A review on Pakistani Drama TV series, Neeyat aka Intention (2011). Its Production House is Six Sigma Plus while its Distribution is done by ARY Television Network.
+ Crew
- Edited & Directed by Mehreen Jabbar
- Written by Larry Pontius
- Cinematography by Stephen Lang
- Music by Waqar Ali
- Produced by Samina Humayun Saeed & Shahzad Nasib
+ Note
Neeyat aired on ARY Digital from 24th Jun – 21st Nov 2011. In total, it consists of 20 episodes. It is about emotions that still exist within few inhabitants of an emotionless society of New York, as they have their roots back to the socially bonded society of Pakistan. Almost the entire shooting took place at Manhattan; NYC.
Mehreen Jabbar is the daughter of the fame former director, Javed Jabbar and niece of Beo Zafar. The opening theme song, ‘Kaise Bataaoon Saathiya’ sung by the popular singer, Sajjad Ali. The wardrobe used throughout the TV series is of winter clothes… which tell us to how much the weather must be freezing at the time of the shoot.
Neeyat happens to be the first TV project of the highest paid Pakistani actress, Mahira Khan. The writer, Larry Pontius debuts his wife & actress, Deepti Gupta in her first Pakistani TV series as one of the leading roles.
Warning: There are SPOILERS ahead!
+ Main Cast
- Humayun Saeed as Sikandar
- Mahira Khan as Ayla
- Ahsan Khan as Ismail
- Deepti Gupta as Mariam
xxxxxxx
+ Supportive Cast
- Gulfam Ramay as Gul G
- Ismat Zaidi as Sikandar’s Mother
- Shehryar Zaidi as Sikandar’s Father
xxxxxxx
+ Minor Cast
- Omar Rahim as Ayla’s Brother
- Farah Bala as Mariam’s Friend
- Arooj Majid as Mariam’s Mother*
*Not confirmed
+ Plot
Ayla proposes a plan of having her long-time boyfriend, Sikandar to marry to a US citizen, Mariam. This will get his hands-on green card to live and work in USA. However, Mariam has plans of her own.
+ High Points
ii – Humayun plays one of the leads and has his production house is behind Neeyat. Only Deepti turns out to be a new actress. So was Mahira Khan, at the time of this TV series release. Ahsan Khan is a good addition to the cast.
iii – In the last few episodes, the chemistry between Ayla and Sikandar gets a bit of interesting when they start meeting again.
iv – Deepti Gupta as Mariam, has nicely performed. Her character is shown as shrewd, cunning one who wants a Live, successful relationship with a man who is willing to make her his bride. And, Sikandar happens to be the one for it. This is the debut performance for Deepti Gupta for a Pakistani TV series.
+ Low Points
i – Neeyat is plays out in an extraordinary ‘Snail’ pace speed.
ii –There is a huge problem of having lack of sub plots. The ones which are available are good enough to sleep through.
iii – There is almost nothing to watch. I bet that you already have much interesting things to do in life.
iv – The makeup & hair styling department should have given a much needed makeover for Mariam’s bad hairdo. I can’t really say why but throughout the episodes, her hairstyle kept bugging me.
v – Calling Ayla’s boyfriend with his full first name as ‘Sikandar’ is much better than calling by his nickname as ‘Sikki’. You may think that I’m exaggerating but I’m not. To hear this nickname all the time from his parents to Ayla, to every person he knows, soon, would make you get very annoyed as well.
vi – No real effort behind the production design. Plain white walls with some props, will you make you bore easily.
vii – As if having almost no chemistry between Sikandar and Ayla wasn’t enough… there is also absolute no chemistry between Mariam and Sikandar or Ayla and Ismail or even Mariam and Ismail.
viii – It would have been a much better decision if the roles of the parents were excluded from this TV series. There is no story of their own but to always see them having arguments over their son / daughter’s decision over this green card.
ix – After get to know of Mariam’s past life,didn’t left us viewers astonished or thrilled as it was hinted in the starting of the episodes.
x – After watching this TV series, I’m really glad that Larry (writer) didn’t write another Pakistani TV series again. I owe you one!
xi – Having 20 episodes for a Pakistani TV series, is normally considered less nowadays. However, Neeyat having such a limited 4-characters story going back and forth tells us that a total of 12 episodes would have been most suitable.
+ Overall
Even after having a good director and strong lead cast, Neeyat could not be saved from its ultimate doom.
Rate: 0.75 out of 5 stars
Mr. Khan's Reviews 