Month: February 2022

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Sang-e-Mah Episode 07 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Saife Hassan and written by Mustafa Afridi. Sang-e-Mah is the spiritual continuation of the saga introduced in the Hum TV drama Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016). Sang-e-Mah is the acting debut of the famous Pakistani pop star Atif Aslam and the drama is a Momina Duraid Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Saife Hassan
• Written by Mustafa Afridi
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

The drama Sang-e-Mah serves as a spiritual sequel to the show Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016) with Noman Ejaz, Sania Saeed and many others returning to same cast and crew. The drama deals with life in the Pakhtoon region of Pakistan and explores such hard hitting topics like forced marriages and integral family relationships. According to the director, Sang-e-Mah serves under similar themes as its predecessor, in a three part trilogy, ending it with the next planned show, Sang-e-Siyah.

 + Main Cast

1. Atif Aslam as Hilmand Khan
2. Nauman Ijaz as Haji Marjaan Khan
3. Kubra Khan as Sheherzaad
4. Hania Amir as Gul Meena
5. Zaviyar Nauman Ijaz as Hikmat Khan
6. Sania Saeed as Zarghuna
7. Samiya Mumtaz as Zarsanga
8. Omair Rana as Mastaan Singh
9. Najiba Faiz as Harshaali Kaur
10. Hassan Noman as Badam Gul

+ Plot

Sang-e-Mah is a story of a dysfunctional Pakhtoon family in the tribal regions of Pakistan where pride and honour mostly triumphs over empathy and forgiveness. The show deals with issues such as young love and opposing families who are engaged in a tribal battle with one another.

+ High Points

i – The scenes involving Mastaan Singh and his tragic past are brilliantly realized. The acting is top notch, the backdrop is dark and gloomy with an intensive look into the lives of Sikh Pakistani families. Omair Rana and Najiba Faiz’s onscreen chemistry is outstanding, delivering emotional beats with such poiancy and heartfelt moments. Seven episodes in, one can now fully understand the regret and remorse that Mastaan Singh feels everyday; an action, a thought of Evil that he can never take back. Harshaali, on the other hand, tries her best to bring out the man out of Mastaan that she fell in love with. It’s a brilliant set up and I eagerly await the inevitable payoff.

ii – This week, the storyline flowed at a much brisker pace, moving forward each and every subplot, inch by inch. There hides a lot of lies and deception from Marjaan Khan as his wife seems to be naive and oblivious to all of his previous mischief. Last week’s episode felt lethargic and stuck within its own tangled webs but episode 7 brought a certain amount of clarity and tension to the storyline including the interconnected subplots of the main cast.

iii – The dynamic between Zarghuna and her daughter also worked quite well, with both actresses delivering some worthy performances. With the current injustice in this world, Zarghuna learned long ago how to face the world with an iron fist. But unfortunately, that also meant that the absent emotional part of her also started losing the faith of her daughter in the process. By focusing solely on avenging her husband’s death, her daughter’s urgency of having a parental figure also started fading away with it. Honestly, it was refreshing to see a “softer” side to the stereotypical “toughness” of the Pakhtoon community.

+ Low Points

i – Now for something completely on the other side of the spectrum. An episode where we got wonderful performances from the main cast, Zaviyar Nauman Ijaz as Hikmat Khan was a total bust. In the most emotional scene of his character to date, Zaviyar Ijaz was emotionless and disinterested at the same time. He talks about killing his brother but his emotionless face might have not even conveyed that he wanted to put down his beloved pet. While not great by any stretch of the imagination, Zaviyar Nauman Ijaz has been serviceable up till now but this episode’s performance brought absolutely nothing to the table. His flat acting ended up hurting even Hania Amir’s performance and a scene that should have been the pivotal moment of the episode just did not work.

ii – Episode 7 brought yet another “tragic” past story to the table. Sheherzaad also suffered from lack of parental figures growing up and was emotionally abused by her relatives and cousins. Sheesh, does anyone have a happy childhood in this show!? This felt somewhat out of left field and unnecessary. Even the exposition felt so tacked on at a wrong stage of the show, it’s as if the show just wanted to be done with this scene asap.

+ Overall

A definite improvement from the previous week but the emotional beats still lack proper timing to make the show more impactful for the audience.

Rate: out of 5 stars 

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Sang-e-Mah Episode 06 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Saife Hassan and written by Mustafa Afridi. Sang-e-Mah is the spiritual continuation of the saga introduced in the Hum TV drama Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016). Sang-e-Mah is the acting debut of the famous Pakistani pop star Atif Aslam and the drama is a Momina Duraid Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Saife Hassan
• Written by Mustafa Afridi
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

The drama Sang-e-Mah serves as a spiritual sequel to the show Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016) with Noman Ejaz, Sania Saeed and many others returning to same cast and crew. The drama deals with life in the Pakhtoon region of Pakistan and explores such hard hitting topics like forced marriages and integral family relationships. According to the director, Sang-e-Mah serves under similar themes as its predecessor, in a three part trilogy, ending it with the next planned show, Sang-e-Siyah.

 + Main Cast

1. Atif Aslam as Hilmand Khan
2. Nauman Ijaz as Haji Marjaan Khan
3. Kubra Khan as Sheherzaad
4. Hania Amir as Gul Meena
5. Zaviyar Nauman Ijaz as Hikmat Khan
6. Sania Saeed as Zarghuna
7. Samiya Mumtaz as Zarsanga
8. Omair Rana as Mastaan Singh
9. Najiba Faiz as Harshaali Kaur
10. Hassan Noman as Badam Gul

+ Plot

Sang-e-Mah is a story of a dysfunctional Pakhtoon family in the tribal regions of Pakistan where pride and honour mostly triumphs over empathy and forgiveness. The show deals with issues such as young love and opposing families who are engaged in a tribal battle with one another.

+ High Points

i – The death of Lala Guru Baksh was brilliantly portrayed and realized by the creative team of the show. It had a high intensity of tragedy and regret dispersed across the images and dialogues. Although there are still some secrets that need to be uncovered by the audience, the pain one could witness in the eyes of Mastaan Singh was one of the best performances Sang-e-Mah has ever depicted onscreen up till now. Even though I have criticized the show for its stereotypical performances, this scene was heavily drenched in reality (mixed with slight melodrama) in every possible way. A lot of credit goes to the director, Cinematographer and the costume/ makeup artists in making this scene so close to the harsh reality of what death by old age actually means.

ii – Six Episodes in and its good to see that the show is finally revealing various pieces of the puzzle. And it would not be a mistake if the plot structure was to be compared with yet another Hum TV/ Momina Duraid production ‘Raqeeb Se’ (2021) which also starred Nauman Ijaz and Sania Saeed. Sang-e-Mah’s slow burning melodrama is very reminiscent of Raqeeb Se for which you either can gain patience for or drop off at any given episode. But overall, Sang-e-Mah has intrigued the attention of its viewers and it would not be a mistake to give this one a chance till the very end.

iii – And in conjunction to the point above; when it comes to melodrama and individual relationships, Sang-e-Mah excels far beyond any other show out there but the moment it tries to be comedic or too cute with its characters, it fails miserably. Since there was no hint of comedy in this episode, it proved to be an enjoyable and memorable hour of the show.

+ Low Points

i – I have to admit, with each passing episode, the back stories are turning out a tad bit too convoluted and a narrative mess. Who killed whose husband in the past, why is she after justice, who was poisoned by whom, who is not the real father, who was kept in the dark all this time and … you get the idea. While I hope all of these questions will be answered by the end of the series, it is unfortunately far too many lingering questions left by the showrunners for its audience which could end up not intriguing but rather a homework assignment for each passing week.

ii – The murder depicted in the episode was not justified at all. Sure, Mastaan Singh was insulted by the religious bigot but the scene did not leave the audience sympathizing with Mastaan Singh for his incredibly reckless behavior. One could argue that the landowner would have vilified his fiance in front of the whole village as ‘immoral’ and Singh just wanted to avoid that for her sake. But by the looks of the scene, clearly it was Singh himself who took the insults to heart and acted accordingly. I’m not sure if you can really make a ‘redemption’ story out of this as the writer clearly is on the side of Mastaan Singh.

iii – While Atif Aslam does fairly well with his performance, it has been noted that (apart from the Sikh community) he is the only one without a Pakhtoon accent. And yes, there are some hidden secrets between him and the Sikh community but did he not grow up in a Pakhtoon family and society? Surely he should also possess the same stereotypical Pakhtoon accent as his family! Clearly since this is Atif Aslam’s first ever acting role, the director gave him the comfort of delivering his lines according to what he saw fit. Sadly, in the context of the show, this makes as much sense as adding raisins to a biryani.

+ Overall

A satisfactory episode but too many unsolved narrative threads tend brought the show down a notch.

Rate: out of 5 stars 

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Sang-e-Mah Episode 05 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Saife Hassan and written by Mustafa Afridi. Sang-e-Mah is the spiritual continuation of the saga introduced in the Hum TV drama Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016). Sang-e-Mah is the acting debut of the famous Pakistani pop star Atif Aslam and the drama is a Momina Duraid Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Saife Hassan
• Written by Mustafa Afridi
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

The drama Sang-e-Mah serves as a spiritual sequel to the show Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016) with Noman Ejaz, Sania Saeed and many others returning to same cast and crew. The drama deals with life in the Pakhtoon region of Pakistan and explores such hard hitting topics like forced marriages and integral family relationships. According to the director, Sang-e-Mah serves under similar themes as its predecessor, in a three part trilogy, ending it with the next planned show, Sang-e-Siyah.

 + Main Cast

1. Atif Aslam as Hilmand Khan
2. Nauman Ijaz as Haji Marjaan Khan
3. Kubra Khan as Sheherzaad
4. Hania Amir as Gul Meena
5. Zaviyar Nauman Ijaz as Hikmat Khan
6. Sania Saeed as Zarghuna
7. Samiya Mumtaz as Zarsanga
8. Omair Rana as Mastaan Singh
9. Najiba Faiz as Harshaali Kaur
10. Hassan Noman as Badam Gul

+ Plot

Sang-e-Mah is a story of a dysfunctional Pakhtoon family in the tribal regions of Pakistan where pride and honour mostly triumphs over empathy and forgiveness. The show deals with issues such as young love and opposing families who are engaged in a tribal battle with one another.

+ High Points

i – While there was not much development in the storyline department, Episode 5 largely dedicated itself to character interactions and character building moments. The journalist Sheherzaad finally makes it into the Khan family’s home/ sanctuary and gets to interact with the elders, understanding but yet also imposing some of her “modern” perceptions onto the traditional Pakhtoon society. 

ii – Since Episode 5 was largely devoted to the investigative journalist Sheherzaad (played by Kubra Khan) and it was refreshing as a viewer to look into Pakhtoon land and culture through the eyes of an outsider. As she tries to wrap her head around the concept of ‘Ghaag’, the proud nature of the Pakhtoon closes in on her and her perception of how society functions. By and large, Kubra Khan’s performance seems very natural which can prove to be a vital asset later for the show.

iii – Needless to say, Sang-e-Mar possesses some of the most beautiful outdoor scenery in any show on television and plays a character of its own. In such heavenly landscapes, the Pakhtoon family rivalries spoil the atmosphere, devoted to gaining revenge upon one another. Even when scenes lack engaging characters or dialogues, the gorgeous landscape makes it worthy of continuing on with the episode. 

+ Low Points

i – This episode was a bore. There is unfortunately no way around it. With no new plot revelations or climatic moments, the show primarily depended on its characters but sadly, since the character developments are still in their infancy, none of them have proven to be interesting enough to carry an hour long episode. Undoubtedly the journalist Sheherzaad is a great addition and a perfect way to understand the Pakhtoon as an outsider, it still was not enough to compel the viewer to have unbridled attention throughout its runtime. 

ii – Sigh… the comedy just does not work. What is this fascination with sunglasses?? Is it such an anomaly for the Pakhtoons that they need to impress others with it? It is beyond ridiculous to even assume that Pakhtoons are completely enticed with such minor, everyday objects.

iii – On that note, the more I listen every week to these utterly stereotypical Pakhtoon accents from the cast, the more I am taken out of this world created by Sang-e-Mar. It is wishful to assume that the main cast could have devoted a bit more time and energy into getting the Pakhtoon dialect right but unfortunately, they just opted for the most generic accent they could get their hands on. And the results are far removed from reality.

+ Overall

Satisfactory development for Kubra Khan’s character but apart from that, the episode was a dull outing for Sang-e-Mah. 

Rate: out of 5 stars 

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Sang-e-Mah Episode 04 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Saife Hassan and written by Mustafa Afridi. Sang-e-Mah is the spiritual continuation of the saga introduced in the Hum TV drama Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016). Sang-e-Mah is the acting debut of the famous Pakistani pop star Atif Aslam and the drama is a Momina Duraid Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Saife Hassan
• Written by Mustafa Afridi
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

The drama Sang-e-Mah serves as a spiritual sequel to the show Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016) with Noman Ejaz, Sania Saeed and many others returning to same cast and crew. The drama deals with life in the Pakhtoon region of Pakistan and explores such hard hitting topics like forced marriages and integral family relationships. According to the director, Sang-e-Mah serves under similar themes as its predecessor, in a three part trilogy, ending it with the next planned show, Sang-e-Siyah.

 + Main Cast

1. Atif Aslam as Hilmand Khan
2. Nauman Ijaz as Haji Marjaan Khan
3. Kubra Khan as Sheherzaad
4. Hania Amir as Gul Meena
5. Zaviyar Nauman Ijaz as Hikmat Khan
6. Sania Saeed as Zarghuna
7. Samiya Mumtaz as Zarsanga
8. Omair Rana as Mastaan Singh
9. Najiba Faiz as Harshaali Kaur
10. Hassan Noman as Badam Gul

+ Plot

Sang-e-Mah is a story of a dysfunctional Pakhtoon family in the tribal regions of Pakistan where pride and honour mostly triumphs over empathy and forgiveness. The show deals with issues such as young love and opposing families who are engaged in a tribal battle with one another.

+ High Points

i – The plot thickens. Episode 4 provided a bit more clarity with the main plot and individual storylines. This week, we got a lot more exposure towards the Hikmat Khan and Gul Meena’s Romeo and Juliet situation. We also got to see some more investigative journalism from Sheherzaad (aka Kubra Khan). So in spite of some minor flaws, the episode was well paced, engaging throughout and ended with an interesting twist at the end. 

ii – What Sang-e-Mar does better than most shows is the slow teasing each week of the entire plot which in turn, keeps the viewers coming back every week. And the individual subplots are also fascinating in their own right. Although we already know just the glimpses of the plot, exactly what sin did Marjaan Khan commit in his past that has left his “son” to disown him altogether? Essentially it is all just family drama but the twist that Sang-e-Mar presents is the Pakhtoon cultural backdrop (for which many Pakistani viewers are not too familiar with). This one quintessential factor makes the show stand out from everything else on Television right now and if you include a star studded cast with it, you can potentially have a hit show on your hands. 

iii – Speaking of Star studded cast, everyone is out there playing their A game to bring some levity into the dramatic storyline. Although probably none of the cast members do a convincing Pakhtoon accent, their onscreen presence is strong enough for the viewers to go along with its storyline and have an entertaining time dealing with the woes of the Khan family.

iv – The twist at the end was great with Hilmand intentionally taking the place of his brother in order to anger and further humiliate his ” father’s” name. A splendid setup and would be interesting to see where the show goes from here.

+ Low Points

i – As mentioned previously, the actors are giving it their all in the performances but none of them ever feel like they have enveloped the Pakhtoon culture. The accents and mannerisms are still not convincing enough. It seems like each of them are there to be ‘Nauman Ijaz’ or ‘Sania Saeed’ but with some stereotypical Pakhtoon accents. And it’s a bit of a shame cause I genuinely feel they are all great actors who can do better than this.

ii – While we had some progress with the Hikmat/ Gul Meera storyline, Mastaan Singh was completely ignored and four episodes in, we still do not know what major role he plays in the main plot of the show. Probably just a minor complaint but love if each episode can continue giving glimpses of each subplot without sacrificing the other.

+ Overall

Episode 4 was an obvious improvement from the previous week as it had better pacing and none of the “comedy” nonsense. 

Rate: out of 5 stars