A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Parizaad Episode 4 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Shehzad Kashmiri and written by Hashim Nadeem. Parizaad is a Momina Duraid 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 Shehzad Kashmiri
- Written by Hashim Nadeem
- Produced by Momina Duraid Productions
+ Note
Parizaad is based on a novel by Hashim Nadeem and is a case study of a protagonist who cannot seem to find his place in a world where illicit behaviour and exploitation is rewarded over truth and kindness. The show explores the lower middle class societal problems of Pakistan and how a wallflower like Parizaad is never appreciated by our society.
The director of the show Shehzad Kashmiri is a well respected cinematographer who then moved towards directing TV shows. He also directed a feature length film Bin Roye in 2015 which earned him a nomination for Best Film Director at 15th Lux Style Awards.
+ Main Cast
- Noman Ejaz
- Ahmed Ali Akbar
- Syed Muhammad Ahmed
- Urwa Hussain
- Ushna Shah
- Yumna Zaidi
- Saboor Ali
- Mashal Khan
- Tipu Shah
- Kiran Tabeer
+ Plot
Born in a world of neglect and hurt, Parizaad is an innocent soul that differs from everyone. He is kind, thoughtful and a gentle soul who due to his nature and appearance, does not fit the societal norms of Pakistani culture. Will the devious modern society engulf Parizaad into its darkness or will he remain a beacon of hope and all that is good in Life?
+ High Points
i – Once again, Ahmed Ali Akbar as Parizaad always delivers a brilliant performance. His mannerisms and dialogue delivery is picture perfect and plays a massive role in making viewers tune in to the show every week.
ii – The show works best when Parizaad and Nasaaz (played by Adeel Afzal) are sharing the screen together. Their banter plays off well with one another, the ying yang of personalities that share a mutual sense of respect.
+ Low Points
i – Episode 4 has taken a sudden shift from focusing on Parizaad’s evolution as a character to subplots of the show such as Parizaad’s sister and her plight of achieving further education. This episode seemed a bit too concentrated on In-Laws melodrama which was never the main focus of the first three episodes of the show. Having subplots is always good but it should never steal the spotlight from the main plot of the show.
ii – This week, Parizaad introduced a new character to the show; Bubbly (played by Saboor Ali). She plays a “tomboy”, no nonsense character who has taken a shine at Parizaad. Although it’s an interesting concept for a new character, Saboor Ali’s performance seems not on par with what the show requires and comes off as if Saboor Ali is playing a “character” rather than her embracing its persona. Unfortunately a lot of screen time is devoted to Bubbly and her performance is very distracting throughout the episode.
iii – There also are certain “comedy” scenes involving Bubbly and her shenanigans. Although never egregious, they seem completely out of place to the tone the first three episodes set for the show. Parizaad works best as a character study and the comedic elements seem to rather detract from the quality of the show.
iv – The show runners need to find a better way to deal with hiding unnecessary product placement because this looks awful (referring to the still shot below)! The blurring effect around the whole character seems as if this is a dream sequence. Incredibly poor presentation!
+ Overall
Episode 4 suffers from unnecessary “Saas-Bahoo” drama and comedic scenes that seem out of place for the show. Parizaad works best as a character study and should avoid cliches of Pakistani dramas.
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