A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Laapata Episode 5 & 6 (2021). The new TV series is written and directed by Khizer Idrees. Laapata is a Momina Duraid Production and currently airs on HUM TV.
(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 Khizer Idrees
- Written by Khizer Idrees
- Produced by Momina Duraid Productions
+ Note
Laapata is a comedy/ drama which focuses on young love who aspire to fulfill all their wishes in Life. The drama also highlights modern obsessions with social media such as Tik Tok and its impact on the Pakistani youth of today.
The writer/ director of the show, Khizer Idrees is most well renowned in the TV industry for his work as a Cinematographer for films such as Manto (2015) and Verna (2017).
+ Main Cast
- Ali Rehman Khan as Shams
- Ayeza Khan as Geeti
- Gohar Rasheed as Daniyal
- Sarah Khan as Falak
+ Plot
Shams (Ali Rehman Khan) loves Falak (Sarah Khan) and they predict something big for their future. On the other hand, Geeti (Ayeza Khan), the big Tik Tok star, is always looking for a new toy to play with. After being faced to decide upon her secure future, Geeti might have her eyes now set on someone… and that someone could perhaps be Shams?
+ High Points
i – Episodes 5 and 6 have taken a more serious and logical approach towards the concept of “Laapata” and families who have lost their loved ones in such fashion. While its not an outstanding case study of “lost” family members, at least it has been given some level of seriousness that it deserves.
ii – It’s admirable from the show runners to depict Falak as a Badminton athlete. Most shows on Pak TV either depict their young women as flaunting 24/7 over their partners. Falak (on the other hand) has her own character defining trait outside her relationship. And this is what makes her character stand out from the rest of the shows.
iii – The corruption within the law enforcement section is quite truthfully depicted in the show. The telephone dialogues scene between the two Police Inspectors was very poignantly written and loved the “switcheroo” of the dialogue “ And please consider my promotion” from one Police Officer (in Ep 5) to the next (in Ep 6).
iv – Seems like Saife Hasan is having a lot of fun playing the dastardly evil Police Inspector. You have to admire when an actor fully embraces a performance and runs wild with it.
+ Low Points
i – Laapata has no idea what it wants to be. The show started off as a romantic, quirky love story which quite rapidly devolved into a tragic drama. The progression between the two genres is nowhere near seamless as it should have been. The viewers who probably tuned in for the comedic aspects of the show will be put off by the seriousness of the situation.
ii – Ayeza Khan as Geeti still does not fit the tone of the show. Her screwball performance is at complete odds with the storytelling of Laapata. Her character’s quirkiness is off putting and she definitely needs to tone down her performance to make herself more relatable to the viewers.
iii – An awful lot of blurring in a single shot! How such images get approved for Broadcast quality in Pakistan is beyond my comprehension!
iv – The two new “love interests” seem very generic and just something for our female leads to do since our main protagonist is “Laapata”. Perhaps it’s okay if our female lead doesn’t have a love interest for a few episodes.
Spoiler Alert!! If you would like to avoid it, please skip to the Overall section:
v – Hakim’s change of heart in Episode 5 came out of nowhere. They tried to explain that the corrupt Police Inspector would have hounded their trial till they found him but murdering a police inspector by poisoning him in front of countless number of witnesses is probably an even worse idea! This move made no sense.
+ Overall
The sudden shift in tone will drive away viewers of Laapata. Although the cast is entertaining enough, the show seems confused as to what it wants to be; a rom-com or a serious drama?
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