Pakistan is full of talented people with versatility in the things they do and how they do it. The best example is the pakistan drama industry where a person can be a model, actor, singer director and writer simultaneously. This multi-talented pool of celebrities has not only made their names shine in pakistan but most have managed to gain an international reputation both for them as well as for pakistan. There has been a fast paced development of singers shifting towards acting and all of them have been exceptional in their onscreen performances. The fan following for these famous personalities has enhanced tremendously. We hereby scan the heart throbs of millions of people who have impressed us with their vocals and have surprised us with their acting skills.

There has been uproar since Turkish Dramas started launching on every other Pakistani channel. It was initiated by Urdu1, then Express followed it and now Geo TV introduced a new show Noor. I doubt people will stop watching Pakistani Dramas just because a few Turkish shows were launched. Pakistani Dramas will always remain our first priority. Pakistani Drama viewership is too strong to be affected by a few foreign shows but I would agree with the Pakistani stars that have raised their voice against these shows, that it is unfair to them.

Noor is a hit Turkish drama and has been dubbed in various languages and played all across Arabic countries. It was originally aired in 2005-2007. Its original name is “Gümüş” but was aired with the title Noor in the Arabic World and become a household name everywhere. It has also been played in countries like Saudi Arabia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania with different titles. It would not be wrong to say that it is the ‘Humsafar’ of the Arabic World. In Saudi Arabia alone, 3-4 million viewers admit to watching the program daily on the Saudi-owned MBC channel. The show’s final episode attracted a record 85 million Arab viewers. In Bulgaria, Noor was also very popular and every episode was watched by at least 2 million viewers. This show encouraged Arabs to visit Turkey and meet their favourite stars, Kivanc and Songul.

The Turkish drama Noor revolves around Mehmet played by Kivanc Tatlitug, who belongs to a rich family which is completely dominated by his grandfather. Mehmet has lost his love Nihat in a car accident and he had never recovered from the shock, his life has become meaningless ever since. His grandfather forces him to marry Noor (Songul Oden), a simple girl from a small town. Mehmet ends up leaving Noor at the altar, but eventually marry her but never truly accept her because for him she was ‘not his wife but his grandfather’s daughter in law’. The story is about Noor’s struggle to make a place in Mehmet’s life and become familiar with the ways of living of the upper class family.
I liked the OST of Noor. Its melody is beautiful and catchy. It is composed by Waqar Ali and sung by Alycia Dias. The melody is taken from the original drama and I must say it is beautiful.

The first episode seemed interesting. The play is very well dubbed in Urdu. And the main attraction of this show is Kivanc Tatlitug, who has become popular in Pakistan through his show Ishq e Mamnu, which went off air recently. Another of his show Manahil aur Khalil also launched on Express the same day as Noor. Will both these shows manage to make a place in viewer’s heart? I foresee a neck to neck competition between these two shows.

Geo TV has invested a lot in its promotion. You can see the advertisement played in every break. Will it be as famous as Ishq e Mamnu? Well the answer is ‘only time will tell.’

Mariam Shafiq

Lately most of us have discussed about the negativities that are being shown in our dramas & almost all the viewers condemn it, but it’s been a while that we’ve spoken about the positivity & those qualities that make us all fall in love with our dramas. It’s my little effort to recollect the memories & the positive feelings that we have about our dramas & what are exactly those things that make us end up being such a die heart fan of our Pakistani dramas.

I believe taking names of certain dramas would confine the main reason of this article because no matter what it’s an undoubted fact that Pakistani Drama Industry has produced thousands of dramas that are beyond perfection, so mentioning a certain drama wouldn’t help as we’d definitely be leaving a lot of dramas unnoticed plus I am talking about our dramas as a whole because if one drama has a good story the other has good dialogues, so let’s talk about our dramas in general.

1. The very first thing that I feel has always been a pillar in the popularity of Pakistani Dramas is a “SCRIPT”. All this while whenever we talk about even the olden golden dramas of Pakistan or even the new ones I feel those dramas always get a special attention of the viewers because of a good script. Everyone demands a perfect script & those dramas especially who have a good storyline/script no doubt end up being the favourite of the viewers.

2. Second in my list would be the “RELATE-ABLE CHARACTERS”. I feel this is another beauty of our Pakistani dramas especially that we always see the characters which are relate-able & quite original. We don’t have to see the lead actors in over-done make ups & top-notch wardrobes but it’s the originality and simplicity that does wonders & we end up liking any drama because I feel characters play another important role in making a drama connect to the viewers.

3. Third in my list would be “THE DIALOGUES . We have seen so many dramas over the years whose dialogues have always been appreciated because that’s the beauty of our mother tongue Urdu. We definitely haven’t seen hardcore Urdu being used in any of our dramas but it’s the simplicity & the easiness of conveying a certain message that gets clicked to the audience. Even at times such heavy feelings are conveyed with so much ease & smoothness which actually shows the versatility of our language.

4. Fourth in my list would be “THE REALITY” that our dramas are popular in getting across to the viewers. Any good drama that we see is always based on the reality & if not, it’s closer to reality as well. But I feel any drama that gets hit is definitely the one which the viewers see as real & not superficial because while watching a drama viewers tend to get so involved & at times feel pretty much in relation to a certain drama which I feel also plays an important part in the success.

5. Fifth & the last in my list would be “THE CAST”. The viewers are obviously keen to see their favourite actors perform on-screen & I feel that is also another reason of a success of any serial. A good cast definitely plays a vital role. The cast can also be referred to as a a good actor. The responsibility to project the beauty of any character lies solely on how the actors acts it out. If an actor can not act a certain character, he/she ends up spoiling the whole thing related to that particular character & I feel Pakistan has numerous great actors both males & females who have done & have been doing justice to the characters they are assigned with.

So, these are the factors in my list which I feel are the backbone of our dramas getting successful all these years. I hope I was able to point out the major aspects that make our dramas famous. If you all have any other suggestions that you feel play a part towards the success of our dramas, please feel free to share it with us because it’s been a while that we haven’t discussed about the positives & the good things about our dramas. I’d be looking forward to your comments. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Here comes the most interesting list of the year, the top 20 most popular men of Pakistan. According to the survey been conducted by a reputed paper magazine of the country, it has been concluded that the following 20 male celebrities are considered to be the most hottest and popular personalities within the country. Although the list seems quite diversified, covering different niches all in all, but no doubts about the fact that these are the men who have contributed greatly in the success of the industry, and off course, the country. Have a look on the best 20 men of Pakistan in 2012!

Until now I have discussed numerous actors in many different ways. We have had a chance to talk about promising newcomers, versatile actresses, characters I hold very close to my heart and actors who don’t age but today I would like to share my thoughts about those new artists who failed to impress me. Many of you may disagree with me and your opinion is more than welcome. I would like it if you could also support what you say with arguments and in that way you may be able to convince me too.

Unfortunately these newcomers have spoiled many superbly written scenes for me so I thought it was important to make a list of these very good looking but disappointing actors. I am not saying that all these actors lack talent but I seriously believe that they need some training and learning before they can finally make their mark. Acting, like any other skill is something that needs to be learned and unfortunately we do not have too many training academies for actors in our country. Therefore, in the past also we have seen many actors who may have seemed like total failures in the beginning but turned out to be brilliant actors after they got some exposure. So, there is definitely hope for these stars but for now they are ruining the drama watching experience for me. So here it goes:

Shehryaar Munawar:

Believe it or not this gentleman was on top of my “Promising New Actors” list when Mere Dard Ko Jo Zuban Miley went on air, now that is what I call ironic! After watching him win our hearts as the cute and adorable Urooj, I was waiting anxiously to watch him set the screen on fire once he showed us just how good his dialogue delivery was. But it was not meant to be,when Shehryaar Munawar made his appearance in Tanhiyaan Nayee Silsilay I was shocked by his dialogue delivery and expressions as well. It is obviously up to the director to extract the best out of any actor but when the rest of the actors seem to be spot on with their acting; one finds it difficult to put the blame on the director. Or it could be that he needed a little more guidance than he was given. It seems like Shehryaar Munwar doesn’t know how to change his voice in order to evoke the right emotions and his expressions seem to be misleading too. I am hoping that Shehryar Munawar gets on track soon because he has the looks and the confidence it takes to be a star.

Sara Khan:

Sara Khan’s first project Bari Apa has a stellar cast but that does not mean that I am merely disappointed in her acting because she is working with some very talented actors. Sara khan is playing Sharmeen in the play and although the character is one which should get the sympathy of the audience but Sara Khan has failed to deliver. She fails to give the right expressions and although her facial muscles are in action all the time but she is not into the character or the situation at all. There are times when Sara Khan did deliver but I must say that a newbie like her should have started off with a smaller project so that she could learn as she went along.

Mustafa Changezi:

If one looks at Mustafa Changezi’s background he has a lot going for him. He has performed in theatre and has done modeling too; therefore he has ample exposure of the camera already. Mustafa Changezi plays Adeel in Bari Apa and although every time I sit down to watch a new episode I want to be convinced that he can act but the fact is that his dialogue delivery is beyond disappointing. All one can do is wonder what he is doing in a big project like Bari Apa. I think the first step towards becoming an actor is mastering dialogue delivery and the second is to perfect your expressions, unfortunately Mustafa Changezi lacks in both.

Arij Fatima:

Arij Fatima has a very pretty face and she is a wonderful model. I saw her playing Milli in Sabz Paree Laal Kabooter , then she starred in Mahi Aye Ga and now she is playing the lead in Mar jaye Bhi Tu Kiya. Although Arij Fatima has not been as big of a disappointment as rest of the actors I mentioned on top but sometimes it seems like she acts more than she needs to and in my opinion there are many other more talented actresses like Maheen Rizvi who deserve to play the lead role on the serials being aired on leading TV channels. But I am quite certain that it won’t take Arij Fatima long to turn into a good actress.

Shehzad sheikh:

Shehzad sheikh comes from a very talented family and I had very high expectations from this gentleman. When I heard he was playing the lead in Mi Raqsam I was quite sure that he must deserve that spot but I have to say that only after watching a few episodes of the play it became difficult for me to sit through an entire episode because the hero failed to impress. Shehzad sheikh is another actor who needs a little more guidance and training before he can play a lead in any play. I wish him a lot of success in the future but for now he has failed to impress me.

What do you think about all these actors, like I said before I know that many people like some of the actors in the list and will disagree with me, so feel free to share your opinion. Also, if there is a newcomer who hasn’t come upto your expectations please feel free to add to the list.

Fatima Awan.

There was a time when people used to question technological advancements and were not willing to accept them wholeheartedly but now technology is not just widely accepted but very warmly welcomed too. Whenever there is a new innovation, people ask what is next, even before they have fully exploited the technological devices already available. I remember when I was a kid I used to find it almost unbelievable that there will be a day when we will have phones which will enable us to see the person we were having a conversation with. At that time it seemed far fetched but the rapid pace with which technology is advancing in the given age nothing surprises me and everything is believable. ( I am not sure what to write after this sentence *sigh* or *cheers*?)

When I was growing up there used to be one or not more than two landlines in one household. There was absolutely no concept of cell phones and when the cordless phone was introduced many families did not prefer it because they wanted to keep a check on their teenage kids especially. With the phone set in one specific place, it was easy for the parents to monitor who their kids were interacting with and how long the conversations lasted. The kids in those days had very little privacy and the grown ups had a lot of control. If a parent did not want his child to associate with someone they would just tell that person that the child was busy or not home until they stopped calling. The parents picked up from the children’s conversation what was going on in their lives and very often they ended up talking to their children about it. Now in the past 15 years or so things have changed drastically, everyone has a mobile phone, even school going children can’t do without them. What effect does it have? Parents feel more secure because if their child gets into trouble or if there is an emergency they can instantly reach them but look at the cons, many of the parents nowadays have absolutely no control over their children’s lives in terms of who they are talking to and what is going on their life, unless the child decides to talk to the parents about it. And how often does that happen? Not very often, because as a result of all the technological advancements children do not have time or patience for their parents. There is so much to occupy them from play stations, computers to iphones and ipads and need I mention facebook? Which is anything but a book but a whole new world of it’s own to which old and young alike are addicted. Children nowadays can have a day without saying hello to their parents but a day without facebook is unimaginable.

All the latest games whether they are on play station, Xbox or idevices are very engaging indeed and some of them are highly educational too but In my opinion they are nothing compared to the good old game of tag we used to play with out siblings and neighbors. When you sit and play a game on your device or Xbox, who are you connecting with? Virtual characters in a virtual world? A game of ball, tag or hide and seek used to connect the kids with their friends and siblings and gave them some unforgettable memories. And not to mention there were many lessons learned along the way. I am not saying that children do not play with their friends anymore but I know from personal experience and observation that the kids nowadays interact with their devices much more than they do with real people. Why is that? I think it is because it is human nature to stick to relations that are easy to maintain, while a human will not do exactly what you want them to do and may argue with you too but a device will follow your lead. If you are losing in a game, all one has to do is to restart it and there is no looking back. But if you are playing with a friend and you lose, then you lose and you learn lessons about life…you learn how to deal with things when they don’t go your way. I really believe that these devices have managed to attain what they aimed to achieve, which is, making life easier for those who use them. But my question is that if we keep on making our lives so easy than how will we deal with it when it gets difficult? Life is no game that can be restarted, our children need to learn to resolve their problems and to deal with difficult situations and this is only going to happen if they go out in the world and interact with real people. Yes, all kids go to school and they interact with real people there but I have seen many kids who are introverts in school, they keep to themselves until it is time to come home.

Enough about kids, technology seems to have engulfed grown ups just as much too and while it is great that people make so many new friends online through many social networking sites but have you ever felt that you maybe giving your online friends more time than the people living in the same house with you? Nowadays in many affluent households every member of the family has a laptop or any other device to keep them connected to the outside world but we seem to be using the devices given to us by nature less and less to interact with those around us. A chat with a sibling, your spouse or even your own child may seem cumbersome because you have to reply to all the facebook messages and check out the latest updates on all the sites you have registered too…there just aren’t enough hours in a day! So what exactly are the grown ups investing in too? Imagine a day without any of these gadgets in the house and not even the television, what would be the outcome? I am certain that the people living in the house will interact with each other more. When your little sister does not have Google or youtube to tell her what she needs to know about her history lesson she is bound to come to you for assistance and this is how relationships grow.

I must sound like I am anti technology, well honestly speaking no I am not, we have all the possible gadgets in the house that one can think of but it really makes me wonder sometimes that where are we headed? And where does it stop? The internet and the other devices help us in countless ways. I won’t be here talking to you in the first place if it wasn’t for the internet but there was once a time when these things did not exist and people still got by with life just fine. Everything has it’s pros and cons, we all know very well what the positives of technology are and I will not deny them but how many of us stop to reflect how technology has changed human interactions (in good and bad ways). Yes I emphasized on the negative impact of technology in this article because sometimes I do feel like I was just as happy with life before all these technological developments. Life was simple back when friends and siblings had to sit and think hard about how to keep ourselves occupied. When one could not understand history or science your father never turned on you tube for you but he sat down to explain things. I do miss those days and I wonder how life would have been if things were still the same!

Fatima Awan.

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of reviewit.pk or dramasonline.com.

There is no doubt about the potential that the Pakistani Actors have. These days when we see the local audience loving our dramas, praising our actors for the good work, it has been seen that there are actresses who are mostly coming up with similar roles. By saying so, I really am not criticizing these talented celebrities but that is what I have been observing that the following actresses are often casted in similar roles, probably because of the fact that they have received popularity for those specific acting skills.

As an avid drama watcher it takes a lot for me to actually get up off the sofa and write a complaint , quite frankly I would much rather be sitting on said sofa and watching something interesting. But after noticing certain disturbing trends and tiresome stereotypes repeatedly thrown at me I thought; I had better put that remote down and wander over to my computer to see if anyone else is as bothered as me.

1. Love means never having to say you are sorry is a trite little phrase Pakistani dramas have taken to heart. Whether it is actual adultery such as in Sheher E Zaat or physical violence as in Ek tamanna lahasil our hero never apologizes  In fact both acts are flaunted with such nonchalance that after a while the viewer might be forgiven for thinking the heroine a bit annoying for creating such a fuss. Not once does Salman Anser apologize to Falak even though he asks for a patch up, worse still the dreadful Mohsin of Ek Tamana does not even acknowledge anything happened after beating his wife so badly she could barely walk. The recent drama AShk was another offender, after 22 episodes of willful mistakes by all the characters and open adultery by the hero not a single explanation was offered by any one. Wait; there was one apology from the heroine who was actually the least to blame because she was so young and stupid.

2. This leads to another stereotype being reinforced, that Men simply cannot help themselves. It infantalises men to the point that when temptation comes they give in to it by the next episode .Every time a man or for that matter woman does not ask for forgiveness it seems like a step towards justifying their bad behavior. Mohsin’s mother is not the cause of his violence; there are other ways to react. There is a reason people love Asher and dislike his metaphorical cousin Rohail, both are in bad situations but not only does one make honorable choices he actually accepts his part in the creating the problem .Yes, I understand not everyone behaves decently in real life but for goodness sake call a spade a spade. Bad behavior should be recognized as such not obscured by excuses.

3. If you watch any kind of drama these days you would be forgiven in thinking that greatest scourge of Pakistani society might be rich, spoiled elite class women. Selfish and self-absorbed, what are they thinking of, running NGOs instead of polishing their husband’s mansions? Socialite is such a dreadful word, what does it mean? Someone who goes to parties and shows off about some shoes she bought or the designer clothes she is wearing. Yes she may shout at her servants and bore everyone to death with her shallowness but so far I have yet to see one indicted for blowing up a bomb in a market place or ordering targeted killings. Could it be that there are slightly more serious problems and villains to target than her? Her habit of easily contradicting her husband and any other man in her vicinity is taken as a sign of arrogance, but change her silk suite to a cotton one and put her in a smaller house and suddenly what she says sounds reasonable. Funnily enough these horrible women like Farida Aunty always seem to produce wonderful sons that everyone wants to marry…and you know those wonderful hard working middle class mothers ,their sons can barely attract the girl’s attention…..puzzling…Or perhaps there needs to be more nuance to these two dimensional characters.

Being ever optimistic, let us look forward to better times, after all only a few years ago we saw the heroes of Qaid E tanhai and Meri Zaat Zara E Benishan actually apologised and tried to redeem themselves .There was even one positive role model of a liberal, educated woman: Dr. Zunaira in Yahan Pyar Nahin Hai this year. Let me know your views and feel free to disagree, another point of view is always welcome

Sadaf Haider

Many of our channels promote Indian shows on regular basis. All sorts of Indian shows from dance shows to reality ones are aired on our television channels all through the year and not only this many of our local shows are inspired by these Indian shows because they are so widely followed. We have seen many dance shows which are organized by our own production houses but are nothing more than a Pakistani version of these Indian shows and have nothing to do with our culture or identity. What I find extremely surprising is that none of our actors or any person belonging to the media world has ever opposed these shows strongly till now. Sure we do hear people say that the Indian shows should not be aired every now and then but have you ever seen a proper movement led by an artist or a number of artists against Pakistani shows that are inspired by these Indian shows only?

Now that the Turkish shows are going on air our actors and producers have a serious issue with it and will do anything to stop these shows from going on air. The actor Faysal Qureshi asked people to join hands with him in order to protest against these shows so that the channels won’t let them go on air. This is what Faysal Qureshi has asked from his fans:

“Dear friends and well wishers of Pakistani media, please show your support for Pakistani drama by showing up in person at 3:30 p.m on Saturday 15th DECEMBER at the Karachi Press Club. As you may have noticed, there’s a sudden influx of dubbed dramas as well as Indian soaps in the prime time slot (8 p.m-10:00 p.m) on several mainstream entertainment channels. Nowhere in the world does a country give such precedence to foreign content instead of its own indigenous software as Pakistani channels are choosing to do at this moment. If this trend is allowed to continue unabated, several Pakistani producers and production houses will be forced to shut down. It has been a long and arduous journey for artists, writers, directors, music directors, art directors and producers as it is… Please show your support for this industry and Pakistan’s cultural identity. We look forward to seeing you at the Press Club on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.God bless you all!” (Faysal Quershi)

My question is that was it okay for all these Indian shows to go on air as long as the time slot did not hurt our actors or production houses? If it really is about the cultural identity of Pakistan than my second question is that do shows such as Nachley (in which Faysal Qureshi himself very actively participated) represent the culture of Pakistan? Is it okay if Pakistanis themselves are a threat to their own culture and identity? We need to safeguard our culture and identity ourselves first and then point fingers at others. If our own shows are inspired by Indian shows than how can we hold them accountable for invading or threatening our culture? Is it really about our culture and identity or is it more about the production houses not being able to make as much money as they were before after these Turkish plays in particular go on air?

There are many Pakistani dramas also in which we see all kinds of things that are against our culture, traditions and moral values. We see people openly having extra marital affairs, we see sisters flirting openly with their Brother-In-Laws, people getting drunk is no problem at all, every second negative character in our dramas drinks as if it is no big deal and the comedy in our dramas is getting more vulgar by the day. Why don’t we question all of this and change the way things are. Pakistan has all the talent it needs to make good dramas (and we are making many too) without adding content that makes it impossible for the viewer to sit and watch these dramas with their family. Our dramas were not like this many years back, so whose footsteps are we following now? We cannot allow foreign channels to come here and spread vulgarity but we don’t keep our basic values in mind while making dramas. Instead of promoting family values, we are constantly making plays based on thinking that was indeed imported from the neighboring country.Where did this whole saas bahu saga start from in the first place? We never used to make dramas like that before. Is infidelity a part of our social fabirc?

I understand that our artists and production houses are feeling threatened now that foreign dramas are making their way to our industry but I also hope that our production houses set examples of Pakistani culture and tradition themselves too by promoting it in their dramas and shows. I hope that Faysal Qureshi will not be seen dancing to Indian tunes in his next show, only then will I be convinced that this is indeed about culture and identity and not just money.

Saud.

I wrote an article a few months back about my favorite on-screen characters, chosen from the plays that were on air at that time. Many months have passed since that article was posted and now is the perfect time to share with all of you some of my favorite on-screen characters from the recent plays because there are a number of dramas on air at the moment with some very relatable and interesting characters. I think that a strong script is one which gives us characters that are nicely etched-out. There are some characters we love because we can relate to them, there are others which we like because they are inspiring or just plain cute and there are those which just leave you wondering but you still like them! Here is the list of characters which I am really enjoying watching nowadays. Please feel free to add to the list because I am not watching Aik Nayee Cinderella and I know from the viewers’ discussions on this forum that people find some of the characters in Aik Nayee Cinderella very cute.

Bari Apa (Bari Apa):

Believe it or not this arrogant, selfish and rigid woman is on top of my list! Why? Well because I think we have not seen a character like Zubeida in a very long time. She is strong and selfish but I have to say that I find it difficult to totally dislike her. Although sometimes Zubeida’s double standards shock you to the core but there are times when one feels like there is a reason why Zubeida is the way she is. She was given the responsibility of looking after her siblings at a very young age and she could not marry the one man she loved because her mother wanted her to marry a rich man so that she could help the family financially. Does it sound like I am supporting this head strong woman? Well not really I do see very clearly that she is a hypocrite who “cheats” on her husband by emotionally relying more on her ex-fiancé than her own husband and tells the women around her that they need to respect their spouses when she has no respect for her own husband. There are so many interesting shades to Zubeida’s personality, I absolutely love her character and the play too and I am waiting to see what the new twist in the story has to offer. The character has been played brilliantly by Savera Nadeem and half of the beauty of this character lies in the way she has brought it to life on-screen.

Riffat (Bari Apa):

Yes another character from Bari Apa. In fact I was quite confused as to who I should put second on the list Riffat or Firdous. But Riffat deserves this spot much more than Firdous does. Although Riffat is not playing the lead in the play but I fell in love with her character when she decided to walk out on her husband after he threatened her of divorce…finally a woman who can put her foot down and take a stand where it is needed! The way Riffat feels for Bari Apa when she finds out that her husband married another woman and does not derive pleasure from the news showed that she is a very nice person at heart. While Firdous rejoiced at the news that Zubeida was in deep waters, Riffat did not think like that for a second. Madiha Rizvi has done complete justice to her character and is spot-on as Riffat.

Kashaf (Zindagi Gulzar hai):

Kashaf has won my heart only after two episodes; well to be honest I have liked Kashaf right from the first episode. We have seen many characters that are “somewhat” like Kashaf on-screen; girls who are poor and complain often but Kashaf is in no way like all these characters which we have seen previously. Kashaf has so much more to her personality that just the complaining bit. She is a practical and hardworking girl who loves her mother so much that all she dreams of is a day when her mother will not have to work so hard to make ends meet. Kashaf does not only dream of that day but is working hard to achieve that objective. Kashaf is not waiting for a prince charming to come rescue her but she relies only on her own strength. Sanam Saeed is doing a remarkable as Kashaf and I am really truly looking forward to seeing more of her. I am quite certain that she won’t let her fans down.

Rafia ( Zindagi Gulzar Hai):

Rafia (Kashaf’s mother) is a woman who may have had a very tough life but she is still very positive. She is a brave woman who loves her husband and of course finds it very difficult and hurtful to be ignored by him but she still has the courage to go on with life because she knows only too well that she is the only hope that her daughters have. Kashaf may complain and think negative thoughts but she is brave, courageous and practical like her mother. Samina Peerzada never fails to impress us and although she has played so many such positive characters in the past too but she does not bore us for a second.

Qabacha (Tanhaiyaan Naye Silsilay):

Even those of you who are not entirely enjoying Tanhiyaan Nayee Silsilay must admit that even after so many years Behroze Sabzwari has managed to pull off this character with just as much ease as he did so many years back. Qabacha is cute, caring, and sensitive and puts a big smile on my face every time he comes on-screen. He was my most favorite character in the original Tanhaiyaan too and honestly speaking I was a little apprehensive to watch him on-screen all over again because it could ruin my childhood memories. But this new Qabacha is just cute and lovable as the old one. Behroze Sabzwari deserves special praise for a job well done.

Serena (Tanhiyaan naye Silsilay):

Out of all the new characters that have been added to this sequel Serena has to be my most favorite. She is fun, bubbly, cute, caring and simply adorable. The way Serena has “converted” herself (the chori daar pajamas, choorian etc) after coming to Pakistan is very sweet. Syra Yusef has turned into a wonderful actress and she was the perfect choice for playing this role.

Please share your thoughts about these characters and also, feel free to add to the list.

Fatima Awan.

When I wrote the post about the Little Miss Jihad T-Shirt which Ayesha Omer wore in Zindagi Gulzar Hai while many people supported me but there were also some who thought that talking about this issue was of no use because the celebrities don’t care. Well, guess what Ayesha Omer decided to tell her side of the story because the public decided to openly speak up against something that was completely unacceptable to them. It is good to know that our actors do care about the public opinion. Here is what Ayesha had to say:

It is very apparent that Ayesha wanted to change the shirt but the director and the rest of the team members thought it was only a “cartoon” so there was nothing wrong with wearing it. In a way Ayesha Omer is blaming the seniors on the set who should have known better.

The few lines in the end suggest that Ayesha is very annoyed with people who used abusive language against her and thinks that they should judge themselves as well.

Share your views about this. I think the matter is resolved now and the actors and crew will be more careful in the future.

Saud.

I am a huge Umera Ahmed fan and follow her plays religiously; she is a class above the rest and gives us plays that are very inspiring.I feel that watching an Umera Ahmed play is more than just entertainment, it is a very educational experience as well. It is as if she thinks very hard before writing every single dialogue, the depth in her writing is unbeatable. And that is exactly the reason why I get so upset when I watch Umera Ahmed’s great writings affected by controversies when they go on air. When Shehr-e-Zaat went on air the scene of Falak performing ablution (wadhu) was put under scrutiny by many people and everyone was surprised that no one on the set knew that the way she was performing ablution was wrong. There were many other such careless mistakes or bloopers. For example Falak never wore a duppatta even after she turned towards religion. But all of that is done and dusted so let’s not talk about that.

Only two episodes of Zindagi Gulzar Hai have gone on air and without a doubt the play has a great deal going for it but I have to say with great sadness that the actors and unfortunately the director also has gone somewhat overboard when it comes to showing liberal people. Mehreen Raheel’s dressing is nothing new, sadly she does not consider the feelings of most of the people in Pakistan and dresses however she wishes. But what shocked me and many other people was the T-shirt that Ayesha Omer wore in the second episode, the T-Shirt had “Little Miss Jihad” written on it and it seemed like there was a bomb tied at the back of the scraf of the woman in the picture. And many people noticed and disliked it because the concept of jihad is very sacred to us and while we tolerate and somewhat accept all the modern wear in our dramas wholeheartedly but let us not make fun of our religion.

Everyone should have complete liberty to wear whatever they want to but the actors should think a great deal before wearing something that is bound to give rise to controversies. We all understand by now that Zaroon’s family is very modern but wearing such things just means that you are pressing the buttons of very emotional viewers who attach great respect to Umera Ahmed’s writings. Such bloopers (very careless mistakes) just leave a bad taste in the mouth and I can only wish that people who were involved with this project realize that they were wrong in letting Ayesha Omer wear this shirt. Even if she felt there was nothing wrong with it, there were many other people on the set who could point it out.

I really like everything about Zindagi Gulzar Hai till now and am hoping that we will not be seeing more of such things in the future because these are the things that can be easily avoided and can hurt people’s feelings. What do you people think? Am I being over emotional? Please correct me if I am wrong and share your feelings.

Saud.

If you conduct a survey on what actually made the Pakistani audience hate Star