2014 is just coming to an end so I thought to give a small tribute to super hit Drama of 2014 “Pyaray Afzal”. This was not just the drama but an emotional attachment, a roller coaster ride and an unforgettable Journey. Every scene every episode was a visual treat to watch. This drama had truly expressed the meaning of love and the deep reality of human relationship.

Poor Afzal he was shot dead when Farah finally embraced his love and actually wrote letter to him but missing Pyaray Afzal doesn’t mean that I am only missing Afzal, how can we forget bubbly Yasmeen, Responsible Aarfa, Stylish Lubna, Confused Farah, Tensed Ruqqaiya( Wife of Maulvi Subhanallah), Respected Maulvi Subhanallah and brave Babu Hameed.

Pyaray Afzal took us all by Storm and it was not only popular in Pakistan but all around the globe, I have to admit that it is the highest quality drama produced by Humayun Saeed’s production and indeed it will took many years now for ARY or any other channel to telecast such Gem again.

Round of Applause for Khalil ur Rehman for penning down this amazing story and dialogues

So let’s remember Pyaray Afzal through some great dialogues of this drama:

“Meri Auqaat nahi hai ke mein Farah se Muhabbat kar sakun lekin us se Muhabbat karne ka Haq hai mujhe”– Afzal

“Muhabbat ko ghussa ajaina Farah to tum jeson ko bhi hojaati hai”– Lubna

“Jab koi Naya Naya Musalman hota hai to kuch zayada hi Musalman hota hai”– Lubna

“Mere abba kaha karte thay ke mardon mein se asal mard ko phechaana aisa hai jese saare tarboozon mein se lal tarbooz phechaana”– Sheikh Ibrahim

“Dil ki Saari baatein dil walon ke pass amanat hoti hain aur who amanat mein khayanat nahi kya karte”– Afzal

“Mein Maulvi Subhanallah ka beta hun Wali aur who mujhe bataya karte that ke maut Zindagi ki hifazat karti hai is se mat darna zindagi se darna yeh wahan maarti hai jahan paani bhi nahi milta”– Afzal

“Pata hai yeh goli mujhe pheli baar nahi lagi aik goli mujhe Hyderabad mein bhi lagi thi dil ko cheerkar nikal gai thi mene khud operation kiya tha khud taanke lagai thay magar toota hua dil zayada solid nahi hota sirf zinda rakhne ke liye kaam ata hai”– Afzal

“Mera naam badal diya jai Abba mujhe nahi pata yahan Afzal kon hai jo begunhai mein maare jaate hain ya jinko mene maara hai”– Afzal

“Farah ke sirf moun per ghussa hota hai andar se to who bilkul mombatti hai zara si aanch dikhao pighal jai gi” – Lubna

“Muhabbat agar cricket hoti to mein jeet gaya hota”– “Afzal

“Is tarah milo jese bin bulaye gham se milte hain, pass bulaya dil mein rakha aur phir kaha tumhaari to aisi ki taisi”– Lubna

“Jaag jao Farah is keemat per ke tumne kayion ki neendein haram kardi hain”– Yasmeen

“Yeh akhri akhri badtameeziyan hain pyaray phir tum kahan aur mein kahan”– Yasmeen

“Marne se dar nahi lagta yaar magar jeene ka buhat dil karta hai”– Babu Hameed

“Tumhaari Kasam Afzal chahe uske gham mein jalte rehna magar in khaton ko nahi jalana”– Yasmeen

“Apko kasam hai meri shadi hojai to dua nahi dijiyega mera naam le kar khaiyega jao Farah humne tumhe maaf kya”– Farah

“Main Afzal ban jaata lekin mujhe koi batai to sahi ke Afzal aisa hota hai”– Afzal

Now some funny Dialogues:

“Mein tumhaara baap hun Farah koi channe bechne wala nahi”– Sheikh Ibrahim

“Khat kyn likhongi phone mene mirchein peesne ke liye thori rakha hai”– Lubna

This is my favourite one

“Mehboob ke sar ke aagey behen ka sar tarbooz hota hai”– Lubna

Hence these are the only dialogues that I remember, so do you guys remember anymore amazing dialogues? if yes then please do share :-)

Drama industry will soon go into extinction, if our drama makers will not understand that they should really need to get out from second wife obsession. If I say extinction that means the value our drama industry currently holds globally. Today most of our dramas had failed to enthral us in terms of quality but on the flip side something is really getting better in terms of quality and that is our dramas OSTs.

Pakistani dramas OSTs had never failed to mesmerize me in fact they are getting better and better. Each drama OST contains different melody and music. It will not be wrong to state that music directors, lyricists and composers are doing much better job than our drama directors and writers.

So here is the list of some melodious OSTs from current and recent dramas:

Aik Pal OST: Well I cannot say that Aik Pal drama is a mega project of HUM TV because up till now I cannot find anything in this drama that marks it as a mega project. However I find its OST quite mesmerizing. The soundtrack is slow but Nabeel’s voice and its lyrics will keep you listening to it. The song is sung by Nabeel Shaukat Ali and Faiza Mujahid and the composer is well known Waqar Ali who is also a living legend providing beautiful and different compositions in every OST. I wonder why no one yet had given any award to him. That’s weird seriously!

Dusri Biwi OST: “Aaja piya mene tere ishq mein jeena seekha, kese guzrein din yeh mere kesi guzri ratiyan piya” Well the drama is absolutely stupid and there is no doubt about it but one cannot stop listening to its OST. Extremely splendid vocals of Ahmed Jhanzeib with great music. The music is also composed by Ahmed Jhanzeib and lyrics are written by Samina Ejaz.

Dayar-e-Dil OST: We are all loving this drama up till now. Cannot say about story much but visuals are simply stunning and more over Haseeb Hasan’s direction will keep you hooked up. Well the drama is not only good but its OST is mesmerizing as well. The starting lyrics of the OST contains Persian language (correct me if I am wrong). The OST is sung by Zeb Bangash and Momin Durrani whereas the song is composed by Shani Arshad and lyrics are written by Sabir Zafar.

Tum mere hi rehna OST: Although this drama ended 2 months before but one should really have a look on its OST, this song is beyond perfect. Exceptional singing and composition by Shuja Haider, simply love his stunning vocals. The lyrics are written by Sabir Zafar.

Alvida OST: “Dharkan bin kya dil rakhna, is se loon mein jaan chorha, Alvida aye dil alvida aye dil” Shafqat amanat ali is back with Alvida OST and his singing has taken this song to the whole new level. Sometimes you just needs to close your eyes and listen to this song. The OST is composed by another legend Sahir Ali Bhagga and lyrics are written by Imran Raza.

Khuda Dekh Raha hai OST: We all aware of talent that Agha Ali possesses in acting but who knows that one day he will stunned the audience through his mesmerizing vocals and composition skills. Yes Agha Ali is not only a great actor but a genius music composer and singer. I made my cousin listen to this song and next day literally he was tapping the replay button.

Mera Naam Yusuf hai OST: “Mera Rom Rom Khali aye,Mere Saray Khaab Jaali Nay. Mere Kol aa Dil Nu Samjha.Tu Mera Nahi”. Not only this play will keep your eyes glued to the screen but its OST is one such fantastic song for your ears. The OST is sung by Rizwan Anwar who got such a soothing voice.

Goyaa OST: “Na soya hun na jaaga hun mein tere dard se aagah hun, na torna is dorr ko mein tere jism ka aadha” Ahh! One such great drama spoiled due to dragging. I wonder what pokes ARY to drag each and every drama. Anyways if you have stopped watching this drama it’s not your fault but one cannot simply stop listening to its OST. The OST is sung by Shazia Ghazal and lyrics/composition is provided by Shuja Haider.

Seriously why our nation is so much obsessed of Bollywood songs and gives preference to it when our own drama songs are zillion times better than it. We claim to be patriotic and wants to compete India in every field but cannot stop listening and watching their content.

So as listed above which OST do you like the most?

It is funny how defensive fans can get some times when they hear something against their favorite celebrities. Sometimes I feel like some of us take the innocent comments made by readers/viewers a little too seriously and find it hard to accept that everyone has their own point of view which they are free to express not because they want to offend anyone but only because they believe in the freedom of speech. Here are some interesting things I have noticed in the past two years or so.

* If you don’t like Fawad Khan keep your mouth shut;)

Yes, most of Fawad Khan’s fans have very little tolerance for criticism. This is the reason why many people do not have the guts to openly criticize him even if they want to do so.

* If you think Mahira Khan is not pretty or cannot act, you must be jealous of her

This has to be the funniest one of all. If a girl especially says anything against Mahira Khan’s acting or looks she has to be jealous of her because why else would she be finding faults in someone who is so perfect!!

*Think 100 times (or even more) before criticizing Umera Ahmed

If you don’t like a play written by Umera Ahmed then you should keep your opinion to yourself otherwise you will get votes down, a lot of bashing and telling off.

*If Hamsafar is not your all time favorite play, there must be something seriously wrong with you

I have openly declared time and again that Hamsafar was a very engaging play but it is not the best play of all times on my list because there are many other plays like Durr-e-Shehwar, Mera Naseeb and Dastaan which are much closer to my heart. But I know it for a fact that people usually do not criticize Hamsafar on online forums because they are too scared that the die-hard Hamsafar fans may tell them off.

*Some dramas are only meant for the “intelligent” crowd with a certain IQ level and people who don’t appreciate such plays are lesser humans

I find this one especially funny because I believe that most of our viewers are intelligent enough to tell a good drama from a bad one and sometimes people try to find the sort of depth in dramas which even the writer probably didn’t think of while penning down the scripts.

*If you don’t like a play, don’t watch it

“Say what?? You can’t be serious!!” is usually my first instinctive response to such comments.

How many of you can relate to the above mentioned observations? Do share the sort of behavior/responses you come across while interacting with people online.

Note: Please don’t take this article very seriously because it is intended to be a fun article. It is meant to instigate debate about things we observe but don’t usually talk about.

Fatima Awan

Where the quality of our dramas is going down the hill on the other hand the quality of OSTs is improving gradually. Today the particular drama may not enthral us but OST definitely do. Dramas like Meri Zindagi Hai Tu, Khoya Khoya Chand, Darmiyan etc. had been proven as a total disappointment but their sound tracks are indeed mesmerizing.

I would like to give a huge shout out to Waqar Ali and Sahir Ali Bhagga who had contributed a lot in Drama Industry by composing great sound tracks, they are the masterminds behind some awesome sound tracks like Humsafar OST. Currently our writers and directors are getting out of focus and this the reason why they are unable to bring the quality, however it will not be wrong to state that our composers and singers are definitely doing a fantastic job so that audience can listen to some fascinating OSTs. Composers are now taking the level of Sound tracks to the level of filmy songs, I mean if you listen to some OSTs it definitely sounds like a film song. For example Shareek-e-Hayat composed and sung by Sahir Ali Bhagga, Dard-e-Inteha composed by Sahir Ali and sung by Sara Raza Khan, Tu hi tu (Bashar Momin OST) Composed by Ali Raza and sung by Kashif.

Here I would like to introduce you to some great sound tracks from recent dramas, hence the list as follows:

BHOOL OST: Isn’t this OST exactly sounds like Bollywood 90’s song. From the day I listened to this sound track I fell in love with it and I have literally burnt this sound track by replaying it again and again. The OST was beautifully sung by Nabeel Shaukat Ali and Bina Khan and extremely well composed by Sahir Ali Bhagga. Nabeel definitely got a bright future ahead, he got uniqueness in his voice and he can also do vocal belting like Atif Aslam. Moreover the sound track is not only good but I also like this soap airing on HUM-TV every Monday to Thursday at 6.50 pm.

Mere Humdum Mere Dost OST: I am not watching this drama as this drama never attracted me at first place. I tried to watch but couldn’t, hopefully in future the interest may develop and I shall watch it. However I simply love its OST and I must confess that this sound track mesmerized me in first attempt. The sound track was composed by the living legend Waqar Ali and it was sung by two talented rising singers Nida Arab and Adeeb Ahmed.

Jab We Wed OST: This is a new drama currently airing on Urdu 1 same channel on which Mere Humdum Mere Dost is currently ON-AIR, I am not watching this drama so I am not sure about the days and timings. The sound track is actually based on a wedding theme, so it’s obviously sounds like a wedding song. This OST completely defines the variety that our composers are providing. It was composed by Sahir Ali Bhagga and the male part was also sung by Sahir Ali himself, I am not sure about the female part so if anyone knew please tell me.

Sahir Ali Bagga – OST Jab We Wed by pakiumdotcom

Laa OST: Great drama with totally unique story, although there are many flaws in direction from the award winning director Farooq Rind. The OST of this drama gives me goose bumps each time I listen to it. Javed Bashir got a very powerful voice, our people do not acknowledge him much but he is a living legend. The OST is not fully out yet, I don’t know why HUM-TV failed to bring the full OST. Anyways I have managed to extract the whole OST, the link I have provided under the ost contains full sound track. It is not in a proper sequence and additionally it is only available on YOUTUBE and I know that YOUTUBE is not working in Pakistan. Still if you can access so please do listen to it.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bz41n5jsGvc9UTNiNU9abXY1M2M/edit?pli=1

Koi Nahi Apna OST: Normally sound tracks are made for dramas but Koi Nahi Apna drama is actually based on this Sajjad Ali old song Toota Sapna. The drama proves to be a total disappointment for majority audience and the only good thing about this drama is its OST. Well I am not posting an OST here but the original song of Sajjad Ali.

I only knew about these OSTs from current dramas, so update me with the OSTs from current dramas that you love to listen but I am mentioning it again only from current dramas please.

We have talked about dramas a lot but now let’s talk about the usual things that we observe in our dramas.

We have indeed noticed many clichés in our dramas and as Areeba had mentioned due to clichés the dramas become predictable and boring but have we ever paid attention towards some common things in almost every drama? If not then how about paying attention towards some of those things that I observe in almost every drama.

Tea vs Coffee: “aap chai leinge ya Coffee”, “Jee coffee manga lein” the battle between Tea and Coffee continues and most of the time coffee wins. Sometimes I think that coffee and tea is setting some sort of standard in our dramas and perhaps the perfect example of showing clear difference between rich and poor. The trend in dramas nowadays is to show highly rich family and poor family there is hardly any middle class and the coffee is preferred choice for the rich ones while poor can only afford tea.

Lavish Breakfast: “Bibi jee nashta lag gaya hai table per”, “Acha Sahab ko bhi bulalo”. Scratching my head ahh! Cannot remember in which drama I saw “Anda Paratha” or “Kebab Paratha” in breakfast. The breakfast table is usually covered with Omlette and Half fry eggs, Bread, butter or jam, apples, juice and tea (yes this time no coffee but tea). Now make sure that bread is there for buttering and it will not go with the eggs instead you will eat eggs by fork and knife. In Shanakht episode 9 Hashim’s father was eating half fry egg with fork and knife and I said to myself how he will eat the egg yolk then with a fork in his hands?

Raat ko jaldi ghar ajaiyega: “Jee aap office ja rhe hain”, “Nahi channe bechne ja raha hun”, “Acha raat ko jaldi ghar ajiyega salma ne khaane per bulaya hai” “Acha aajonga”.These wives never told their husbands about dinner one day before, not even on breakfast table but just on lastminute.com when person is about to leave the house with the briefcase in his hand.

One suitcase is enough to leave the house: “Mein aapke saath aur nahi rehsakti mein jaa rhi hun” and with this dialogue the lady step towards her wardrobe pick three designers’ dress of her choice and put it in a suitcase. O Hello! Who will pick up those makeup kits? And what about the remaining dresses? So this lady who demands for new dresses every day from her husband can leave his house with three dresses only. This is the same case in “bhaag ke shadi karlete hain” where girl picks her few dresses, put it in a hand carry or bag and run with her boyfriend, leaving at once all the lavishness that was provided by her father. The most recent example is Aik pal where Bareera tries to run away with few dresses in her rucksack. On the other side when a boy decides to leave the house, he prefers to use a bag instead of a suitcase. Perhaps the most usual thing in almost every drama.

Everyone is working on a Project: “Yeh buhat bara project hai hamare haath se nahi jaana chaiye”, “Jee sir”. This is the latest obsession from our drama writers and directors where everyone is working on some kind of project and no one is performing their everyday operational activities. The recent examples are Shukk and Shanakht. Rung was the most recent drama where the wife is a doctor and husband is a bureaucrat. I was actually annoyed with Hum as they telecast such beauty on Hum Sitaray instead of Hum Tv, anyways that’s not our topic. I hope that writers do come up with stories where the well offs belong from some other field rather than running a group of industries.

Men reading books while going to bed: Last but not the least every men in dramas prefer to read some books while going to bed, probably you guys have noticed this habit as well. This seems to be a popular scene where husband is reading some random book under a lamplight while going for bed, her wife sitting in front of a dressing table apply some lotion on her hand. She then turn around and started talking about current happenings thereby interrupting her husband from reading and meanwhile all of a sudden during the conversation they come up with some decision or if there is an argument it ends up with no agreement at all.

Any more things that you guys can add if yes then please do share your thoughts?