Pakistani drama industry produces a lot of dramas every year. Where some of the drama serials are heavily promoted to create hype and make the audience anticipate, there are also such dramas which go on air without making a lot of buzz. It always remains to be seen whether the drama will become popular or not, therefore drama makers get a definitive answer once it goes on air. Many a times, those dramas which are expected to do well in terms of ratings or popularity fail to draw the attention and similarly at times those dramas which may not really seem promising before they start airing end up holding the interest of the viewers.
There are a lot of factors which help in making a drama click with the audience. Sometimes, simple stories with very simple execution works and at times, dramas which have all the elements to it fail to do well. Every season, Pakistani drama watchers come across a lot of such dramas which at the beginning do not seem impressive but end up getting them hooked because they find one thing or the other that forces them to tune to it week after week.
Here are those recent Pakistani dramas that surprisingly and unexpectedly became popular:
Dushman e Jaan
Writer: Sarwat Nazir
Director: Amin Iqbal
Producer: Six Sigma Plus
Channel: ARY Digital
Cast: Tooba Siddique, Mohib Mirza, Madiha Imam, Irfan Khoosat, Mohsin Gillani, Farah Tufail and others.
Dushman e Jaan is one of the most popular dramas of the season. It started airing and out of nowhere, it grabbed the attention of the viewers and earned a lot of appreciation. Dushman e Jaan was probably one such drama that even the channel did not see having any potential, this is why it was delayed and did not air at its estimated time. However, now when the viewers got to see the story of Dushman e Jaan, they fell in love. It is a typical Sarwat Nazeer script which has covered basic human emotions, societal pressures and daily struggles in the simplest of manner. Director Amin Iqbal has stayed true to the essence of the script and has executed in a way which conveys the crux of every situation in a clear manner. No one could even imagine that a cast which failed to create any hype will actually end up being so impressive that the viewers won’t be able to stop talking about it.
Dushman e Jaan is a perfect one such drama which took the viewers by surprise and gave them enough reasons to tune to it. Strong acting, brilliant performances, simple but meaningful dialogues, strong direction and well written script have contributed in making Dushman e Jaan a very interesting drama. Tooba Siddique, Mohib Mirza and Madiha Imam have given convincing performances and are getting well deserved appreciation.
Kashf
Writer: Imran Nazeer
Director: Danish Nawaz
Producer: Momina Duraid Production
Channel: Hum TV
Cast: Hira Mani, Waseem Abbas, Junaid Khan, Samina Ahmed, Munnazah Arif, Hajra Khan, Sabeena Farooq, Lubna Aslam and others.
Kashf is another drama of the season which has taken the viewers by surprise. Usually such dramas which have an element of mysticism and fantasy fail to hold the interest of the viewers, unless they are tackled properly. Luckily for the viewers who tuned to Kashf, they realized they were going to experience a very different storyline which was executed with a vision and intelligence. Kashf’s story is unique and brings a very new concept to the table – a girl who seems dreams which eventually turn out to be true. Drama serial Kashf has a melodramatic feel to it but the director has added a touch of comic relief, to prevent it from becoming too serious and difficult to grasp. There are a lot of characters and they all contribute to the story in one way or the other. They have strong personalities and each one of them is fighting a battle, some selfishly and some selflessly.
Kashf is getting exploited because of the power and authority she has given to him but will she ever come to realize is what the viewers are most curious about. Hira Mani has given one of the best performances of her career in this drama. Danish Nawaz yet again proves what a visionary director he is. Imran Nazeer is known for always bringing something different to the TV screens and he has done it again. All the supporting actors have worked hard in making Kashf a complete package. It is one such drama which did not create a lot of buzz before it started airing but after it did, it became popular quickly. A surprise package which has a lot to offer.
Mohabbat Tujhe Alvida
Writer: Abdul Khaliq Khan
Director: Barkat Siddiqui
Producer: Barkat Sidiki & Zayed Sheikh
Channel: Hum TV
Cast: Zahid Ahmed, Sonya Hussyn, Mansha Pasha, Sajida Syed, Javed Sheikh, Angelline Malick, Mizna Waqas and others.
Mohabbat Tujhe Alvida got a lot of attention right after the promos were out. Audiences were quick to figure out that the entire theme of the drama was lifted from Bollywood super-hit movie Judaai. This also played a huge part in giving this drama a lot of hype but the factor which added more to it was the pairing of Zahid Ahmed and Sonya Hussyn. By now, everyone knows that both Zahid Ahmed and Sonya Hussyn are selective about the kind of work they do, therefore their association with this project did have the viewers looking forward to this drama, despite their skepticism.
After the first episode went on air, viewers were forced to say that they thoroughly enjoyed the drama and although they could see the similarities between Judaai and Mohabbat Tujhe Alvida, they were ready to look beyond that because the drama was not only promising but had all those factors which was holding their interest. There is nothing new to the story because those who have watched Judaai have seen it all, but there’s no denying the fact that Sonya Hussyn and Zahid Ahmed’s acting has viewers excited for what is yet to come. They felt an instant connection with the characters of Ulfat and Shahan, although they were exaggerated, but it all clicked with the viewers and it took them by surprise. The audience have now put faith in the team of Mohabbat Tujhe Alvida and are ready to see how they are going to execute the story.
Deewangi
Writer: Sadia Akhtar
Director: Zeeshan Ahmed
Producer: 7th Sky Entertainment
Channel: Geo TV
Cast: Danish Taimoor, Hiba Bukhari, Ali Abbas, Mehmood Aslam, Ismat Zaidi, Zoya Nasir and others.
Deewangi is another drama of the season which has become quite popular. When the drama began, viewers were happy to see the budding love story of Sultan Durrani and Nageen. Their love story was reminiscent of Korean dramas where a chaebol falls in love with a girl from a humble background, trying to make the ends meet in a dignified manner without compromising on her ethics and moral values. The story then took a turn and everything changed for Nageen as well as Sultan Durrani. The entry of Haroon’s character was also a good and unexpected twist and then the struggles of Nageen were covered realistically. Deewangi is the type of drama that keeps the viewers hooked and because it does not focus solely on the negatives, it gives enough reasons to stay tuned for the episodes week after week.
Sultan Durrani has once again entered Nageen’s life and he is doing everything to win her over but because Nageen knows him too well, she is trying her best to get rid of him. Sultan is weaving a trap around her and it seems Haroon too is going to fall prey to it. Nageen’s helplessness makes you feel for her. Danish Taimoor has performed really well as an antihero. He has shown all the shades of Sultan Durrani’s personality with a lot of clarity. He is doing what it takes to ruin Nageen’s life but there are certain moments where he actually yearns to be understood and loved because he sees himself as a victim of circumstances which made him go through the humiliation eventually leading him to turn against Nageen. Sultan regrets losing Nageen but deep down he wants her to pay the price because he holds her responsible for all the mishaps in his life.
Sultan Durrani’s character is very interesting to read and Danish Taimoor’s acting makes it better. The viewers find themselves hating Sultan and then feeling for him at the same time. The writer has carefully written this complex character and has shown how selfishness coupled with entitlement makes one weak and wrong. Deewangi is definitely the kind of drama which has done really well in terms of popularity and despite the story being not too new, it has all the elements to keep the viewers hooked.
Mera Dil Mera Dushman
Writer: Mirza Asim Baig & Humera Safdar
Director: Syed Ali Raza Usama
Producer: Six Sigma Plus
Channel: ARY Digital
Cast: Yasir Nawaz, Alizeh Shah, Amna Malick, Salman Saeed, Noaman Sami, Naveed Raza, Anam Tanveer and others.
Mera Dil Mera Dushman has had a typical storyline revolving around the helplessness of the heroine and family politics that she is subjected to before and after her marriage. Mera Dil Mera Dushman’s cast came together for the first time but somehow, this entire team was successful in grabbing the interest of the viewers. One of the major factors that played a huge part in the success of Mera Dil Mera Dushman was the pace of the drama and the way the script was handled by the director. It was a well executed drama which covered the ordeals of Maira convincingly.
Although the entire concept of an aged man marrying a girl his daughter’s age has been seen before in Pakistani dramas, Mera Dil Mera Dushman tackled with it sensitively and showed that Maira was still trying to make things work with some of the efforts from her husband’s side too. Mera Dil Mera Dushman is not the kind of drama that will be remembered for a long time but it surely is such a drama that people like to watch because of the overall execution.
This completes the list of those recent Pakistani dramas that turned out to be impressive and became quite popular. Which one of these are you following? Feel free to share your opinion in the comment section below.
Sadaf’s dance number “Kaif-O-Saroor” in Namaloom Afraad 2 also earned her a lot of fame.
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