A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay Episode 3 (2021). The new TV series is written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Farooq Rind. Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay 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 Farooq Rind
- Written by Umer Ahmed
- Produced by Nina Kashif & Momina Duraid Productions
+ Note
Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay marks 5 years since Mahira Khan appeared in a TV drama and as was the case before, this drama was also originally a novel by Umera Ahmed where the childhood and upbringing play an important part in the main plot of the show. The show deals with dark topics such as drug addiction and its impact on a child’s upbringing.
The show also focuses once again on a love triangle between three cousins who shared a childhood together; Mehreen, Mashal and Aswad. Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay is essentially a case study of internal flaws and unspoken guilts that makes us human and how we learn to cope up in a less than ideal society.
+ Main Cast
- Mahira Khan as Mehreen Mansoor
- Kubra Khan as Mashal Tahir
- Usman Mukhtar as Aswad Ayub
- Omair Rana as Mansoor
- Zainab Qayyum as Shagufta
- Haroon Shahid
- Laila Wasti
- Huma Nawab as Saliha
- Kaif Ghaznavi
- Shamim Hilali as Aswad’s Grandmother
- Khalid Malik
+ Plot
Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay is a story of three cousins; Mehreen, Mashal and Aswad. Their lives have coincided with each other since childhood. While Mashal and Aswad grew up in a stable, loving household, Mehreen had to live through the mistakes of her father for being a drug addict and financially unstable. As they grow older, it is obvious that they all share an unbroken bond between each other that will only culminate with certain unforeseeable events.
+ High Points
i – Mehreen can potentially be a character of interest as she suffers from childhood traumas and a wallflower in a society where the modest are never appreciated. The themes are all placed accordingly for the actress to execute it with emotion on screen (but unfortunately fails at it. A point I will get to more later in the review).
ii – I suppose it is also commendable that Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay does not over rely on cheap emotional tactics like music overpowering the scene rather than the actors playing it out through their strong performances.
+ Low Points
i – (Yawn) this show just lacks any sort of momentum or energy to it. Nothing significant happens during the third Episode. The characters themselves feel lethargic, just lounging on their couches in pretty much every scene. Whatever story progression we saw in the first episode has been missing since.
ii – Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay has the potential for sympathetic characters for the audience to get behind but so far, that has not been the case. The performances of the two lead actresses seem mediocre and overly simplistic to their personalities. Every interesting character should have layers of emotion or depth to them but up till now, the acting seems very flat. Although judging from past shows, Mahira Khan has the potential to be more diverse than this show has you believe.
iii – The production of the show seems visually off color to the dark, dramatic narrative of it. Every image is overlit without any play of shadows and in return, the show looks cheap and tacky.
iv – Episode 3 has a scene where Shabo the maid accidentally trips and slips tea over a character. This comedic scene fell apart completely on arrival because we, as an audience, never got to see the result! It’s as if Charlie Chaplin slipped over a banana peel but instead of showing the pratfall, only the laughter of the crowd is depicted on screen. Slapstick comedy is all about visuals and timing and the director Farooq Rind seems to be lacking in both.
v – Three episodes in, and Umera Ahmed’s writing has been surprisingly very disappointing. It all seems like a rethread of regular cliches of Pakistani dramas, namely cousin love triangle, lifeless exposition scenes and (with exception to Mehreen) flat two dimensional characterization. I really hope that the show picks up pace and depth soon as Umera Ahmed as a writer is definitely capable of it.
+ Overall
Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay is unenergetic, filled with long drawn out scenes of dialogues that lead to nowhere. That trend should change soon if the show runners want to keep their viewers tuning in every week.
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