A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Fraud Episode 2 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Saqib Khan and written by Zanjabeel Asim. Fraud is a story of love, innocence and treachery as our protagonist is manipulated into marrying a forged personality. Fraud is an iDream Entertainment and ARY Digital Production.
+ Crew
- Directed by Saqib Khan
- Written by Zanjabeel Asim
- Produced by Abdullah Seja
- Production by iDream Entertainment
+ Note
Fraud is a case study of Pakistani families who always strive for betterment of their children. Obsession with wealth and power almost always ends up leading to unfavorable consequences. The director Saqib Khan is known for his numerous television projects and his upcoming cinematic film Ghabrana Nahi Hai (2022).
+ Main Cast
- Saba Qamar as Maya
- Ahsan Khan as Tabriaz
- Mikaal Zulfiqar as Shaan
- Rabia Kulsoom as Maila
- Adnan Samad Khan as Nael
- Mehmood Aslam as Nisar
+ Plot
Fraud is a story of Maya whose father wants her to marry into the richest family that he could find. But wealth does not equal character as she ends up marrying a wealthy man named Tabriaz who, through his trickery, makes life for Maya full of deceit and fraud.
+ High Points
i – Fraud has an interesting storyline with good pacing to keep the viewer engaged throughout its runtime. Most of the performances are decent and provide a convincing backdrop to the premise. Add some good direction to it and we have a promising show on our hands.
ii – What is also commendable is that the show takes its time for the viewers to get used to its surroundings and characters. Each person has a unique look, an interesting perspective to themselves that provide a colorful cast of characters to the show. Sometimes, pacing can be detrimental to the show’s longevity and Fraud is proving to be surpassing it all with flying colors.
iii – Mehmood Aslam as Nisar once again stole the show for me as his emotional and powerful performance has rapidly become the backbone of the show. It was intriguing to see the world from his perspective, how badly he wants a wealthy, comfortable future for his daughter. So much so that he has truly blinded himself to other qualities that a person should possess.
iv – Another great characterization by the writer is of Adnan Samad Khan as Nael as he now sits dejected and demoralized after the events of the last episode. It’s great to see that his character was not completely forgotten and perhaps will end up playing a major role down the line.
+ Low Points
i – The biggest drawback to the show is the bland, generic production behind the camera. You don’t need overtly emotional music overpowering every scene just to force the viewers to shed a tear or two. Such tactics are disappointing because it clearly shows the lack of faith the show has in its writing and the heartfelt performances of its actors. Fraud can prove to be a unique show with a relevant premise to its target audience but it immediately gets drowned into its flashy editing and overbearing music. This show can prove to be better than it currently is.
ii – With all the quest of finding the right “Rishta”, episode 2 completely ignored Maya, our lead female protagonist of the show. Even though there were a few scenes devoted to her thoughts, Maya’s point of view should be the main focus of the show. We should see the world through her eyes, what a young adult woman goes through when her life decisions are already made for her by her parents, whether she is in favor of it or not. A prime example can be the drama Khaas (2019) where our female protagonist was in a very similar situation.
iii – The scene with Mikaal Zulfiqar was the true low point of the show. Even though the show has just introduced this subplot, the acting was bizarre and the dialogues were incredibly bad and obnoxious. Mikaal sounded like a whiny brat and unsympathetic with cringy dialogues like “Stop it, yaar!” . I guess he will end up being Maya’s love interest later on but this means we will have to put up with this nonsense storyline of “Saas/ Boohoo” for many episodes to come. Oh joy…
+ Overall
Another promising episode with good performances and an engaging storyline. But the production quality can exponentially improve to propel Fraud from good to great.
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