After script, if there is one thing that makes or breaks the drama, it is the way the characters have been penned down and etched out by the writer. Characters are an integral part of any drama because they are the body that are used by the writers to elaborate their script on-screen. If the characters are written appropriately, they attract the viewers and help them in understanding the story a lot better because viewers form a connection with them immediately and relate to them a lot more, similarly, if the characters are written poorly, they only end up annoying the viewers because such characters have nothing to offer.
This year, where we saw some memorable character, we also came across a lot such characters who were annoying to the core, yet they got a lot of coverage because the writers assumed they were contributing towards the story. Viewers expect characters to be logical and rational but we saw a lot such characters who defied basic common sense and logic too, making the viewers wonder why were they made a part of the script in the first place.
So, here is an alphabetically ordered list that has been complied in order to pay tribute to such annoying characters, who made us shake our heads at their irrationality, ridiculousness and poor execution.
Aneesa (Zara Yaad Kar)
She was a walking talking philosophy teacher whose only motive was to put her students to sleep. Despite having some amazing dialogues up her sleeve, Aneesa ended up becoming one of the most annoying mothers who only wanted to see her daughter in laal jora and laal surkhi by hook or by crook. It was actually quite cringe worthy to see a mother making herself helpless to a point where she pushed herself to support her daughter’s unreasonable demands of Halala.
Anoushay (Zara Yaad Kar)
She took over the drama as if she was the main lead, whereas there was nothing about her character or her story that struck a chord with the viewers because she was introduced at such a time when the viewers were hoping for the drama to end. Anoushay was added only to drag the drama and everything that she offered, starting from her flat acting to her senseless dialogues, all of that made her eligible for this list as she was annoying to the T!
Asher (Gul-e-Rana)
We have seen many becharis in dramas this year but Asher was the ultimate bechara. The fact that Imran Ashraf was a complete miscast in this role didn’t help either. Although the writer and the director tried their best to create scenarios to make the viewers feel for Asher but every time he came on screen viewers felt nothing for him. The forced becharapan and a character which was neither appealing more logical failed to win the viewers over and was annoying!
Gaiti (Zara Yaad Kar)
Gaiti was introduced in the drama to make people forget Urdu and English both because she showed up as an America returned Pakistani who wasn’t fluent in Urdu. Not only her dialogue delivery was annoying but her presence in the drama was meaningless too as she didn’t contribute one bit in the story and ended up looking like a filler gone wrong.
Ghaalib (Mana Ka Gharana)
Ghaalib was the man of the house, the head of the family who despite having such an authority was so weak that every single time he saw the tyranny of his wife, he would put his wheelchair to good use, roll into his room so that he could cry in peace. Throughout the drama, he never took a stand against all the wrongdoings of his wife even in the matters concerning the future of his daughter.
Gul-e-Rana (Gul-e-Rana)
Rana was another heroine who was introduced as a very strong woman in the first 3 episodes but later on she did all kind of weird things – remember those walks in the jungle and getting over friendly with strange men?? – which made the viewers question Rana’s mental age. She was another heroine who refused to help herself, most of her problems were self-created and the character itself was highly confusing. Sajal Ali couldn’t have saved the day with her acting because Rana’s character didn’t have much to offer.
Haadi (Zara Yaad Kar)
Despite being the main character of the drama, Haadi didn’t show any development from beginning till the end. Throughout the drama, the viewers expected him to display some signs of him having a backbone but he didn’t. What made his character hard to digest was the fact that in the end, he chose to be the one who sentenced punishment to his ex-wife, while he never once took matters in his hands to make her realize she was wrong. Haadi himself pushed his ex-wife to the limit by making her believe that she could rely on him and in the end, when he had to keep his promise, he chose to get committed to someone who fed him muft ka nashta throughout the drama!
Hira (Beqasoor)
Hira’s character was beyond annoying for number of reasons. Her holier-than-thou nature and her desperate moves to please her father made her character worse than that of her step-sister who was shown as a very materialistic and selfish girl. Also, Saboor Ali’s overacting and loud make-up made this character even more unbearable. Although the viewers were pushed to feel for this character but it was impossible to feel for someone who was too good and too naive to be true! Hira was her own biggest enemy, she put herself in difficult situations over and over again.
Imdad Hussain (Aap Ke Liye)
A negative character who had nothing happening for him except some overly done expressions which most certainly did not compliment his face nor his age. Viewers of this drama never imagined that they will get to see Waseem Abbas in a ‘silky satiny beige night suit’ at this stage of his career which absolutely looked unflattering on him. Waseem Abbas got way more coverage in this drama than required and he succeeded in ruining the pace and the mood of the viewers completely!
Jeena (Mann Mayal)
Jeena’s character lacked depth, it was a forced character which did not add anything tangible to the story. Jeena was a desperate girl who was in love with Salahuddin. She mentioned the fact that her parents were dead and she that had no family repeatedly to get attention from anyone and everyone. The dialogue “mere tu maa baap bhi nahi hein” was repeated so many times in every single episode even in situations where it wasn’t needed that it turned into an even bigger joke than the drama itself!!! In the end the viewers were expected to feel for this character for which they felt nothing but annoyance!
Mahnoor (Zara Yaad Kar)
Where the viewers always rejoice at the sight of strong woman in a drama, she was a woman of steel, to an extent of having a brain of steel too, which was empty and when dropped on the floor, created some noise pollution. Throughout the drama, people wanted her to feel some remorse, some embarrassment at what she did but the writer chose to keep her ‘dheet’ right till the end and that makes her one of the most annoying characters of 2016!
Mannu (Mann Mayal)
Mannu turned from a go-getter into a weakling the second she got married. Every time she needed help she turned to Salahuddin and never her parents who were for the longest time supportive and loving until they decided to take a complete about-turn. Even after so many years when Mannu was thrown out of her house, she once again turned to Jamil and not her family. She kept on saying she will take a stand, she will get away from Salahuddin, she will make a life of her own and that she had self-respect but her actions spoke louder than words. Manhoos Mannu was a confusing character which continuously annoyed the viewers with her indecisiveness and becharapan especially in the last few weeks of the show.
Mannu’s Parents (Mann Mayal)
Mannu’s parent’s were there for their daughter until she actually needed them! They completely disappeared from the scene when Mannu got married and when they reappeared they made sure that the circumstances were such that their daughter stayed with her ex-boyfriend. Mannu’s mother’s beghairti and her father’s “I love you, I love you not” attitude baffled and annoyed the viewers. They were one of the worst parents we saw in dramas this year.
Mikaeel (Mann Mayal)
Mikael was shown looking for his pajamas and other things which definitely didn’t count as the more important things in life for half of the screen time given to him. His character was only there so that people could feel sorry for Mannu. In the end, just like Jeena, the viewers were forced to feel for him! A black character with absolutely nothing going for him with dreams which made the viewers laugh, this list would be incomplete without him!
Munira (Gul-e-Rana)
Munira was another one of those characters in dramas this year which wasn’t only annoying but also quite useless. She was one of those mothers who was introduced as someone who loved her daughters and would stand by them but ended up doing nothing for Rana. Her character only made an appearance when it was needed to add to Rana’s troubles and was never around when Rana needed her help! Rubina Ashraf’s acting made this character even more unbearable.
Nishat (Aap Ke Liye)
Samina Peerzada played the role of an evil sister in this drama but oh boy, she took evilness to a whole new level. The audience have seen negative and evil characters in the past, so it wouldn’t have cost Samina Peerzada much if she had kept her portrayal of Nishat a little subtle. It looked like Samina Peerzada felt as if her curly hair, diamond necklace, overly done eye make even in the early morning scenes wasn’t screaming ‘evil’ enough that she decided to through in those very disturbing expressions and unpleasant laughter as well. With an experience in acting like that, no one imagined that Samina Peerzada could overdo a very simple one-dimensional character, but the viewers are still wondering what was she thinking. Nishat’s character was negative but what made her annoying to an extent of being intolerable was Samina Peerzada herself!
Sadaf (Beqasoor)
Sadaf was one-of-a-kind bechari who let her husband walk all over her time and again. She poisoned her daughter, failed to do anything for her, begged her husband to keep her when he kicked her out of the house and the list of her blunders is never-ending. It was disappointing watching someone like Samina Peerzaba playing such a character.
Saleha (Mana Ka Gharana)
Saleha was one negative character but what made her annoying was the fact that the writer made her the ultimate authority who no one could question or go against as if her word was the last and the final verdict. She was also one of those mothers who wanted to see her daughter getting married to ameer-zada as she believed money would guarantee her daughter’s happiness, how annoying right?
Salma (Sangat)
The desperate girl who loved Shahwez even after she found out he was a rapist was the worst thing about Sangat. Salma’s support for Shahwez and her “cool” reaction when she found out that Shahwez had raped Ayesha was not just annoying but also very disturbing.
Umair (Kathputli)
He came in the drama as if he was going to run things but vanished into thin air as if he never existed, making the viewers feel why was his character introduced in the first place. Everything about this character or actor, from eyebrows, to dialogue delivery, to his meddlesome attitude, to his presence, every single thing about him was wrong and annoying.
Zahida (Tere Mere Beech)
This character left no stone unturned in deafening the viewers who tuned to this drama. She was a howler, a caterwauler, a crier and a noise polluter because all she did was cry in the drama to a point where the viewers had to keep the remote control handy as her voice was beyond tolerance level.
Zubeida (Sangat)
Zubeida was an “intelligent”, “caring” woman who stood by her daughter’s rapist like a rock, covered up for her daughter’s rape like it was her fault and let’s not forget she didn’t find out even in the end that the person who she had been supporting all these years had raped her daughter! Zubeida’s character was one of the stupidest character we saw on screen this year who made our blood boil for obvious reasons.
With this, we conclude the list of most annoying characters that we all came across in 2016. Please feel free to add more names to the list and don’t forget to share your thoughts.
Fatima Awan & Zahra Mirza