I needed to watch something as I revise the draft of my upcoming novel. I found this and started to watch.

The story is written by Yasir Husain and directed by Wajahat Rauf. It is being aired on Hum TV. The duo has delivered some good content in the past. The cast is perfect.

***

Characters

Maqsood Sahab (Salman Shahid): Head of the household

Shahnaz Begum (Bushra Ansari): Maqsood’s wife

Nayal (Yasir Husain): Maqsood and Shahnaz’s son

Ahsan (Abdullah Farhatullah): Nayal’s friend

Nimra: Ahsan’s wife

Zoya (Kubra Khan): Nimra’s cousin

Durdana: Maqsood’s sister who is separated from her husband

Ikhtiyar (Asad Siddiqui): The ever-charming mulazim of the household with a never-ending wits

Rimsha: Nayal’s cousin and fiancee

Bilal: Zoya’s boss

Behroz: Maqsood’s evil cousin

Mukhtar Seth: Ikhtiyar’s estranged father

Hafeez: Durdana’s husband

Review

Nayal is almost never serious. and is always playing pranks on Ahsan and Nimra. Ahsan and  Nimra are married but Nimra still acts a little childish, in my opinion, and very nak-chadhi. Why couldn’t she talk nicely to her husband who tries to be romantic, is beyond me.

There is one subplot where Maqsood is worried and talks to a lawyer about some property dispute. Another subplot is about Ikhtiyar who does not know about his parents. The third one is about Durdana and his mysterious past. The subplots are brought up not very often, leaving a lot of curiosity in the viewers’ mind. Although, we are given enough hints about what it will be. When I was watching it, I assumed that Ikhtiyar’s father would contact him soon. I assumed Durdana’s husband would approach her. I did not know who was on the other side of property tiff.

Anyway, more than the romance and the drama, I watched it more for the comedy between Ikhtiyar and Durdana.

Finally, episode 13 shows Ikhtiyar kidnapped at gunpoint.

Ikhtiyar lightens up the screen with his ever-cool attitude and witty lines. Yasir writes good content and is a terrific actor, especially when picking accents. I feel, however, that he does not do as much justice to his witty lines when he says them himself. Asad Siddiqui and Gul-e-Rana have perfect comic timings.

I like that in between there is one section dedicated to highlighting Nimra’s wrong behaviour. Ahsan is not cheating on her, but he does feel good talking to his colleague because she talks nicely. Nayal and Zoya take it upon themselves to knock some sense in Nimra’s head. And it seems to work.

I feel that it was very important. We, especially women, often forget that the ‘nakhra’ is bordering on a botheration. We ignore that expressing love is just as important as loving someone. We demand respect but forget to give it to others.

Episode 16 onwards. the series felt a bit dragged for various reasons. One, I felt that the balance of comedy and story was slightly off. Two, everything felt repetitive – Bilal stalking Zoya, Zoya and Nayal fighting, Ahsan and Nimra still the same, Shahnaz Begum nagging Nayal to get engaged to Rimsha. Nimra, despite the earlier earful she got from Zoya, has not changed much and still fights a lot. That girl is consistent.

Even when everyone in the household is brooding with the property dispute, then the accident, then whole engagement, the only saving grace is Ikhtiyar. One time, when his father calls him, Ikhtiyar’s reminds him to find a bride. Again, later, he tells that his bride should be modern, educated and what not.

The drama drags a bit too long and finally all loose ends are tied. The property dispute is settled as Ikhtiyar’s father meddles and buys the home for Ikhtiyar. Durdana moves back with Hafeez. Rimsha realizes Zoya’s true feelings for Nayal and breaks the engagement. On the other side, Zoya proposes to Bilal.

It is heartbreaking to see Rimsha go through the heartache, more than Zoya. I guess Sadia did a terrific job of portraying all shades of that character.

Clothes

Can a girl watch a drama / movie and not notice the clothes? Impossible!

I noticed that there was a pattern in the way every character dressed, except for Nayal

Shahnaz Begum: White churidar and dupatta paired with solid coloured kurtas. The kurta is identical with white pattern using threads and button on the neckline. It looked so similar that at one point I wondered that she was wearing the same colour and some editing trick was used to change its colour in post-production. My mind gives me crazy ideas. I wish I had such wardrobe, just a colour change and everything remains same. No need to fret over what to wear.

Durdana: Dupatta in pastel colour, kurta in a lighter shade of the same colour, and a white churidar. Some colours and some dupattas were really nice and I want those too. If the makers are reading this, send over those dressed to me. Thank you!

Zoya: Lawn kuras paired with skinny jeans. Some kurtas had really bold prints. Others were okay. She wore salwar kameez only once or twice. Her dress in Nayal’s wedding was gorgeous.

Nimra: Weird combinations. Tops in different style ranging from kurti, kurta, long kurta paired with wide-legged palazzo / parallel pants.

Ahsan: Solid coloured fitted shirts on his lean body. He looked terrific.

Nayal: From formal shirts and too-tight pants to t-shirts that show a lot of chest, he wore the most variety one could see, and not all of them were flattering.

Nayal wins the weird dressing title, if there was one. Nimra comes second, very close.

Internalizing

When I read a book, I sometimes use a tag ‘Don’t agree In Parts’, which means the character’s or writer’s ideology seems irrational to me.

Yasir’s reaction upon entering the hospital was too arrogant. I mean, if you’re in the hospital, somebody must be sick or admitted. His friends were trying to quietly walk him to the ward. Is mein itna ghussa karne wali kya baat thhi?

To reiterate, Nimra and Ahsan’s relation was a little lopesided. I felt that after a talk with Zoya, both Nimra and Ahsan should have put additional effort to be nicer to each other.

Rimsha is suddenly a villain, and Ikhtiyar is the first one to notice. Why was that needed? Why couldn’t they simply make her understand that Nayal is not for her?

Bushra Ansari nails her characters as Shahnaz Begum, but towards the end, she is shown hell-bent to get Nayal engaged to Rimsha even though he does not agree. A bit much for a mother who was otherwise so loving and caring.

And Bilal, oh my god, he has nothing better to do than to just appear unannounced in Zoya’s cabin. Zoya, on the other hand, has nothing but to be busy with her phone.

There are some small continuity problems that I noticed in terms of clothes. One scene shows them wearing one combination and the moment they walk out of the room, they are wearing different clothes. I kept track until I found five errors. Then, I stopped noticing it.

Other than the comedy it offered, it was a regular drama – some romance, some tongue-in-cheek comments, some emotional outbursts. It was a good and entertaining drama, given that I finished it in two days.

Salman Shahid, Bushra Ansari and Gul-e-Rana are veterans and give a perfermance worthy of repeat watch. The lead couple and second lead couple give an okay performance as well, but not too impressed. Sadia does a fabulous job of portraying the initially pagli, then transformed, then a bit possessive and evil. It is Asad who shines through. What a terrific performance!

Look at that, 1010 words. Phew!

Shabana Mukhtar