A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 17 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.
(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).
+ Crew
- Directed by Kashif Nisar
- Written by Beegul
- DOP by Hassam Mairaj
- Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
- Produced by Momina Duraid Productions
+ Note
Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar.
The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.
+ Main Cast
- Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
- Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
- Sania Saeed as Hajra
- Faryal Mehmood as Insha
- Iqra Aziz as Ameera
- Saqib Sameer as Rafiq
+ Plot
Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.
But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?
+ High Points
i – Episode 17 was one of the quieter ones and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This gave the show to explore more on the main cast dealing with the current situation and the tension filled atmosphere created due to it. The episode was a nice display of acting chops all across the board and perhaps sometimes, that’s all an episode needs.
ii – The episode clearly focused on the volatile yet saddened emotions of Rafiq Ali. He is the main antagonist and the show was not afraid to depict his unpredictable nature. In perhaps an eerie manner, Rafiq Ali longs for Sakina to show affection to him as she does for Maqsood but Rafiq’s volatile nature stops him to show any emotions other than jealousy or anger.
iii – The last few episodes have been dedicated to exploring Hajira and her motivations. She has taken the centerstage and has shown some initiative to display her true intentions. Although it has been solely in service of Maqsood, it is still commendable that the show is showing some signs of attention to Hajira.
iv – Kashif is a new character added some episodes ago to the show and I think he has a lot of potential. He’s awkward, sophisticated (unlike the rest of his family) and probably serves as a gateway for Insha to let out her true emotions.
+ Low Points
i – One of major sins that Raqeeb Se I feel commits on a regular basis is repetition. Whether its plot progression, character development or motivations, the show repeats its current themes once too often. How many times have we seen Hajira worrying about Sakina or Ameera flirting with Maqsood? Even if it’s all leading up to its conclusion, the pacing of a weekly show should never repeat the same themes if you would like to grow your weekly audience. And episode 17 unfortunately, suffers from the same trope.
ii – The usage of greenscreen with this show is extremely odd at times. Throughout the show, some scenes shot inside a moving car are shot with greenscreen in the background and frankly, it looks terrible. The lighting on the actor’s faces as compared to the background are completely at odds and looks amateurish at best.
iii – At times, it’s hard to understand if Hajira just wants to see good in people or if she just has terrible character judgement. In this episode, Hajira describes Ameera as “gentle and innocent”. I understand its the “mother” in Hajira talking but to think that Ameera is “naive” about the world is like saying Rafiq Ali is “decent and well mannered”.
+ Overall
Episode 17 was a “middle of the road” journey to its destination. Although minimal plot progression, it contains good character development moments that will keep you entertained throughout its runtime.
Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars
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