Month: September 2021

TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Laapata – Episode IX & X (2021)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Laapata Episode 9 & 10 (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

  1. Ali Rehman Khan as Shams
  2. Ayeza Khan as Geeti
  3. Gohar Rasheed as Daniyal
  4. 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 – The romance between Falak and Daniyal is cute. Even though it is inevitable that something will go wrong between them but for now, the character of Daniyal is a great counter to the arrogant Shams of before. Even the love banter between the couple is well written and its fun to watch the two actors interact on screen together.

ii – Apart from Ayeza Khan, the performances from the main cast are actually great. The love triangle of Ali Rehman Khan, Sarah Khan and Gohar Rasheed is undoubtedly the highlight of the show. 

SPOILER ALERT!!! (If you would like to avoid it, please skip to the Low Points section):

iii – Considering the circumstances, the return of Shams was very well handled. The imagery of his mother pacing back and forth towards the gate, hoping every time to see her son’s face behind it was heartbreaking and finally, it did pay off in the end. No unnecessary dialogue was incorporated into this scene, just melodic music and imagery. That’s all that it needed to be.

+ Low Points

i –  Laapata is a show that keeps faltering back and forth whether it wants to be a tragedy or a comedy of errors. While the story of Sham’s lost years is rightfully taken in a serious direction, the “comedy” antics of Geeti are unbearable (more on that in the next point!). The show is afraid to take a stern stance on which path to move forward with because it is afraid to lose its certain section of the audience. This is why Laapata (ironically) has no identity of its own. Although there is nothing wrong with a bit of light hearted scenes sprinkled in between dramatic moments of the show, it needs to commit to its “tragedy” genre to create a personality of its own. As the famous Urdu idiom goes:

“Dhobi ka kutta; na ghar ka, na ghat ka!”

“A washerman’s dog belongs to neither the house, nor the waterside!”

SPOILER ALERT!!! (If you would like to avoid it, please skip to the Overall section):

ii – The whole character of Geeti is the Achilles’ heel and brings the quality of the show significantly down. There is nothing hilarious about her shenanigans, in fact they are downright insulting. She tried to steal her friend’s fiance and when that didn’t work out, there was no lesson to be learnt about selfishness. She just went about her business and the show played it off as a “hilarious” joke! Her incredibly naive friend just forgave her in two seconds time and now, she is after Shams again?? What is even going on in this show? Laapata only proves that you always act self-centered and it might just pay off for you.

iii  – On top of all that is mentioned above, Ayeza Khan as Geeti is just one of the most annoying characters in recent memory. Her over the top antics and dialogue delivery just gives the show a “tacky” and inferior quality to it. If I was not reviewing this, I would gladly have skipped each scene that she is a part of in the show!

iv  – The worst part (hands down!) about Laapata has to be its “comedy”. Every joke is either corny or falls flat on its face. The whole subplot with Geeti’s fiance, the butcher’s son’s blackmail, the eye-rolling scene of Geeti’s arranged marriage meeting, it’s all terrible writing. Laapata would prove to be a much better show if the show runners introduce more poignantly written subplots with sensible writing that compliments the vibe of the show and not insult it.

+ Overall

Laapata has the potential to be a much better and focused show if not for its terrible “comedy” subplots involving Ayeza Khan as Geeti.

Rate: out of 5 stars

TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Ishq Hai – Episode XXIX to XXXII (2021)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Ishq Hai – Episode 29 to 32 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Aabis Raza and written by Rehana Aftab. Ishq Hai is an ARY Digital 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 Aabis Raza
  • Written by Rehana Aftab
  • DOP by Waqas Ali
  • OST composed by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
  • Editing by Zeeshan Ali Jokhio
  • Produced by Fahad Mustafa & Dr. Ali Kazmi

+ Note

Ishq Hai is a tale of two lovers, a Shakespearean tragedy set in South Asia where the conflict between tradition and individual freedom comes into play. An age long question within our Pakistani culture; should the tradition of arranged marriage be questioned? How important is the right to choose your own life partner? The drama has a star studded cast of young and veteran actors and is an exclusive ARY Digital Production.

 + Main Cast

  1. Minal Khan as Isra
  2. Danish Taimoor as Shahzaib
  3. Hammad Farooqi as Hammad
  4. Babar Ali as Isra’s father
  5. Hammad Shoaib as Haris
  6. Saba Faisal as Nafisa
  7. Mahi Baloch as Sameera
  8. Sajjad Paul as Raza
  9. Mahenur Haider as Nimra

+ Plot

Isra and Shahzaib are the young lovers in conflict with their respective families. Their parents have already found a spouse for them. Arranged marriage has been a family tradition but against all odds, Isra and Shahzaib want to fight for their love. Will their pure love be able to conquer all?   

+ High Points

i – One of the bare minimum character development scenes we have in this show’s entirety takes place between Nimra and Shahzaib. Thankfully this scene lets itself playout to the audience without any nonsensical editing tamperings. 

+ Low Points

i – Ishq Hai continues to devolve further into obscurity. The illogical “twist” in episode 31 felt unnecessary as the status quo was once again reached by the end of the same episode! Nimra and her sister are still the evil sisters out of Brother’s Grimm Fairytales! Why introduce this twist in the first place? Was it just to create some sympathy within Shahzaib’s heart for Nimra? But that was already in process so this clearly nullifies the whole scenario. Secondly, I can’t even begin to count how many times, within the last 6 Episodes, has Shahzaib “caught” Isra with Haris. Guys, it got old the first few times, also Isra is sincerely lacking intelligence when she resorts to trusting the sister of Nimra who physically assaulted her and openly engaged in submitting Shahzaib to her mad love.  The pendulum of the narrative keeps swinging back and forth but this show goes nowhere.

ii – The dreaded slow motions keep plaguing this show. Every scene is unnaturally prolonged by stuttering slow motion scenes which are clearly added in Post production for the episode to reach its hour runtime. Never have I ever seen a show that has absolutely no faith in its own content. Well, at least even they are self aware how utter nonsense their own product is!

iii – Apparently in the world of Ishq Hai, whenever you see your wife talking to another man, that equates to cheating on him. Whenever your wife injures her hand and a man tries to help her, that also equates to cheating on him. Shahzaib knows well enough that Haris has been stalking his wife for some time now, so Haris forcing himself upon Isra at times makes no logical sense to him? Was he dropped on his head as a child or does everyone in this show lack even basic commonsense? Why do I keep watching this nonsense?

iv – Of all the characters I wish would just “go away”, Azekah Daniel as Naina is always on top of that list. Her character is just horribly written, solely serving as a person who could “negate” everything Isra claims. She openly whines in every episode how her life is ruined because of Isra, how she is never the center of attention because of Isra but we, as an audience, know literally nothing about Naina! What is her character outside of Isra? What are her ambitions? After 32 episodes, we literally know nothing about her.

+ Overall

With four episodes each week, Ishq Hai triumphs Quantity over Quality by a mile and a half! It is one of the worst shows ever aired on Pakistani Television (and that is saying a lot!).

 Rate: out of 5 stars 

TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Parizaad – Episode VII (2021)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Parizaad Episode 7 (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

  1. Noman Ejaz
  2. Ahmed Ali Akbar
  3. Syed Muhammad Ahmed
  4. Urwa Hussain
  5. Ushna Shah
  6. Yumna Zaidi
  7. Saboor Ali
  8. Mashal Khan
  9. Tipu Shah
  10. 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 – Episode 7 is the beginning of a new phase in Parizaad’s life and its great to see that the focus of attention is once again on Parizaad. The last few episodes lost its way a bit, focusing too much on side characters who were nowhere near as interesting as our main protagonist but Episode 7 rectified all that. The subplots still exist but were given as much attention as they should have. The show is about Parizaad’s odyssey; the different kinds of people he meets along the way, the hardships that he has to face, this is and should be the main focus of the show and Episode 7 delivered on that front.

ii – In this week’s episode, there seems to be a subtle thematic nod to William Shakespare that I truly admired. In the episode, Parizaad’s new friend Lubna directed a theater play “Othello” which was written by the greatest playwright of all, William Shakespare. The play is about a Moorish General who destroys his own personal life due to jealousy by murdering his wife Desdemona in a fit of rage. Othello has a sense of insecurity due to his appearance since he is a dark skinned man. As you can imagine, this directly refers to our protagonist Parizaad who is also (perhaps not explicitly) insecure of his appearance. I love the fact that the director Shehzad Kashmiri decided to add a subtle thematic connection to our main character of the show. Let’s just hope that Parizaad’s story does not end the same way Othello did!  

iii – It was intriguing to see Parizaad interacting with the high society and what a misfit he seems to be amongst them. It highlights the lack of moral corruption and purity of Parizaad.

+ Low Points

i – Since Ahmed Ali Akbar is just so outstanding in his performance as Parizaad, it puts most of the other performances of our supporting cast on the back foot. Mashal Khan as Lubna has definitely the potential to be an interesting character, her performance lacks the tenacity that the role requires. Her dialogue delivery and expressions seem very lethargic and not genuine to the character that she is supposed to be portraying onscreen. Although the performance is not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, it does seem lacking in quality when it coincides next to Ahmed Ali Akbar as Parizaad. 

And on the side note, please get rid of cringeworthy dialogues from Lubna like “Mai Party phaak rahi hou!”. This sentence seems to be a direct translation of “I’m throwing a party!”. The translation makes no sense in Urdu. Either let her say this dialogue in English or avoid such false translations completely. 

ii – There were several scenes during episode 7 where the atmospheric noise was completely absent (the echo and footsteps while walking in the hallway of the university). I’m not sure why this decision was made since it just ended up making the scenes feel hollow and taking place inside a vacuum capsule. Atmospheric background noise is vital if you want to give the illusion to the viewers that they themselves are part of the scene.

iii – The subplot of Parizaad’s sister has really not been all that interesting and are definitely the “skippable” parts of the episode. Let’s just hope that the subplot develops into something more engrossing than their current state.

+ Overall

Episode 7 presents a thought provoking journey for Parizaad as he gets to interact with high society and an entertaining hour of Television!

 Rate: out of 5 stars