‘Ye Jawani Hai Deewani’. He owned the song & sang it perfectly, I think he forgot the lyrics by the end of his performance, still he covered it brilliantly. Bushra said she enjoyed it a lot & he was almost flawless. Hadiqa was amazed as to how he memorized such a difficult song, she thought he hadn’t forgotten the lyrics which he actually did. She felt that the energy could’ve been more & he could’ve been better with the notes because he committed some obvious mistakes but overall he was good. Alamgir said he wisely chose a song which was technically easy to perform & commended him for his selection. Ali said he was good in the beginning but clearly missed some notes.
So, this was all about the performances. Instead of a party episode it turned out to be more of a Bollywood tribute because all the songs that were performed were from the Indian movies or Indian singers.
Is it just me or I think Hadiqa Kiyani was being biased again? She found it just so hard to praise Mohammad Shoaib & just very half-heartedly admitted that he is showing some improvement whereas she kept on praising Shahmir which she shouldn’t have because Shoaib is definitely better than him & he deserves more appreciation than Shahmir. Hadiqa also didn’t point out any of Zamad’s mistakes which Bushra & Ali did & very safely she said she liked his performance. I am not sure what’s happening with her?
I was also shocked to hear the judgements on Waqas Ali Vicky’s performance because I felt he chose just the right song for the theme & IF his song wasn’t suitable, the team who helps the contestants with the song choices wouldn’t have approved of his selection if it wasn’t according to the party theme of the episode. In fact I found Kashif’s selection quiet odd because there wasn’t anything party-like in it. Very very conveniently he chose a slow song & wasn’t told off by any of the judges. We clearly have heard he can sing Mika/Kailash Kher type of songs appropriately but now he needs to show his versatility (IF ONLY Hadiqa reminds him of that).
Anyways, the performances I enjoyed the most today were of Rosemary, Mohammad Shoaib & Ali Asad Zaidi. I wasn’t sure about Zamad’s performance & Abdul Rafay Khan was weak this time around. Share about your favourite & the least favourite performances & also what do you think about the judges’ comments?
Pakistan was a country that was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of Subcontinent where there was a Muslim majority. The term Pakistan also had a dual meaning of ‘Land of the Pure’, implicit in that it would enable the population of the new country to rid itself of corruption, class /economic distinction and previously rigid social restriction and move forward on a uniform scale while preserving religious and cultural purity which was degenerating in mainland India where Muslim practices where mixing up and often similar to those practiced by local Indian religions and a gradual deviation from Islamic principles. Isn’t it ironic then that the country that was built on the sacrifices of so many hasn’t lived up to the ideologies on which it was created?
Since this is not a lesson on history neither a political discussion, let’s get back to our dramas and how they depict some of the deviations from Islam that sadly exist in our society. For starters, let’s take weddings. Our weddings are getting more and more elaborate with everyone’s primary objective to display their massive wealth. The bride’s trousseaux (jahez) happens to be a hot topic in many of our dramas even though this is a practice that is prevalent amongst Hindus and is among a growing list of borrowed customs with no religious basis. This has been the cause of many disputes and acts of violence- The drama Aise Jale Jiya dealt with this in much detail.
The issue with daughters being born. Daughters are considered a blessing but sadly some cultures still continue to practice female genocide and abort the girl child. Many of our dramas discuss these issues as if this was a norm in our religion whereas this doesn’t hold true! In Mera Naseeb, the mother-in-law threatens to abort her grandchild upon finding out the gender of the baby!
While there is no defined dress code, Islam stresses on modesty. Why then do we see women wearing saris with their midriff showing? Surely they can just as easily wear a sari with a full-blouse? Revealing clothing seems to be the distinguishing factor between the elite and the middle class. Don’t our dramas over-emphasize that over and over again?
Rituals at the time of death- lately most of our dramas seem to show everyone wearing white on funerals. Where did this concept come from? Again, there is no requirement to wear white to depict sorrow. On the contrary, white represents purity and should be worn for Jumah prayers and weddings. Today’s episode of Mohabbat Subh Ka Sitaara Hai showed everyone wearing white at Nabeel’s funeral.
Breaking of bangles for widows and taking away their jewelery- this one is just a bit much! I saw a scene in Zindagi Tere Bina and was disgusted. Whilst a widow would naturally resort to simplicity, there is absolutely no mention of taking it to such extremes. Seems like Star Plus is inspiring us a little more than we imagined! Treatment of widows is again a hot topic. Islam empowers women and holds them in the highest regard. There should be no discrimination against widows yet in some of our dramas we see widows treated like servants! Same goes for divorcees. This is utterly shameful.
Magic- or Kaala Jadu! How many times do we see this come up in our dramas? People going to esteemed peers for amals. This just goes to show how weak our Imaan is that we would go off running for solutions through any means. Shirk- any association with Allah is the greatest sin. But sadly, this is becoming very commonplace.
Are we really that blind that we have taken on customs that are deeply-rooted in the religious beliefs of those other than Islam? What are some of the things you’ve noticed in our dramas that is completely out of context? P.S The purpose of this article is not to stir a religious debate, rather to highlight how our dramas have taken on other customs as norms.
Most of us already knew what turn the story was going to take from here but I must hand it to Sakina Samo for the way she directed this particular episode. First of all a big thank you to her for not showing us the dead body and for saving us from all the earsplitting wailing which we see in many dramas. The aftermath of Nabeel’s death was not over dramatized. Romaissa cried her heart out in private and just like most of us anticipated the rest of the family did not take very long to get over Nabeel’s death since there were bigger issues at hand!
I must say that I definitely expected Nabeel’s parents to throw Romaissa out of their lives and their house the second Nabeel passed away but I wasn’t expecting them to sink as low as they did. I was quite sure that they will not play dirty games to get hold of Romaissa’s property and would at least let her keep the jewelry Nabeel bought her. Rabbiya’s role in the entire situation was very interesting, she has no idea where this empathy for Romaissa may lead her! I really wanted to see Rabbiya interacting with Romaissa but for some odd reason we have not seen a single scene with both of them together. Zeeshan and Rabbiya are the only people in the family who are willing to stand by Romaissa. Zeeshan’s recollection of Nabeel’s memories was also shown in a very touching way.
Khala’s reaction was exactly the way we had predicted it would be but the good part was that the focus was not on Khala and Aaliya’s reaction but the focus was on how Romaissa felt after Nabeel’s death. Nabeel’s death changed Romaissa’s life in an instant just like his presence in her life changed everything for her.
I could completely relate to Romaissa’s state of mind today and I must say that some of the scenes in tonight’s episode were truly heart-touching and also very short but meaningful. There were plenty of flashbacks scenes in this latest episode but not one of them seemed out of place or insignificant. Romaissa found it hard to believe that all this had actually happened. Was Nabeel a beautiful dream or was this a dreadful nightmare? Romaissa’s state of mind was portrayed perfectly. The way she felt when she entered Khala’s dirty kitchen was heart-wrenching. She thought she had left this life behind, that the nightmare was finally over but there she was again, in the same house with the same people and Nabeel who was like a beautiful dream for her was gone forever. Coping with the death of a life partner is very difficult for anyone at all but it is even more difficult for someone like Romaissa, who has absolutely no one to give her the emotional support she needs. In fact she is surrounded by vultures who want to make the best of the situation she is in.
The lines from the OST that were played in the background added to the entire feel of this episode and for the first time I couldn’t help but listen to the lyrics intently.
I have absolutely no complaints from Sanam Jung tonight because I felt every bit of what her character was going through. In my opinion this was the best directed episode of MSKSH till now. The preview of the next episode was way too elaborate, I feel like I don’t need to watch the next episode because thanks to the elaborate preview I know exactly what is going to happen next! A request to Hum TV…. please don’t be so generous with showing what is coming next.
For any drama to be successful, the audience needs to be receptive of the story and open to ideas that are the brain-child of none other than the writer. While many a times, the story is lost in translation when the director’s vision comes into play (A good example here would be Mohabbat Subh Ka Sitaara).But more often than not, our talented writers deserve a standing ovation for their sheer brilliance and out-of-the-box ideas.
Each writer is renowned for creating a style of their own. Anwar Maqsood, the king of satire, was a visionary who gave us Aangan Terha, Fifty Fifty and even Sitaara Aur Mehrunnisa.
His equally talented sister, Fatima Surrayya Bajia gave us classics that were female-centric like Afshaan, Aroosa, Zeenat, Anarkali.
Haseena Moin is the genius behind Dhoop Kinarey, Tanhaiyyan, Ankahee.
Asghar Nadeem Syed was another writer who gave us Ghulam Gardish, Nijaat, Chaand Grehan.
If we were to fast-forward to present day, some of the biggest successes have 3 very talented women behind them. Samira Fazal is a force to reckon with giving us Mera Naseeb, Vasl and the recent Shukk. It’s quite surprising that she’s also the lady behind Mastaana Mahi, Silvatein and Bari Apa!
Another very talented writer, the 30 something Farhat Ishtiaq is the powerhouse behind Humsafar, Mata-e- Jaan and Rehaii. I find it almost unbelievable that the lady who gave us one of the best romances of all times, also penned the brilliant Rehaii which for me was one of the best dramas of 2013.
And finally, the list would be incomplete without the inclusion of Umera Ahmed. Umera’s focus has been empowering women which is quite evident from some of her best works- Meri Zaat Zarra e Benishaan, Doraha, Daam, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Shehr-e-Zaat, Durr-e- Shehwar.
Other than these hugely popular writers, we also have some great writers who have excelled like Amna Mufti who wrote Ullu Baraye Farrokht Nahin; Faiza Iftikharwho gave us the memorable Aunn Zara; Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar who wrote Pyaare Afzal.
Which of these happen to be your favorite writers? What, according to you, is their best work? Are there any other writers you like?
Tauba! After watching this drama tonight all I could think of was ‘ye manhoos drama kab khatam hoga’. What is happening in this drama & why is it happening? Are they actually having fun by putting us through such a torture on weekly basis? I swear I dread tuning into this drama & it really shows how great a drama is when you watch 40 minutes episode in approx 10 minutes.
There were literally 2 – 3 situations in the drama which were dragged to make an episode out of it. I am not sure what’s happening but I actually am concerned for the director’s mental capability too, I wish he is doing alright because it seems like he was on a high dosage of sleeping pills too when he was directing this play. Tauba tauba!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have travelled all my life & I didn’t know that passports can also be used as telephone diaries. Rehbar happened to get Arez’s friends number through his passport? Hahahahahah!!!!!! What an idea! I am writing all the phone numbers on the empty pages of my passport too, so just in case if I lose my phone somewhere, I’d have a backup at least, nai?
I don’t understand why didn’t they kill Soni when they moved the story forward for 5 years. Instead of showing her as a divorcee, they should’ve shown that she passed away or her husband beat her to death. At least we’d be spared from seeing her face & she’d be spared from all the swearing she gets by being in this play as a character. What’s her fixation with bringing her brother Arez down? That good for nothing mooch.
Arez was having so much fun with his batameez bacha & yes just like Shahrez told his mother that why wouldn’t Arez tell them he was with Ali all this while? I am wondering about that too that what was all this sneaking little act meant for? What a full proof plan Arez had of being with his child when he himself forgot the passport at his place. I am sure Arez borrowed some sleeping pills from Eeshal too & he’s high on them, definitely.
I think Sunny told Arez that he & Eeshal were home-schooling Ali & after looking at Ali’s drawing Eeshal was all surprised asking him who drew it? Being a mother, doesn’t she even know what her only son was capable of? I think Dad was right she shouldn’t have had this baby if she had to put him through this hell. It was Eeshal’s determination to give birth to this baby & now what is she actually doing to him? She has found peace in her pills, so what was the fuss all about that she wanted to save this baby & she even stopped speaking to her father for Ali’s sake & look what she is doing to him. Wallah!
After seeing Dad I was like chalo inhain inke falah-e-behbood k kaam se fursat mil gai k yahan a gaye hain hamara sir khanay & once again he is showing his concern for Eeshal out of the blue. The ending scene was again ridiculous where Eeshal was all druggy & Sunny (who doesn’t need to resort to the drugs because he naturally happens to have that face) were having SUCH A MEANINGFUL conversation without even some suitable dialogues to begin with that I just wanted to throw up. Tauba kab khatam hoga ye azaaabbbbbbb!!!
Keep PRAYING for this punishment to end,
Cheers, Zahra Mirza.
Actress Sana Khan who recently got married to Babar Khan died in a tragic road accident today while she was on her way to Hyderabad إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ. May her soul rest in eternal peace. Babar Khan is also in serious condition, we request everyone to pray for his speedy recovery.
This is a very sad moment, Sana Khan was young and still had her whole life ahead of her. The entire team of reviewit extends their heartfelt condolence to her family and friends. May Allah give them the courage they need to bear the loss of a loved one.
Our Producers are now not only just producing good dramas but I have been noticing lots of variety in dramas’ OSTs as well. If you look at some previous dramas the OSTs were usually slow but now the composers are doing a perfect job by including variety in it. Now in OSTs I can hear lots of drum and electric guitar as well. As I have mentioned earlier our dramas’ OSTs are now much better in comparison with Bollywood films’ songs. Literally if our OSTs are promoted alongside dramas then to be honest people will stop listening to Indian songs but the fact is that people pay little heed towards drama songs. Now we have to make people aware that they should listen to OSTs as well.
Another good thing is that as Drama Industry is only recognising our singers so you will find many talented singers singing soundtracks with their heart touching voices. Now talking about OSTs I will give a loud shout to Sahir Ali Bhagga and Waqar Ali who are the masterminds. Honestly I am in love with their different compositions and the way they compose music is totally distinctive and unique, they are setting perfect example of innovation in music.
Hence my topic is to get familiarise you guys with the OSTs that I use to listen and I cannot simply pass my day without listening to even one OST. You can say it’s my mandatory everyday medicine and honestly speaking I mostly listens to Pakistani Songs now how patriotic I am. So here is a list of soundtracks that I have burnt by listening to it everyday. I have posted a video link so that you can also try some OSTs from my list that you haven’t listened before:
Humsafar OST: This OST tops in my chart and not only in my chart but I guess in everyone’s chart and that’s why on YouTube you can see 2.7 million views of this OST, the most highest rated OST. Tremendously composed by Waqar Ali and flawlessly sung by Qurat-ul-Ain Baloch.
Khuda Aur Muhabbat OST: This is my second best OST and again probably others as well because on YouTube there are 2.5 million views of this song, second highest rated song after Humsafar. Ahmed Jahnzeib had done a wonderful job by singing this soundtrack.
Meri Zaat Zara-e-Benishan OST: I must say that this was not only a heart touching drama but its OST also contains pain. The singer needs absolutely no introduction as he is Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. I still remembered when I listened to this OST after watching the drama I feel like crying.
Dastaan OST(Aasmano se): This brilliant drama needs no explanation but I am also speechless in describing the beauty of this soundtrack. As soon as I started listening to the starting lines “ Aasmano se utara noor hai koi aisa lagta hai jese hoor hai koi” I close my eyes until song finishes. Sohail Hiader indeed got a soulful voice.
Zindagi Gulzar Hai OST: I will talk about both the one that was sung by Hadiqa and one by Ali Zafar. Still I didn’t find the reason why two OSTs had been sung for one drama but any ways both OSTs are great. Hadiqa and Ali Zafar both have done a commendable job. I mostly listens to Hadiqa’s one.
Thori Si Wafa Chaiye OST: Another brilliant piece of work by Waqar ali and great performance by Rahat. Now I know why people are crazy about rahat, he sings every song according to the theme and his voice automatically connects with the scenario. Although I have never watched this drama but the OST video will explain you the whole drama, any ways I love to listen this OST.
NEEYAT OST: When the powers are combined then Captain OST will be formed. Yes I am talking about Sajjad Ali and Waqar Ali. I still remembered the day when I listened to this OST and how I fell in love with this soundtrack and I had replayed it almost 25 times in a day. A masterpiece by both brothers and a must listen OST.
Aik Naye Cinderella OST(YAR-E-MAN): Not only the drama will take you to the Disney land, but its OST as well. Splendidly sung by a living legend Javed Bashir with a touch of qawwali. This soundtrack is a great example of variety in OSTs and I will recommend others to listen to this track.
Meri Beti OST(Bhoola na yeh dil): The powers are again combined to produce this lovely OST. Sajjad Ali’s voice never failed to mesmerize me and again he won my heart through this OST, but here specially I will give credit to lyricist. This line sounds very close to real life “ Zindagi youn tujhe kabhi socha nahi jee liye us tarah jese chaha nahi”. This drama may failed in direction but its OST has not failed in waqar ali’s composition.
Darmiyan OST: Before I comment on Nabeel’s Voice I need to salute Sahir Ali Bhagga on its awesome compostion. The lameness of this drama cannot be described the only good thing is its OST great job Nabeel!
MeriI Zindagi Hai Tu OST: Another good story spoiled through dragging and direction, this drama may failed to attract audience but its OST succeeded. If you are in a romantic mood and wants to listen to a romantic song then this soundtrack is a best choice. This soundtrack is on my hit list and I listen to this song 4 to 5 times in a day. Awesome comeback by nouman Javaid by singing this OST.
Sannata OST(Zihaal-e-Miskeen): Listening to this soundtrack means mind=blown. Don’t know but this soundtrack give me some sort of energy and motivation probably because of energetic music and I cannot stop myself to listen to this song on a daily basis. We can never expect bad from Sahir Ali Bhagga, this person is surely a complete institution.
Aasmano Pe Likha OST: As soon as I had listened to this OST for the very first time I started searching for the singer name and finally I got his name as Adeeb Ahmed. Where was this man before? He has sung it with a complete feel and there is saying in Urdu “Doob ke Gana aur mehsoos karke Gaana” he had absolutely sung in that way. Indeed a very catchy OST.
Zindagi Tere Bina OST: If you want to know the class of Nabeel’s singing then just listen to this OST. The whole credit of this OST goes to Nabeel I think no one could have ever better sung this song except Nabeel. I listen to this on a daily basis, Nabeel said that Darmiyan was his best soundtrack but I will say this is his best soundtrack. This has to be the top ten OST of 2014.
Do Qadam Door Thay OST: When two talented young guns meet then you will get this type of OST. Another title track that I have burnt by replaying it again and again. Nida Arab and Nabeel both have done absolute justice to this song and Waqar Ali how many surprises do you have please tell me? This is his another masterpiece.
Ranjish Hi Sahi OST: This drama is just a masterpiece by A&B Productions. This OST is a great conversion to an energetic song from Mehdi Hassan’s popular ghazal. Alycia Dias you had me once again and please can anyone tell me the name of composer and male singer. This song is also included in my daily medication.
Shareek-e-Hayat OST: This OST is a perfect example of dynamics. I have never listened to such a soothing, mesmerizing and melodious song. First of all I cannot believe that this is a soundtrack, if this would be an Indian movie song its views are touching in millions. This magic is only in Sahir’s voice, beautiful just beautiful.
AUNN ZARA OST: If you want some dhammal then Aunn Zara OST is the best choice and other great thing is that this OST portrays the perfect dhammal of this drama. A great Punjabi and Urdu mixed Bhangra OST. This has to be in TOP TEN OSTs of 2013 at least in my opinion.
Takay Ki Ayegi Baraat song: Although the song is in pure Punjabi but it refreshes my mind and I ends up my depression by listening to this song. You can say it is my weird choice but this song had 1.8 million views on YouTube.
Mere Qatil Mere Dildar: Personally I am not a fan of Sara but I am must say that she had sung this OST flawlessly and with an absolute feel thereby attracting me towards it. Half a million views on YouTube is an example how lovely this OST is.
Other OSTS that I listen but rarely: Shukk OST, Kanakr OST, RUBARU OST, Bunty I love You OST, Zindagi Dhoop tum Ghana Saaya OST and Wafa Kaisi Kahan ka Ishq.
Therefore these are the only OSTs that have mesmerized me, so update me with your OST’s that you love to listen? Please share your choices.
Interesting episode! I like how they are going ahead with the story. The way they have dealt with the details of past & the happenings of the present is what’s making it interesting to watch, for me at least.
Neelam started drugging herself because she wanted to come out of her depression. She now wanted her baby girl but at least she should’ve been satisfied because her daughter was with her own family. She was under the care of Neelam’s mother & brothers, at least this thought should’ve put Neelam to peace but seems like she was getting restless as now she got everything she wanted, so she definitely wanted something more from her life.
Is it just me or that spark was actually missing from Taimoor & Neelam’s relation? By looking at them no one could’ve imagined that they had this love flare between them which forced them to overcome all the obstacles & even cross the thin lines of morality & be with each other. Just a few days of their togetherness & they already started looking like a bored couple with growing distance between them. May be because we didn’t see any of their long talks about how much they loved each other or anything of that sort after they got married. Even though they had their baby on the way but the chemistry was missing. In the meantime, Surmed was feeling deprived of his father’s attention & this makes me say once again that Taimoor for me failed to be a good human being even. He couldn’t do justice to his first wife Seema, then to his only son Surmed. No doubt he was selfish, it’s acceptable, he wanted things his way but who ignores the child just like that?
Shabbi got to know every single detail she was curious of from Surmed’s khalu Arif. At first when the Neelam’s part was skipped I wondered why was that so but then I understood it was left incomplete once again because they will reveal what happens to her & her baby in the upcoming episodes, I think this is just the right way to reveal the past because it keeps the interest intact. Finally, on Arif Khalu’s suggestion she started working on Surmed & her relationship now because at first she was just curious about things that shouldn’t have concerned her but yes, after being done with the detail digging she decided to work on her marriage. She did all she could to make Surmed feel loved & he was actually moved. I enjoyed that part of the episode the most where she took care of Surmed & he was being touched by her gestures.
It was sad seeing Shabbi face one of Surmed’s fits once again. It was a first time that Shabbi’s mamu opened up about her saying that she never ever let him forget Neelam & it was because of her mother that held him back from being affectionate to Shabbi as she reminded of Neelam as well. He had hated what Neelam did in her life & sadly the consequences were faced by Shabbi but still he felt for the poor baby because it was not her fault at what happened. Tipu & Kiran can buy a ticket & go to Moon, no one is bothered about them because they are just burdensome & nothing else.
The preview of the next episode was interesting because Surmed will now admit how he has fallen for his wife. Let’s see what happens next.
Even the best actors of our industry have made some really bad and inexcusable choices in the recent past while choosing the projects that they venture into. Some of the roles that these actors play are so dreadful that the viewers are left wondering what these actors were thinking when they decided to opt for them. The writers are also to be questioned for the lack of an impact in their characters because they didn’t do justice to the characters while penning them down.
There are also characters which may not be badly conceived but the drama as a whole is such a disappointment that the actors end up losing interest themselves, as a result of this they give performances that are not at all satisfying. The directors play a huge role as well in making the actors understand their characters and also by ensuring that only the best scenes get finalized. A weak director who does not understand the characters is sure to play havoc with them.
Lack of detailing in all the characters is what has made them looking like a waste in a drama and it almost felt like if a little more homework was done on their characters & a little more consideration was given to their presence, they would’ve made a mark but due to the limitations may be in the dialogues or the direction, it failed to appeal to us.
I think that actors who have a huge fan following have a greater responsibility to think carefully before they decide to be part of a play. People have more expectations from popular actors and when their presence in a play does not ensure quality entertainment then their fans naturally feel led down. Actors, of course are humans too and they can make inappropriate choices so we are not judging their entire career on the basis of few bad choices but merely sharing our opinion about certain characters they played which were not up-to-the-mark. Whatever is being said is not intended as disrespect to the actor or their acting ability.
Here is a list of some of the worst roles played by some of the most talented actors in our industry.
Fawad Khan in Ashk and Numm
Yes, this guy tops the list because he has the most massive fan following and therefore Fawad Khan’s presence in a play makes it a must-watch for many irrespective of who the director, writer or co-stars are!
Fawad Khan played the character of Rohail in drama serial Ashk. When Ashk went on air the expectations from Fawad Khan in particular were enormous because this was going to be his first play that was going on air after Hamsafar. Rohail was a mommy’s boy who got drunk every chance he got!! I could not have imagined that we would see Fawad Khan doing all that he did in Ashk. The scenes in which he got drunk were elaborate, unnecessary and totally uncalled for. Most of his fans could only wonder, how he could agree to doing all this on-screen. Rohail turned to Madiha for “consolation” when Zebu gave him a tough time but returned like he did nothing wrong when it suited him. Drama serial made us cry and laugh at the same time;)
Fawad’s character in Numm was equally disappointing and he definitely did not give his best performance in the play as well. The direction of the play was such that there was a lot of confusion regarding Wali Bakht’s true feelings about both the women in his life. People were led to believe he had feelings for Mahjabeen at one point but later on the viewers found out that he only respected her because she had been like a mother to him. Fawad Khan looked bored and disinterested in many scenes as if he knew only too well that he had made a bad decision by being part of the show.
In both these cases, the dramas as a whole, the character Fawad khan played and the acting too was nothing worth raving about. The most interesting and ironic bit is that people watched both these shows solely because of Fawad Khan otherwise they had no substance whatsoever. Now that’s what I call star power!!
Syra Yusef in Darmiyan
I must say that after watching Mera Naseeb, Bilquees Kaur, Tanhaiyaan Naye Silsilay and Coke Studio I was fully convinced that this young girl could not go wrong. She nailed each and every character she played. All of these dramas were perfect entertainment packages and the roles Syra played in these plays were entirely different from each other. I am a huge fan of Syra because she is talented, versatile, very cute, stylish and wise!!
I was impatiently waiting for Syra’s next serial when TNS ended and it took long enough to go on air. The only reason I started watching drama serial Darmiyan was because of Syra Yusef although it had stars like Adnan Siddiqui and Sania Saeed.
Syra played the role of Aaliya; a seemingly sweet girl with loads of bitterness in her heart. I really did not mind watching Syra in a negative role, I was actually looking forward to it but her character had no depth and her acting completely failed to impress at times. The tactics Aaliya used to destroy Raheel and Nida’s house were truly inappropriate to say the least. I found it difficult to sit through Darmiyan starting from the first episode and Syra Yusef who was the main attraction failed to entice me because she did not give her best performance in the play and the character she played was anything but impressive
Mehreen Raheel in Mastana Mahi:
I am sorry to say but Aaleen didn’t come across as Mastana Mahi in fact she won the title of Mastani Sautan by the end of the drama. I liked her character for the positivity it had when the drama began & thought she was child-like yet loveable & her exuberance was refreshing to see but later on she became this person who had no idea of what she wanted to do with her life whatsoever. Aaleen was always making hasty decisions & nothing about her character made sense.
Mehreen Raheel acted really well in the drama but I failed to feel anything for her character. Taking her as a main lead of the drama, I think her character failed big time because despite the mountains of hardships she had to endure, I couldn’t even feel an ounce of sympathy for her because her character started at a good note but took the road downhill with the passage of drama. A girl who believed in positive approach towards life in the end started planning how to harm her sautan who was bearing a child within her was an evidence of poorly scripted character. So much more could’ve been done with Aaleen because she was a wife of the town’s politician so she could’ve involved herself in the progress of the ladies of that town but instead she wasted herself in gruesome family politics, which was disappointing.
Sanam Jung in Mohabbat Subha Ka Sitara Hai
Yes, we know this is only Sanam Jung’s second play and we should not be too harsh. Well, I have to hand it to this girl; she came, she saw and she conquered. She conquered our hearts and the television screens with her charming looks and superb acting when she played Silla in Dil-e-Muzter. It was plain to see that MD productions had big plans for this girl when we saw her hosting talk shows on Hum TV. Playing a lead not once but twice in two big projects is nothing short of a feat for someone new but unfortunately Sanam’s role as Romaissa has failed to leave an impact on the viewers. It was quite evident from Sakina Samo’s interview on UJP that she is a very strict director who wants everything the way she envisions it so I have to say that she is the one who is responsible for those lifeless expressions and the monotone dialogue delivery. She should have been able to get a better performance out of Sanam Jung. Romaissa’s character could have been evoked a lot of empathy if it was more relatable for the viewers and if the director and the actor playing the role would have breathed life into the character.
In Sanam’s case, it has to be more of bad luck, the girl we all adored as Silla is being wasted playing the role of Romaissa.
Shakeel in Mujhe Khuda Pe Yakeen Hai:
Shakeel uncle played the role of the man of the family. It was actually his family that was going through the hard times as his son was accused of unfaithfulness by his niece, who later became a part of his family as well. Shakeel uncle no doubt came across as a man who was blinded by his rage for his son whom he actually thought very high of but then throughout the drama that’s all there was to it. I actually expected more from his character because he was the leader of that family & it was his duty to make things right. Right from the beginning till the end, I hoped that he would actually get into the matter to find out what happened & would make things right but sadly & unfortunately, all that we saw him doing was crying, then shouting, then screaming, then panting, then fainting & then lying on his bed.
I think a little more depth should’ve been added to his character to make it possible for us to feel an ounce of emotion for a poor aged father who was crying buckets & for once it was shown that he took things seriously rather than just looking at his son like a pest, wishing to crush him under his feet, then it might’ve come across as a realistic character.
Ahsan Khan in Kabhi Kabhi:
Arez was one such character that I had high hopes with because in the beginning of the drama he came across as a person who would stand by the decisions he made & would take a stand for the person he promised to be there for but it was sad to see him becoming a typical male as he would not even utter a single word in front of his mother but would throw tantrums at his wife because he knew that’s where he could show his manning abilities. I thought Arez was a person who wasn’t egoistic but just because some hardships were thrown his way, he flipped faster than a coin & turned into this person who would pull a painful face making it obviously painful for us to watch him. I am sad to say after he found the job, I couldn’t see his pain subside & for this I feel the writer had no pointers to begin with when she was conceiving of Arez’s character.
Amina Sheikh in Silvatein:
When the drama started I was totally into her character because I thought we’ll get to see someone independent who was equally polite yet reasonably outspoken. The last thing I expected was to see Zeb become a saint to the point where it just was hard to swallow. The undying pain on her face, the stammering & the ‘mai hi buri hoon’ act got a little unreal. She did come across as someone who wanted to undo the complexes her sister had developed because of the treatment of Zeb. But I feel that could’ve been handled in some other way because when the drama began it was made to show that Zeb worked exactly on those lines where she could tackle her sister & manipulate her for her own benefit as she understood her nature pretty well. Initially Zeb was witty & spontaneous but as the story progressed, Zeb turned into this lifeless soul who hovered with one motive that she had nothing left in her life except to earn the apology of her half-mad sister.
I loved the chemistry Zeb & Rayaan (Adeel Hussain) shared & I expected that she could work on her sister along with giving a consideration to her marital life but the way she got one dimensional was the last thing I wanted to see from her.
Irsa Ghazal in Kahi Unkahi:
In the beginning Saira Kamal came across as a lady who belonged to a very stable family & just because of her, her husband got the support of her family to proceed in life successfully. When the drama began I thought she was a gem of a person who was courteous towards others but knew how to voice her opinions. Unfortunately for her, as the drama progressed & their family started going through difficult phases because of their sons, I thought she grew numb & clueless. All that I could hear her say throughout the drama was ‘ye tum kya keh rahay ho’, ‘iska kya matlab hai’? It was made to look like she had no idea what was going on in her own home & she was just there to complete the family picture.
There were so many moments when I thought her say was necessary & might contribute in changing the situations but looked like she was absent from the scene even when she was present. I admired her for her personality & the elegance she embodied in the drama but her character grew out to be very weak.
Moomal Sheikh in Mujhe Khuda Pe Yakeen Hai:
Areeba; This girl had a huge responsibility of bringing her husband out of distress but it seemed like after she started living with him, she started to share the sheer fixation he had of his ex-fiancé too. She walked, talked & breathed Narmeen just like her husband. I thought after she got married, she would understand him & do everything possible to stand by him but her role had nothing to offer except for fury. All I saw Areeba does in the drama was to roam from one room to another & it seemed like she took it from her husband to sound repetitive.
Though Moomal Sheikh did all she could to bring out the best in Areeba but I wasn’t moved or touched by any of her self-proclaimed intelligent thoughts, none of it sadly made sense & it looked like she wasn’t sure of she herself was doing in the drama because her husband wouldn’t listen to her & she didn’t know what she had to do apart from serving coffee & pakoras.
Mikaal Zulfikar in Mirat ul Uroos:
Hammad, who was an apple of his mother’s eye & right hand of his father in the beginning of the drama ended up becoming a major disappointment as the drama moved on. I expected better from his character. No doubt this drama was women centric when it came to the characters but I feel Hashim’s character still had something to offer in comparison to Hammad’s. Not to forget Mikaal Zulfikaar’s acting was a cherry on top in the count of disappointments. He was someone who had set an example of how to be the best in all aspects & how to give your 100% to all the relations but later in the drama all we saw him was getting involved in an argument with his wife & then quietly accepting his defeat by either surrendering or watching TV.
The way he blindsided his parents just because he was too busy pleasing his mismatched soul-mate should’ve been the last thing to show because he had all his rationalities left to be used for lecturing his brothers but when it came to his wife, nothing was ever said. His character got a bit more indigestible when just like any other weak person he got involved in an extramarital affair. I think to give his wife a reality check, something else could’ve been done with his character instead of just getting him hooked to someone else. It was sad to see the ladla becoming the most annoying person of the drama.
Sarwat Gillani in Mere Dard Ko Jo Zuban Miley
Sarwat Gillani is a phenomenal actress; she has a screen presence that make her characters stand out no matter what role she is playing. Not only that she has always played characters that were intelligently etched-out and well-conceived. She even managed to make the viewers fall in love with Zoya in Dil-e-Muzter only because she added the touches which that character needed to make it look more human and less villainous.
Whoever watched the play MDKJZM knows only too well why Amina was the worst role Sarwat Gillani played. She played it brilliantly, there is no arguing with that because we all fell in love with Amina’s character at one point but the writer completely ruined everything when Amina decided to get involved with the villain!! This “twist” in the story wasn’t ironic at all but just plain foolish. !! Amina was shown as a wise and sensitive girl when the show started. The viewers fell in love with the positivity in her character but gradually she turned into someone we were supposed to feel for because she got married to Urooj. The way Amina sidelined her husband and replaced him with business activities was nauseating. What Amina’s character did proved that special people can never make good life partners and there is always a void in their partner’s life irrespective how much they may have “loved” them and eventually a special person’s life partner will turn to someone else!
What do you think about the list? How do you feel about all these characters? Don’t forget to share your thoughts and feel free to add to the list. We would love to hear your views:)
All thanks to social media & Facebook in particular that I got to be in touch with one of the sweetest contestant of Pakistan Idol. Her journey may have been short but the impact wasn’t. After speaking to her I have become an avid fan of her & I must say that the positivity she possesses will take her a lot ahead in life.
I actually requested for an interview & even sent her my questions but she was more comfortable in replying to me spontaneously. The interview was more like a chatting & it was an absolute pleasure of mine to speak to Mehwish Maqsood, who was witty, fun to talk to & very honest. :)
So this was the Q&A session I had with her, there you go:
Me: What inspired you to come to Pakistan Idol? She: As you know that I belong to a mediocre family. I am not a trained singer & I have never had the resources to get the professional training. But Pakistan Idol is the biggest platform to give recognition to singers like us, that is why I went over there. I never thought that I would be selected but Allhamdullilah not only I was selected, I got the recognition which I wanted as well.
Me: What do you think of the judges? Tell us about them individually? She: Bushra Apa: She has a very what we say ‘pakkay kaan’ for sur & taal. She loved me a lot and several times told me that she regretted my elimination. Ali Azmat Sir: He is very blunt. We all were afraid of him & wanted to hear good comments from him. He has struggled a lot in the early stages of his career & that’s why I think he has become a hard nut to crack. Hadiqa Ma’am: What a personality! Awesome judge or I must say the only judge who is in search of feel & expression of the singer. Sometimes she does get biased (according to me) but I did always get appreciated by her.
Me: Do the judges help the contestants with the song choices? She: It is never a judge’s job to help the contestants. Some people are hired for this cause & they are doing their work with sincerity.
Me: Do you think the deserving contestants got eliminated? She: Yes for sure. But it’s a part and format of the show which everyone should accept & swallow. But I do have a feeling that why now has the management changed the rules of voting where you can only cast 25 votes per sim costing you half a rupee? I say no problem, better late than never.
Me: Now after all the eliminations, who do you think deserves to win the title? She: According to me, those who will be in the Top 3 are Asad Raza Sonu, Waqas Ali Vicky & may be Kashif Ali, but I personally want Asad Raza Sonu to win as he is an awesome singer.
Me: Who according to you hasn’t been performing well? She: Shahmir Aziz Quidwai & Rosemary.
Me: Who became your best friend(s) during Pakistan Idol? She: Well I don’t make friends but one person who was not a contestant & helped me throughout my journey was Danish. I found a true friend for the first time in my life & I want to thank him & also tell him that is he a very good person.
Me: Was He from Pakistan Idol’s team? She: Yes. He helped me more than I expected.
Me: What’s your message to those who are voting? She: Message for those who are voting? Hahaha! The choices you all are making makes me laugh and I think that all of you should’ve gotten some sort of a training before being appointed to make such crucial decisions. You guys are ruining it.
Me: What’s your message to your co-contestants who are still in the race? She: Nothing, just wait for your turn! ;)
Me: Please tell us about the voting system, is it fair? She: I think so. If not then you can’t do anything but I still think it is fair.
Me: People say ‘the only thing missing from the reality shows is the reality’, is it true? She: No, it’s not. When we were in the competition, we were in front of the cameras for 15 hours a day, daily! I think Pakistan has never experienced such a reality on television before.
Me: Tell us about your co-contestants in a single word?
(Could be your feelings about them or about their personality)
Mohammad Shoaib: Mera bhai. Waqas Ali Vicky: Seedha bacha. Syed Sajjid Abbas: What a guy to be with. Waqas Ali: Ustaad Jee. Sana Zulfikaar: Shreya Goshal. Abdul Rafay Khan: Sings straight from the heart. Zamad Baig: A singer good at one genre. Shahmir Aziz Quidwai: Let it be (meaning, no comments). Asad Raza Sonu: Ehsasat ka badshah. Ali Asad Zaidi: Rockstar. Kashif Ali: Overrated Rosemary: Please, work hard.
Me: How was your experience till your journey? She: Fantabulous.
Me: How was the response after leaving Pakistan Idol? She: Uf! I didn’t know that people were in love with my singing. :)
Me: What are your future plans? She: Music music and then marriage, hahaha!
Me: In the end, a message to all your fans please? She: I don’t like the word fan & I actually take them all as my friends. So, the message to all my friends is ‘I love you all’.
So, this was it from Mehwish Maqsood, I had a further chat with her & found her very sweet. When I thanked her for her honesty, she said she enjoyed talking to me & answering me for the sake of this interview. :)
So, what are you thoughts on this chit-chat that I had with her & if you have any messages for her, please share with us.
The queen of lollywood from past two decades, has given a nod to appear once again in a television drama. This time its drama Kaneez which is directed by Faisal Bukhari.
Saima has been a top heroine mainly for Punjabi films for almost two decades. Saima has earlier worked in two television plays none of which was much successful. Her most famous drama is ‘Piya Naam ka diya’ written by Bano Qudsia and directed by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat
Humaima Malick, is chosen as ambassador by World Wild Fund (WWF) Pakistan. In this role, Humaima will work towards raising awareness about environment protection, animal rights and conservation endangered species.
Humaima will also participate in events of WWF that are organized through out the year.
Ali Zafar, will arrive in Pakistan on 5th March 2014 from India. Ali will participate in the premiere of his upcoming indian film ‘Total Syaapa’ which is due to release on 7th March 2014.
Premiere shows of this film are scheduled in Karachi (6 March) and Lahore (7 March). Apart from premiere shows, Ali will also promote this film on various TV Channels. It is for the very first time, that Ali himself is promoting his film in Pakistan.
So, finally the story has come to another turn & this twist is interesting. Once again no complaints & just a pleasure watching this show.
Saad has finally proposed to Laiba thinking this way he can keep Aiza from going away from his life. Aiza on her own now feels guilty that she has played Saad into this commitment because she knows the actual reason as to why he has agreed for this marriage. I think Aiza should now take a back seat & relax because finally Saad is sort of out of her life as now he has gotten a girl who is totally smitten by him & who won’t leave by his side. Aiza’s suggestion of just getting them both engaged for now & delaying the wedding was sort of wrong. I think she should’ve affirmed Shahryar’s decision of getting Laiba & Saad married ASAP because engagements usually don’t last that long & that will still keep a window of hope open for Saad as well.
I think now Cuckoo’s existence is a total annoyance & nothing else. She has lost her battle & she has literally no reasons of staying back. It’s ohkay if she wants to be there, she can be but I think we all would appreciate if she is made invisible & not much screen time is given to her because her taunts & eyebrow raises are becoming repetitive.
I lol’ed at Saad & his Saim’s conversation. I have never seen two guys being so involved in the gharelu masail, where one is crying & the other is lending a shoulder to be cried upon. I know this may sound harsh & cruel but deep down Saad knows what sort of a chronical disease he has & the way it has resurfaced, his chances of making till the end of drama are thin, so why put everyone through such a fuss of engagement where he is clearly playing with Laiba’s feelings? Why does he want to bother Aiza because may be & eventually he won’t survive so yes, for the sake of Aiza & Shahryar’s peace, I hope Saad goes out of the picture because he is just being a nuisance & sorry, I don’t feel for his character at all!
I think Aiza’s bhabhi is being ridiculous now. She has her cousin Ahmed Ali brain feeding her into taking advantage of a rich SIL & her husband. I think her demand of 2 lac rupees that too directly from Shehryar was odd because Aiza has totally given everything she has ever earned to her brother’s family & her bhabhi knows that if she will ever seek Aiza’s help, Aiza will never stay back & lend her help by any means possible, so to see her act irrationally just because she now she has sensed some potential advantages of being related to financially stable people is hideous. I think Cuckoo & Bhabhi’s verbal spat was forced & unnecessary. It was a mangni wala ghar & not even a single hovering soul of mehmaan was there to hear them bickering plus the way Bhabhi shouted, people in such occasions are fishing for such controversies to gossip upon & still no one came to find out why such loud voices were being echoed in the home. That could’ve been easily skipped because even after being told off by almost all of the family members, Cuckoo hasn’t moved an inch & hasn’t gotten a hint, she is there to stay & still will stay.
Preview of the next episode suggested something totally unexpected about Aiza & Saad going for a honeymoon. I wouldn’t have believed if they has just shown some clippings because it would’ve come across as Saad’s wishful thinking once again but to hear it from Cuckoo, it am not sure what’s happening. Oh yes! I think they might’ve left for a business trip together which Cuckoo will be naming as a honeymoon. It’s still getting interesting, so let’s wait & watch.
My pick for ‘drama of the week’ segment was Daam. Produced by Abdullah Kadwani & Humayun Saeed’s production house 7th Sky, written by Umera Ahmed & directed by my absolute favorite Mehreen Jabbar. Before even starting, I couldn’t imagine enough about the magic that would’ve been created by this duo & after it ended, I was in an awe of the perfection.
It we put it in simple words, Daam is a story of two best friends belonging to different social classes. But as simple as it sounds, it sheds a light on an ocean of complications. Starting from those who struggled for basics to those who possessed luxuries, their journeys were covered undoubtedly with a perfection. Initially I actually struggled to get hold of the intermingled relations that the characters had with each other but the moment I got hold of everything, I was hooked to the show. The main characters were Zara, Maliha & Junaid but I must say that the supporting characters – each one of them contributed in making Daam a wholesome package. Not even once I felt that the side tracks were boring or had nothing to offer & the way they were handled brilliantly made me want to know more about them just as much as the main leads.
The list of cast & characters is:
Sanam Baloch – Zara
Amina Sheikh – Maliha
Adeel Hussain – Junaid
Nimra Bucha – Aasma
Sanam Saeed – Fiza
Behroz Sabzwari – Haji Sahab
Mohammad Yasir – Jamal
Faisal Shah – Yasir
Pari Hashmi – Mano
Lubna Aslam & Shahid Naqvi – Amna, Hidayat (Zara’s parents)
Mohammad Ahmed & Parveen Malik – Sami & Mama (Maliha’s parents)
The Families:
Maliha’s life was depicted as picture perfect. With absolutely supportive parents & a brother-love Junaid. They all were like a peaceful perfect family & the wavelength Maliha & Junaid shared was the best thing to see. Maliha’s parents ran a hospital, she herself was an MBBS student & Junaid was studying in USA. Apart from her family, the only person who meant the world to Maliha was Zara, her best friend. The only good reference that I can put forward about Maliha’s character is that she was Zara’s friend & that’s all there’s to it. Sadly, other than that she hasn’t done much to be remember her by. Junaid was a very honest, clear-headed & gentle person who believed in simplifying things rather than complicating them. The best couple of this drama for me was of Maliha’s parents. I say that because after a long long time I got to see such people who were not only blessed with the luxuries of life but also were blessed with an equally big heart. The point was well-made that even though they had everything, they also had a grace to share it with the people they cared about. Their gestures & courtesy towards Zara always brought an overwhelming smile to my face.
Zara’s life was a juxtaposition to Maliha’s. Zara’s father – Hidayat was financially unstable & couldn’t provide his family with the basic necessities. Aasma was Zara’s eldest 35 y/o sister, was single & worked as a secretary. Jamal was an aspiring actor but was unlucky in getting the break. At first he came across as someone who was striving half-heartedly for his passion but he actually wanted to do good by his family & whenever he earned anything, he gave it to his mother. Mano was the youngest sibling & was mentally challenged. Aasma being the only consistent bread earner of the family had become bitter because of facing rejections in proposals & by struggling through out her life. She thought nothing good can ever happen to her & all her feelings came across very clearly. In this whole family, the only person who never complained was Zara. She accepted her life but never stopped striving for better. Zara always took care of the smallest needs of her family & for this reason she was seen doing groceries with the prize money she earned by securing 1st position in a college debate competition & giving her share of food to her siblings. Zara’s mother Amna was the only sister of well settled brothers who were financially sound but were estranged. The only brother who lived in the same vicinity & were on talking terms was Haji Sahab. Who was modest & religious in Amna’s perspective & also to some extent Amna’s hope.
Samra was Sami’s only sister & was also a single mother of two – Yasir & Fiza. Samra only had a support of her brother after she separated from her husband & Sami did all he could to keep their family afloat. Even though Sami was her elder brother & Samra’s family were the in laws of Maliha, they in literal terms were just mean relatives. They took Sami & his support for granted & even though they accepted Maliha as Yasir’s wife-to-be, each one of them had complexes of their own. Fiza was a spoiled brat who had the support of her family, she was an egoist who wanted things her way & was very good at brain feeding. Yasir was a mama’s boy to the extent of blinding unintelligence. Yasir made sure that Maliha understood that she could never have an upper hand in their family even after her father supported them because truthfully they never were grateful to Sami for all that he did for them, all these years. Despite the fact that they were the literate & enlightened ones, very nicely they depicted the pettiness people can harbour in their hearts against their own blood relations because of their own insecurities.
Haji Sahab was the most interesting character for me in this drama because he highlighted the true nature of people who on one hand pose to the world that they only know the art of helping others but on the other hand ignore the actual responsibilities they have towards their relatives. Haji Sahab preached a lot about being a good & God fearing Muslim but in reality but when it came to practicing, he mended the rules & teachings of Islam. When it came to his sister’s family, her son’s role in a drama was prohibited, but when it came to his family, giving a brand new car in dowry was permissible. He was one of those who condemned if a male friend gave a lift to some girl in need but would ignore the fact that the very same girl has to face all sorts of molestation while waiting for a bus at a bus stand. As Islamic he posed to be, he was a pompous gossip monger & lacked a wisdom that people may attain if in true sense they understand the teachings of Islam. For himself just because he had money, he thought he was authorized to do anything he wished for. Haji Sahab & his wife were just the faces to actually portray how harsh & selfish relatives can be. Haji Sahab depicted those Muslims perfectly who believe offering 5 obligatory prayers would earn them Jannah. Just because he couldn’t relate to his sister’s problems, all he could do was to lecture them, when he couldn’t help them, he only ended up complaining every single time.
The Story:
The drama begins at a note where Maliha & Zara are how friends should be like – totally supportive of each other. Their friendship isn’t confined to themselves only but their families are involved too. Maliha’s family endears Zara & likewise everyone in Zara’s family knows about Maliha & respects her because of the timely helping gestures Maliha does for her. One thing that stood out for me the most about Zara’s character was that she was never seen hopeless about the situations in life. Even though Maliha knew about Zara’s background but she wasn’t exposed to the actual problems Zara & her family faced because despite the fact that how much Zara was engulfed in the miseries, she believed in keeping her problems to herself because she wanted a sympathy-free friendship in a dignified manner.
Fiza being their class fellow, Maliha’s first cousin & her SIL-to-be thought she could control everything that Maliha did therefore Fiza took it as her responsibility to keep reminding Maliha of what sort of a liability Zara was being on her. Fiza had issues with every single person she ever got in contact with, therefore due to her complaining nature she becomes a major reason for Maliha’s problem pre & post marital life. Amna has to face derogation every single time from her brother or his wife because they think of themselves as the higher beings while Amna’s family did every thing objectionable as per them. Junaid & Zara even though never promised each other anything but knew they had a compatibility & spark to become a perfect couple. It’s the time of Maliha’s hurried wedding when she finds out about Junaid’s liking towards Zara. This is the moment when she starts having baseless prejudices against her best friend. In the mean time oblivious of Maliha’s feelings, Zara keeps Junaid’s proposal on hold because she herself has Aasma’s wedding to take care of.
This is where everything changes when Maliha starts discussing her personal issues with Fiza. Fiza who is clearly interested in Junaid after her own breakup, grabs the opportunity & brainfeeds Maliha about how she must get rid of Zara. Despite the fact that she knew how much Junaid loved her & how convinced their parents were to make Zara their daughter in law, Maliha never actually shows her detest but within herself she starts harbouring the feelings that no one ever finds out about & starts manipulating the situations against Zara very tactfully. Things actually go wrong just before Aasma’s wedding when their father is imprisoned & Zara is forced by her family to ask for some monetary help from Maliha. Maliha lost in her rage & blinded by Fiza’s influence asks her to pay the price by walking out of Junaid’s life. Zara – having no other option agrees & this is where their friendship ends.
Zara goes to UK on a scholarship & things start shaping up in their family. Maliha, suffering in her own guilt now starts experiencing a difficult time in her in-laws where they pressurize her family for Fiza & Junaid’s wedding. Maliha, selfish to the core & just in order to save her marriage makes a decision for Junaid’s life. 7 years pass & even though Junaid marries Fiza, nothing in Maliha’s life changes because Fiza was still unhappy & every single time Maliha faced the consequences. In Zara’s family, she becomes a cardiac surgeon, Jamal is now an award-winning director, Aasma’s well-settled & Mano passes away. In a brief encounter with Zara, Junaid finds out about things he was oblivious of & then decides to divorce Fiza & get married to Zara as he always loved her. Maliha tries to earn the apology by undoing the mess she created, walks out of her own marriage, confesses everything to Junaid & convinces Zara on getting married to her brother but Zara parts her way again & moves on in life & gets married to her colleague Hassan & settles in the UK.
The Brilliance of Daam:
I loved to-the-point & simple dialogues of the drama. No doubt the conversations were really simple but they weren’t short on the meaning. I loved how easily such beautiful thoughts were shared that too with ease but my favorite dialogue has to be when Aasma asks her Mamu ‘Mamu App Thakte Nahi Hain, Naikiyaan Kar Kar Ke, Mai Hoti To Thakk Jati’. :) Even though each & every episode was based on the daily struggles & issues of all the families, I never got bored & thought they were executed brilliantly. I loved Daam for the fact the smallest of small details like sadnesses, taunts, sacrifices, understandings, misunderstandings, generosity, happiness that people experience in their daily routine were highlighted with the help of all the characters & nothing was left for us to fill in the blanks. All the characters were established with such a perfection that they embodied the strengths & the weaknesses of a human nature with perfection.
I think Nimra Bucha has done a phenomenal job, I was never so impressed by her but she as Aasma had me & just because of Nimra’s acting, I felt the most for Aasma’s character because apart from her family, no one ever appreciated her & thought she was too headstrong. The relationship Zara & Aasma shared was actually nice to see because they depicted how sisters become eachothers strength in the time of need. I also enjoyed the chemistry Zara’s family shared because they actually came across as a family that stood by each other during the hard times & a small success of any one of them came as an opportunity for all to rejoice. Zara & Junaid’s relationship was another brilliant aspect portrayed beautifully where they never promised one another anything but still knew what sort of feelings they possessed. It was a beauty of their relationship that nothing was ever said but a certain understanding always bound them together.
My least favorite character was of Maliha, I really didn’t get why she turned against her best friend & what blinded her. Even though she thoroughly confesses & apologizes & to make things right she even walks out of her marriage, I still believe it wasn’t enough because she never had the right to spoil anyone’s life to shape her own. Haji Sahab & his wife were a picture perfect depiction of how selfish people can get when they themselves have nothing to worry about & give themselves a pat on their egos when they see other’s suffering. They depicted those certain relatives everyone actually come across in real lives, who just love to complain & are always in some sort of a competition marathon with their dear ones. They were the ones who loved bragging but never actually tried bringing a change in their blood-relative’s lives.
I actually waited to see if the ending of Daam will grow on me & if I will come to terms with it but as I thought about it, yes, Zara’s decision made sense, even though she paid back every single penny she owed to Maliha once & if she wanted she could’ve turned things her way but she moves on & finds her share of happiness. But after all this, I feel the most for Junaid because he could never get what he deserved. He could never be happy in his life because he loved Zara. He was never the one who put anyone else in a difficult situation, he wasn’t responsible for what happened & how unreasonably his sister reacted but after all that what he had to accept because of his sister – he didn’t deserve it. So, for this & for the sake of my favorite characters Zara & Junaid, I wish that the ending was a bit different. Zara always had an upper hand because she wasn’t guilty & nor was she responsible for breaking Fiza’s marriage because she wasn’t even in the picture when Junaid & Fiza got married & started having issues, so for this even if Zara had gotten married to Junaid, for me Daam would’ve been a bit more complete, some other way.
All the actors did their jobs really well. Special mention goes to Pari Hashmi as Mano because it was definitely a challenging role which she did effortlessly. I am glad that the script like Daam was directed by Mehreen Jabbar because her approach is phenomenal. I loved the fact that nothing was overdone & her aesthetics were precise. Things that needed to be explained were in detail but things which weren’t important never made it to the screen. I actually want to know what sort of a pep talk Mehreen Jabbar gives to her actors before she starts off with the direction because each one of the actor looks effortless & they seem to be breathing the characters assigned to them. Behroz Sabzwari, Sanam Baloch, Amina Sheikh, Adeel Hussain, Lubna Aslam, Nimra Bucha, Sanam Saeed, Mohammad Ahmed & all the other actors were just simply brilliant & I don’t think anyone else would’ve done justice to these characters like these phenomenal actors did. I have always been a fan of Mehreen Jabbar’s direction & Daam definitely gives me another reason to be.
I loved watching this drama because it was like a rollercoaster ride of emotions which provided an overwhelming experience, a few reality checks, a change in the perspective & a lot of heart-warming moments.Share your experience of watching Daam with us.
Until the next overview of ‘Akbari Asghari’ by me.
This latest installment reminded me yet again of the reasons why I fell in love with this play. Ranjish Hi Sahi is nothing extraordinary but its simplicity is appealing and the story has started picking up pace now and is getting interesting. Rohail’s comeback and most importantly the way he feels about these two sisters he just met has definitely given me something to look forward to. The soft side of Rohail which we saw today showed that he is not only a thorough gentleman but also a very likeable person.
There have been times when I found Hiba’s character utterly annoying but I must say that her character has been brilliantly etched-out and therefore not difficult to understand. I couldn’t help laughing when she asks Tooba to get married to Arsal. Maya Ali has been performing really well in the past few episodes so she also deserves credit for making me relate to her character.
Arsal and Tooba seem to be getting nowhere at the moment primarily because of the way Hiba feels about Arsal. A person like Rohail is what Hiba needs in her life; hopefully he will help her pursue a modeling career and also give her the love she needs to let go of her insecurities.
There were a few things in tonight’s episode that seemed very strange, a little more attention to these minor flaws here and there could have helped. It must have been very late in the night when Tooba called Arsal but he did not seem alarmed at all like it was perfectly normal for Tooba to call him at that time. Also, when he went to Tooba’s apartment, he walked right in and met Tooba in the balcony! Was the apartment door open at that time in the night? I loved all the blues in this particular scene though; the blue background, Tooba wore blue and so did Arsal. Nadeem Siddique definitely knows how to use different colors to his advantage.
When Rohail brought Tooba to her apartment, he walked in too like it was a restaurant. What happened to ringing the bell or knocking on the door? It is someone’s house, their personal space, no one can just walk in anytime they like.
I remember when Arsal entered Tooba’s life, I wasn’t sure which sister he was interested in because it looked like he was attracted to both of them!! I felt the same way about Rohail too today, although we all know only too well that Rohail and Hiba will end up together but the way the interaction between Tooba and Rohail was shown, it did seem like Rohail liked Tooba too. I must say that I have never felt this way before while watching a play but this is the second time I have felt this way while watching this play.
At this point, I want things to move at a rapid pace because that is the only way to keep the interest of the viewers alive. I gave up on this play once before because of the slow movement in the story and I wouldn’t want that to happen again.
If you ask me to go 2 years back and pick the top notch actresses of drama industry then definitely Syra Yousuf will be amongst them. Going back to 2011 and 2012 there was a craze amongst people for Syra Yousuf and audience loved to watch her dramas thereby making her every drama hit. Syra Yousuf was hit since the start of her career as a VJ and then appearing in commercials like mobilink, fair and lovely, peki, kurleez etc she rose to a prominence. The actual reason of her huge fan following at that time was her looks no doubt she is a pretty girl with cute face and best smile.
Her first ever drama “Mera Naseeb” was indeed a great hit and hence Syra Yousuf fan following increased more than ever. Another good thing about Syra Yousuf is that she always use to pick dramas with good scripts. After drama “Mera Naseeb” drama serial “Bilquees Kaur” and “Tanhaiyan Naye Silsilay” were also hit even “Coke Kahani” was also a popular sitcom. Syra Yousuf didn’t only picked up the good dramas but her acting at that time was phenomenal including expressions.
After getting married to Shehroz Sabzwari in October 2012 she becomes Syra Shehroz from Syra Yousuf and I guess with the change of name her fortune also changed as her popularity charts begins to show a downfall. After taking an almost a year break she appeared in a drama serial “Darmiyan” I haven’t watched the whole serial as it was not popular despite having Syra in it but I watched the last episode and I was shocked to see her acting it seems like she has totally lost it. Her expressions were out form as per the scenes and a charm was missing in her acting that was used to be previously means I did not experienced any energy in her acting, however I may be wrong because I cannot give fair judgement by watching only one episode .
Talking about her current drama “Ru-Baru”, this drama seems much better in storyline than drama Darmiyan, however you can see her once again with Adnan Siddiqui. In this drama she is performing two roles a positive role and a kind of negative role. I must say that she is doing some good acting in it but still her expressions are not spot on. She is doing excellent job performing Neelum’s Character but I am not impressed with Shabheeh’s Character I think she is just doing a satisfactory job when performing this character. I cannot see any spark or energy in this character infact if you had noticed that in episode 5 when Faizan Khawaja throws her mother’s picture (who looks exactly like her) in front of her, she didn’t give any jaw dropping expressions as expected.
So where Syra’s craze lost that was used to be previously? It is because her acting is not mesmerizing us or people have lost interest in her after her marriage. Please have your say and I know people will criticize me because I have gone through this phase when I had written the article on Ayeza’s acting, so I am ready for your criticism but please criticise with calmness and criticism must be related to the topic don’t bash me personally because I am noticing that some people are trying to be over smart here by bashing writers personally. So give a sensible reply if you disagree with me.
