A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Fraud Episode 8 & 9 (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 – An intense, gut wrenching episode of Fraud! With each passing scene, the impending catastrophe loomed over the Nisar family. Even after repeated refusals from Nael over his marriage with Maya, the two families still went ahead with the proceedings. The hope that they will be finally united in ‘marriage in law’ made them blind towards the obvious truth. What I truly loved about episode 8 was its ‘ticking time bomb’ narrative. You just know it’s going to go off but still can do nothing to stop the inevitable. Brilliant writing, accompanied by fantastic performances made this one of the best episodes of Fraud yet.
ii – Speaking of performances, this episode had some spectacular ones from Adnan Samad Khan, Mehmood Aslam and also Nazli Nasr. They truly commanded every scene they were a part of. Nisar’s slow descent into lunacy was brilliantly contrasted with Nael’s vengeance. WIth the recent proposal of Maya’s marriage to Nael, the tables turned in his favor and the temptation to make Nisar suffer was greater than anything Nael could have truly wanted.
iii – On the other hand, the side plot of “Tabriaz family” was also entertaining. It was undoubtedly less corny than the previous episode and this time, Annie Zaidi’s character felt more genuine as we got to witness how these con artists function under the belly of our society. They are sharp, cunning and most of all, they only look after themselves. The scene with the jewelry store owner brought a lot of authenticity to her character as she desperately needs inside contacts in order to make such a Fraud display work. Optimistically looking forward to what the show will follow up with.
iv – Picking up from my criticism of the last episode, Maya displayed a far better character this week as she tries her hardest to adjust to her hideous reality. Even when she is told about her engagement with Nael, Maya blurts out that he doesn’t deserve her (and with that, her father’s misguided arrogance). Even with the days coming closer to the Nikah, Maya keeps questioning if things will ultimately take the turn for the worst (and spoiler alert, they do).
+ Low Points
i – My only point of criticism for episode 8 could be Ahsan Khan’s performance. While not terrible, it’s also far from impressive. It’s painfully obvious that Ahsan does not possess the acting chops to pull off this role as successfully as his “mom & dad” counterparts in the show. Although Ahsan Khan’s performance improves with less seasoned actors around, it’s hard to take his performance seriously when he shares the screen with the likes of Annie Zaidi and Saife Hasan.
+ Overall
Brilliant episode! It’s worth all of its new, two hour format. Highly recommended!
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