A review on Pakistani TV Drama Series, ‘Yakeen Ka Safar’ aka The Journey of Faith (2017). Its Production House is MD Productions and Distribution is done by Hum TV.
+ Crew
- Directed by Shahzad Kashmiri
- Written by Farhat Ishtiaq
- Cinematography by Tameen Nazami and Safdar Hussain Rind
- Music by Waqar Ali and Syed Sohail Haider
- Produced by Momina Duraid
+ Note
Yakeen Ka Safar aired on Hum TV in 19th Apr 2017 – 1st Nov 2017. In total it consists of 29 episodes. This TV serial is based on a novel as ‘Woh Yaqeen Ka Naya Safar’ by Farhat Ishtiaq. The shooting locations are Neelum Valley; Azad Kashmir and Karachi; Pakistan. The Opening and Ending Songs are sung by “Yaqeen Ka Safar” by Hadiqa Kiani and “O Matti Kay Parinday” by Richa Sharma.
Hum TV hired the director Shahzad Kashmiri who previously directed Bin Roye for the same channel. Sajal Ali made her television comeback two years after her 2015 Hum TV series Gul-e-Rana. Ahad Raza Mir’s performance was praised and the drama was appreciated by the audience because of its unique story line.
Yakeen Ka Safar was channel’s biggest hit of 2017 after Alif Allah Aur Insaan. Series is penned on their journey which changes their life overtime.
+ Main Cast
- Ahad Raza Mir as Dr. Asfandyar Usman Ali Khan
- Sajal Ali as Dr. Zubia Khalil
- Hira Salman as Gaiti Daniyal Usman Ali Khan
- Shaz Khan as Barrister, Daniyal Usman Ali Khan
- Farhan Ali Agha as Barrister, Usman Ali Khan
- Mohammed Ehteshamuddin as Khalil
- Beenish Raja as Sheema Rehan
- Afraz Rasool as Rehan Khalil
- Sabeena Syed as Faryal
- Aisha Ali Khan as Urooj Nisar
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+ Supportive Cast
- Shamayel Tareen as Dr. Asifa Shahroze
- Shamyl Khan as Dr. Shahroze
- Salman Saqib Shaikh as Dr. Haroon
- Nasreen Naz as Noorie’s mother
- Ismail Chandio as Noorie’s father
- Ali Gul Malah as Rab Nawaz’s assistant
- Suhaee Abro as Noorie
- Sabiha Somar as Lubna
- Huma Nawab as Mahjabeen (Zubia’s aunt)
- Ainy Zaidi as Gaiti’s mother
- Munza Arif as Faryal’s mother
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+ Minor Cast
- Agha Talal as Mohsin (Mahjabeen’s son)
- Nabeel Zuberi as Ramiz (Zubia’s boyfriend)
- Zia Gurchani as Gaiti’s father
- Javed Iqbal as Faryal’s father
- Akbar Islam as SSP Shehzad Ahmed
- Naima Khan as Jehangir’s mother
- Fazila Qazi as Maah-e-Talat (Zubia’s Mother)
- Zainab Qayyum as Rumana (Women activist)
- Jahanzeb Gurchani as Rab Nawaz
- Mariyam Nafees as Khajista
- Hassan Noman as Bahadur (Khajista’s husband)
- Ismat Zaidi as Zubia’s grandmother
- Ibrahim Salman (son of Salman Shaikh and Hira Salman) as Saim
+ Plot
It depicts the journey of a young Dr. Zubia Khalil and how she meets Dr. Asfandyar; both faced equal challenges in their environment and have dark history of the past kept hidden from each other.
+ High Points
i – Sajal Ali’s performance as Dr. Zubia Khalil, is very strong. She is already ranked in the A-list category of actresses where everyone whether audience or critics expect her to do her best.
ii – Ahad Raza Mir as Dr. Asfandyar Khan, has performed impressive as mature, strict and discipline doctor. Unlike to his singing move, as an actor, Ahad has proven to the audience several times with his charming, convincing performance that he has often given in TV as well as in film, similar to his father, respected Asif Raza Mir still does. Other Honorable Mentions: Mohammed Ehteshamuddin and rest of the cast.
iii – The writing in terms of character development is well written. Such as Dr. Zubia, Dr. Asfandyar, Dr. Haroon and Barrister: Usman Khan. The story itself is interesting as the solution to the crisis comes with passage of time and bad experience. This is something which many TV series fail to achieve.
iv – Shahzad Kashmiri’s direction have able to pull this off quite nicely indeed. I would say that the later episodes were more interesting than the ones showed in first 10 episodes. Naturally, good writing is the key for it. But if the direction was dull, perhaps, we wouldn’t be discussing this TV series with appraisal.
v – There are a number of well performed scenes, such as when one of the main characters gets killed and how the loved ones are dealing with the sudden loss of life. Other scenes include, when one of the lead characters is told of incoming visit by a close relative after so many years and they deal with that relative. Finally, that scene where one of the doctors tries to convince his love interest for marriage proposal. These scenes are very believable and are moving.
vi – The chemistry between Dr. Asfandyar and Dr. Zubia worked well, as per their characters written.
vii –The shooting location of Neelum Valley is a beautiful choice, as we viewers enjoy its scenery, ambiance and local people life style.
viii – The music, the songs have able to capture the moment and the attachment that viewers have with this TV series and their characters, is something to give utter value to.
ix – The last 6 to 8 episodes are very interesting and heartwarming to watch.
+ Low Points
i – Starting of the episodes failed to give an impressive start. At that time, I was thinking perhaps it was not a good idea to give review on this TV series.
ii – Rehan Khalil, elder brother of Dr. Zubia is so loving and have a good understanding with her at first. But all is suddenly changed after an infamous incident regarding his sister’s decision. His hatred for her was understandable if it had lasted for few weeks or months. Now, some people might say in support that it was his wife’s ill intentions due to which Rehan’s behavior with his sister gets worse, which is btw only partially correct. Even till the end, he tries to redeem himself but that too doesn’t add up much as he is left with disgust with himself without ever truly knowing of his wife’s intentions and decisions she had taken ever since the accident of his father.
iii – There were times where logical writing was absent from some scenes that were shot. Fo example: being a barrister, how can Daniyal Khan can make such silly mistakes in hiring a girl as his secretary without doing proper background research on her. Even when the time comes in handling the culprit, instead of being quiet and let the police force handle the issue, he tries to interrogate the girl himself and as expected gets tangled up with a wrongly imposed crime. Absolute shocking! Another example is when the former secretary realizes who the doctor is, she suddenly makes an honest and bold decision to appear in media and reveal her past illegal activities including in clearing up someone’s name where she herself is directly involved in and could face some serious consequences. She reveals all this at a press conference without taking anyone or a lawyer into confidence before facing the unlimited tough questions from the media / journalists. Such mistakes as these, were keep reminding us that this is fiction, not a reality.
iv – Fazila Qazi happens to be well established, great actress of the past TV series. However, here her performance was dull, almost as if ‘Without a heart’. Regardless if the role is big or small, one needs to do their best.
+ Overall
Yakeen Ka Safar is a smooth romantic drama, with Sajal and Ahad at their most charming.
Rate: 3.75 out of 5 stars
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