A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Fraud Episode 4 (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 – Episode 4 was highly entertaining. The seeds of deceit were quietly planted in this and last week’s storyline. And now, we get to see them grow. Maya is now beginning to notice a pattern in Tarbiz’s family; she is being excluded from all important decisions or events. Her jewelry, the sudden death of “Zakir bhai”, all the devious plans are set up to (most probably) steal all the wealth of Maya’s maiden family. The performances from the main cast were also fantastic and sold this narrative well. I’m curious to see how this will all play out in the next coming weeks.
ii – I also appreciated the fact that Maya had a more integral role to play this episode. She is slowly waking up from her slumber and smelling the burnt coffee left on an open stove. Unlike previous episodes, this week brought a lot of character to Maya’s performance as we now get to unravel these mysterious events of the Tarbiz family with her. Maya is our gateway to this show and it is through her understanding that the plot of the show is slowly being revealed. And that is a great move by the creators of Fraud.
ii – Ahsan Khan’s portrayal as the deceitful Tabriaz is great and in episode 3, we get to see a lot more depth to his character as well. Obviously, Tarbiz and his whole family is in on this “Sting” operation. His dialogue delivery is charming but yet, riddled with lies and forgery.
+ Low Points
i – In contrast to the engaging storytelling of the main plot, I HATE the subplot of Shaan and his untrustworthy mother and sister. The acting, the corny dialogues, the lack of conviction in its scenes, it is so poorly staged and performed that Shaan’s subplot clearly feels like another show altogether. I’m not clear as to how Fraud will combine the two stories together but up till now, it is just not working.
ii – Unfortunately, Fraud still seems to go overboard with its use of tragic music and flashy editing. Let the scenes breathe a bit! You don’t need a music transition every two seconds, dictating the audience how to feel at that particular moment. Sadly, almost all the Pakistani TV shows are now guilty of this “Chamak Dhamak” technique of storytelling. In my point of view, this technique only shows the lack of faith the producers have in their writing and acting as they (apparently) cannot evoke the emotion required in that particular scene.
+ Overall
An entertaining one this week. The plot thickens, the story unravels and the show has my attention.
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