Category: TV series

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 14 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Qasim Ali Mureed
• Written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah
• Produced by Momina Duraid 
• Production by MD Productions

+ Note

The story of Meri Shehzadi is inspired by the real life story of the late Princess Diana from the United Kingdom. The show explores the expectations that corrupts the innocent and discourages empathy towards the common man.

 + Main Cast

1. Urwa Hocane as Dania
2. Ali Rehman as Shehroz
3. Sabeen Farooq as Bisma
4. Muazzam Ali Khan
5. Sonia Mishal
6. Najiba Faiz
7. Atiqa Odho
8. Shabbir Jan
9. Nauman Maqsood
10. Qavi Khan as Dania’s Nana
11. Shamim Hilaly as Dania’s Nani

+ Plot

Raised by her loving Grandparents, Dania is born in a royal family who is destined for greatness in life. After meeting her future husband and entering the political monarchy of Pakistan, Dania must face the trials and tribulations that come along with the life of royalty.

+ High Points

i – Episode 14 indulges yet again into the relationship dynamics of the Shehroz political family. Through new leaked photos on the social media, Dania comes to terms with her husband’s backdoor shenanigans with his secret first wife, Cam. Personally, I preferred the direction that Meri Shehzadi was going for when it started focusing on the rise of Dania as a politician but since last week, the show has reverted back to its family dynamics. Having said all that, Dania’s abrasive reaction towards Shehroz was completely justified and I am glad the writer has given her more courage to stand up to all this internal bullying within the family. Even though most of the history behind Shehroz and Cam is out of her control, Dania can always make decisions on her own personal happiness and it’s great to see her take control of her own life. 

ii – The talk that was held between the Chairman of the party, Shehroz and his mother was fantastic. The snappy dialogue exchange and the harsh life lessons that Shehroz had to face were the most entertaining part of this episode. In the life of a politician, all that matters at the end of the day is the image that you have projected of yourself to the general public. And in Shehroz’s case, his skeletons in the closet have come to haunt him time and time again. His love, his addiction towards a non-political life has led him to act against his best judgment. 

iii – I really enjoy the relationship that Shehroz and Cam have. In the most destructive of ways, it is utterly genuine and built upon true love. With all his flaws, Shehroz is madly in love with Cam and try as she might, Dania can never replace her. I truly wish that Cam had a more prominent role in the show as their relationship is proving to be one of the best aspects of the show.

+ Low Points

i – I just cannot get behind Urwa Hocane’s portrayal as Dania. Her performance seems utterly lost at times as her naivety gets tangled with her cluelessness of each and every situation at hand. Her acting does not do justice to the character and feels like a miscast time and time again. 

ii – Some of the family drama in Meri Shehzadi has become incredibly repetitive. The mother in law scolds Dania, Dania retorts. Her step mother complains, the father defends Dania. Rinse and repeat. The show really needs to move past all this as none of this enhances the plotline of the show but rather, drags it further down to mediocrity. 

+ Overall

An entertaining episode but by focusing solely on the family melodrama, Meri Shehzadi limits itself from being original.

Rate: out of 5 stars 

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 13 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Qasim Ali Mureed
• Written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah
• Produced by Momina Duraid 
• Production by MD Productions

+ Note

The story of Meri Shehzadi is inspired by the real life story of the late Princess Diana from the United Kingdom. The show explores the expectations that corrupts the innocent and discourages empathy towards the common man.

 + Main Cast

1. Urwa Hocane as Dania
2. Ali Rehman as Shehroz
3. Sabeen Farooq as Bisma
4. Muazzam Ali Khan
5. Sonia Mishal
6. Najiba Faiz
7. Atiqa Odho
8. Shabbir Jan
9. Nauman Maqsood
10. Qavi Khan as Dania’s Nana
11. Shamim Hilaly as Dania’s Nani

+ Plot

Raised by her loving Grandparents, Dania is born in a royal family who is destined for greatness in life. After meeting her future husband and entering the political monarchy of Pakistan, Dania must face the trials and tribulations that come along with the life of royalty.

+ High Points

i – After 13 episodes, we finally get to witness Dania standing up for herself against the patriarchy of the Shehroz family. And even though the episode devoted a bit too much time on this plot point, it was still fun to see each individual of the chaotic family reacting differently to this “unheard of” situation.

ii – The dinner table scene was undoubtedly the highlight of the show. The performances, the family dynamics, everything played to perfection. It just goes to show that Meri Shehzadi works the finest when the actors just work off one another, creating drama and tension just by their performances.

iii – With each passing episode, the vitality of Ali Rehman’s performance becomes more and more apparent. His character Shehroz is undeniably my favorite character of the show and credit needs to be given to the writing as well as Ali Rehman’s portrayal of him onscreen. 

+ Low Points

i – A decent but not a great episode unfortunately. With Episode 13, Meri Shehzadi has diverted back to family melodrama and unengaging power struggle within the house. Personally I do not have anything against family politics but it seems like the show relies heavily on this plot point to make itself seem attractive to its audience. The new developments of previous weeks need time to develop. Let the general public first get used to Dania winning her people over. The biggest issue with Meri Shehzadi is that the premise itself is an exciting one but the logistics of reaching those twists and turns do not seem earned by the writing of the show.

ii – Speaking of logistics of the show, I still do not understand why Dania was forcefully brought into the family business in the first place. And if Dania is being portrayed as the “Mother Teresa” for the people, isn’t it beneficial for the party just to go along with it? Dania creates the clean facade for the party, hiding the rotting corpse of their evil deeds; it’s a win-win situation for everyone. Why is Daina being discouraged from her philanthropy act? 

+ Overall

Meri Shehzadi works best with its family dynamics and really needs to move beyond it if they would like to separate themselves from the rest of the Pakistani TV shows.

Rate: out of 5 stars 

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 11 & 12 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Qasim Ali Mureed
• Written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah
• Produced by Momina Duraid 
• Production by MD Productions

+ Note

The story of Meri Shehzadi is inspired by the real life story of the late Princess Diana from the United Kingdom. The show explores the expectations that corrupts the innocent and discourages empathy towards the common man.

 + Main Cast

1. Urwa Hocane as Dania
2. Ali Rehman as Shehroz
3. Sabeen Farooq as Bisma
4. Muazzam Ali Khan
5. Sonia Mishal
6. Najiba Faiz
7. Atiqa Odho
8. Shabbir Jan
9. Nauman Maqsood
10. Qavi Khan as Dania’s Nana
11. Shamim Hilaly as Dania’s Nani

+ Plot

Raised by her loving Grandparents, Dania is born in a royal family who is destined for greatness in life. After meeting her future husband and entering the political monarchy of Pakistan, Dania must face the trials and tribulations that come along with the life of royalty.

+ High Points

i – There have been some major developments in the plot for Meri Shehzadi since the past two episodes. Episode 11 and 12 have brought some very exciting prospects for the future and longevity of this show. Dania has invertedly made some major strides into the family politics and is working alongside her mother in law who has been successfully nominated as the new Chief Minister. But Dania in a rude awakening? Such questions are left for the upcoming episodes to explore and as a viewer, I am glad that Meri Shehzadi has moved beyond the “Saas/ Bahoo/ Second wife” drama into something more substantial and spells a breath of fresh air into the show.   

ii – Although the performances have not been exceptional by any stretch of the imagination, the entire main cast do their part well enough to bring a sense of urgency to the plot of the show. They act envious, excited, devious in very exaggerated ways but somehow, this all plays well with the political melodrama of the show. Does it all make sense? No but it does make for exciting television.

iii – Shehroz might be the most complex and intriguing character of the show. His past, his motivations and his incompetence brings a lot of depth to his role. In an interesting twist, Shehroz is somewhat a victim of his own destiny. He is forced to live up to his father’s shoes, not allowed who to love, whom to marry and now, needs to play a second fiddle to his wife’s new found success. A pitiful character indeed. 

+ Low Points

i – There are some major, logical inconsistencies with the new plot development that damper the legitimacy of the show, namely the trust that the party (for whatever reason) developed onto Dania. And this is not just to make the face of their party “clean” after the recent scandal involving Shehroz and his second wife, they really want to give her a position as the Human Rights minister. Why? This process was never really explained by the show. Just the fact that the higher ups of the party have really developed a trust in Dania. A proper explanation was in order but nothing was really provided by the show.

ii – Even though the plot has taken a positive turn, the dialogues of the show have not. The characters speak ridiculous, unrealistic nonsense to one another and always end up taking one out of the world that the show is trying to build. The dialogues never felt realistic in any sense of the word and only convey incredibly superficial emotions that make the show lack in quality writing. And it is a pity since the show has such an interesting premise to bounce off on. 

+ Overall

Meri Shehzadi continues on with its engaging storyline with interesting plot twists and cliffhangers. But the dialogues of the show are in dire straits of quality writing. 

Rate: out of 5 stars 

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 10 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Qasim Ali Mureed
• Written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah
• Produced by Momina Duraid 
• Production by MD Productions

+ Note

The story of Meri Shehzadi is inspired by the real life story of the late Princess Diana from the United Kingdom. The show explores the expectations that corrupts the innocent and discourages empathy towards the common man.

 + Main Cast

1. Urwa Hocane as Dania
2. Ali Rehman as Shehroz
3. Sabeen Farooq as Bisma
4. Muazzam Ali Khan
5. Sonia Mishal
6. Najiba Faiz
7. Atiqa Odho
8. Shabbir Jan
9. Nauman Maqsood
10. Qavi Khan as Dania’s Nana
11. Shamim Hilaly as Dania’s Nani

+ Plot

Raised by her loving Grandparents, Dania is born in a royal family who is destined for greatness in life. After meeting her future husband and entering the political monarchy of Pakistan, Dania must face the trials and tribulations that come along with the life of royalty.

+ High Points

i – The episode started off slow and overly melodramatic but with time, the plot got more engaging and ended on a high note. The scandalous storyline of Shehroz has dire consequences on the family and his political career. The rumors have spread so wide amongst the general public that some shocking decisions need to be made namely Shehrorz out of the contention for a Chief Minister nomination. Episode 10 was clearly divided into two parts; the first dealt with Dania and her ‘betrayal’ towards her grandfather. The other dealt with Shehroz’s political career in jeopardy. Overall, it was an engaging hour of television.

ii – I did particularly enjoy the mental breakdown of Shehroz as his heartbreak went beyond love and career. It was also a great insight from the show how important Cam has been to Shehroz and perhaps, the love that he possesses for her can never be comparable to Dania’s. Dania is an anomaly in all this. She will always remain the ‘outsider’ as she has only served as a pawn in the political game of Shehroz and his family. The next few episodes will be fairly interesting considering the party has now decided to take a different stance as to who will serve as the ‘face’ of their political future.

+ Low Points

i – An intriguing episode all around but the lack of depth in some vital performances was very evident throughout its runtime. Some scenes had fantastic writing but the performances by the main actors such as Urwa Hocane or Ali Rehman did not feel powerful enough to elevate the scenes to even greater levels of success. The dialogue delivery was a tad bit monotone or not in the same tone as was the requirement of the scene.

ii – The writing scenes of Dania’s Nana feel somewhat flat and unnecessary. Personally I do not feel that his inner thoughts contribute much to the overall plot of Meri Shehzadi. I do believe that internal monologues of Dania on the other hand, could provide a whole lot more to the narrative of the show. 

+ Overall

Since the past couple of episodes, Meri Shehzadi has been consistently engaging and an intense hour of political melodrama.

Rate: out of 5 stars 

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 9 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Qasim Ali Mureed
• Written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah
• Produced by Momina Duraid 
• Production by MD Productions

+ Note

The story of Meri Shehzadi is inspired by the real life story of the late Princess Diana from the United Kingdom. The show explores the expectations that corrupts the innocent and discourages empathy towards the common man.

 + Main Cast

1. Urwa Hocane as Dania
2. Ali Rehman as Shehroz
3. Sabeen Farooq as Bisma
4. Muazzam Ali Khan
5. Sonia Mishal
6. Najiba Faiz
7. Atiqa Odho
8. Shabbir Jan
9. Nauman Maqsood
10. Qavi Khan as Dania’s Nana
11. Shamim Hilaly as Dania’s Nani

+ Plot

Raised by her loving Grandparents, Dania is born in a royal family who is destined for greatness in life. After meeting her future husband and entering the political monarchy of Pakistan, Dania must face the trials and tribulations that come along with the life of royalty.

+ High Points

i – Meri Shehzadi portrays politics to perfection. Not only on a regional level but also within the walls of the Shehroz family. Throughout the first half of the episode, Shehroz tried his level best to convince Dania’s grandfather of his innocence. The lies portrayed by the media and the horrid, estranged wife of his; they are all in cahoots just to betray Shehroz’s confidence towards his voters. Nobody ever comes out of political life unscathed and Sheroz also has to play the ‘game’ of lies and manipulation of the innocent in order to stay in power. And by the end of the episode, Dania’s Nana learns that lesson the hard way.

ii – And with that, Episode 9 was categorically dedicated to Qavi Khan as Dania’s Nana. We, as an audience, went along with his journey of being lied to, manipulated in front of the global media and then finally coming across self realization of why the corrupt always abuse the blind. It was tragic for Dania’s grandfather to finally realize that by constant lies and misdemeanors, Dania has in fact become one of them. The innocent grandchild of his has perhaps been forever engulfed in the world of eternal politics and high class stature. 

+ Low Points

i – Dania is essentially the contrast of Shehroz. Unlike her husband, Dania wants to see the good in others and can never exploit them for her own personal gain. Unfortunately that portrayal of character seems incredibly muddled if one judges based on the conversation they had in the car. So as the story goes, Dania secretly caught her college friend taking cash out of her purse. In order to not make her feel guilty or uncomfortable with this act, Dania purposely let the act occur as planned because she did not want to make anyone feel bad about themselves and their flaws should always be hidden “behind a curtain”. And… this story makes no sense. What lesson did her friend learn from this? Absolutely nothing. She was committing a crime and never got caught for it so her friend learned absolutely nothing from all this and probably will try to do so again. And most likely will get caught by someone who would not be as kind as Dania is!

From my understanding, Meri Shehzadi wants to portray Dania as an open hearted person who wants to see the best in others. Nothing wrong with that but there is a fine line between being a people’s person and being naive. According to the story, Dania could have interrupted her friend during the act, given her the money and told her that next time if she ever needs extra money, all she has to do is ask. That would have been a perfect lesson for her friend; honesty is indeed the best approach.

ii – Almost every episode has too many internal monologues and other time wasting techniques just to lengthen the life of the show. There are also a couple scenes which are generally very identical in their content and dialogues. 

+ Overall

In the past few weeks, Meri Shehzadi has improved its content and pacing. Let’s hope this trend continues.

Rate: out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 8 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

• Directed by Qasim Ali Mureed
• Written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah
• Produced by Momina Duraid 
• Production by MD Productions

+ Note

The story of Meri Shehzadi is inspired by the real life story of the late Princess Diana from the United Kingdom. The show explores the expectations that corrupts the innocent and discourages empathy towards the common man.

 + Main Cast

1. Urwa Hocane as Dania
2. Ali Rehman as Shehroz
3. Sabeen Farooq as Bisma
4. Muazzam Ali Khan
5. Sonia Mishal
6. Najiba Faiz
7. Atiqa Odho
8. Shabbir Jan
9. Nauman Maqsood
10. Qavi Khan as Dania’s Nana
11. Shamim Hilaly as Dania’s Nani

+ Plot

Raised by her loving Grandparents, Dania is born in a royal family who is destined for greatness in life. After meeting her future husband and entering the political monarchy of Pakistan, Dania must face the trials and tribulations that come along with the life of royalty.

+ High Points

i – Although Episode 8 was limited in its diversity regarding storytelling, it was still an entertaining hour of television. A new bombshell has presented itself into the lives of the Sheroz political family as Cam finally decided to reveal her secret marriage with Sheroz to the public. The rest of the episode then deals with the consequences of this act and it’s perfectly understandable why the episode did not want to introduce a separate subplot in the middle of the episode. The focus and attention was rightfully on this new development. It was a big moment for the show and I am glad that the creative team let it breathe a bit or let the characters of the show sink into the moment with the audience.

ii – It is intriguing to see how the “mother” of the Sheroz family is the actual puppet master behind the scenes. Sheroz might be the face in front of the press but it is actually his mother that dictates the terms behind the facade. This characterization brings a lot of depth not just to the plot but one of the main protagonists of the show; Sheroz himself. Such scenes shed a glimpse of light into Sheroz’s upbringing, his character and the curse that he has to live with. He is unwillingly trapped in this political game of power and dominance. Sheroz has no choice but to comply and with that, mistreat innocent bystanders like Dania and Cam.

+ Low Points

i – Even when I praise the potential behind Meri Shehzadi’s storytelling, the lack of better writing is still very noticeable. Poor dialogues spoken by ridiculously paper thin characters who feel more caricaturesque with each passing episode. Bad, evil characters speak ill of everyone around them while good ones are angels without visible wings. The show needs better writing to accommodate an arguably interesting storyline but unfortunately, the writing is a major letdown.

ii – So eight episodes in and already two characters have passed away. Was that really necessary? Such actions in script are usually taken in order to get an emotional reaction from its audience but here it’s not the case because we just didn’t get to really know them. I can understand Sheroz’s father passing away in terms of storytelling but the passing away of the grandmother has made no difference to the plot whatsoever. 

+ Overall

Meri Shehzadi needs better writing to accommodate an arguably interesting storyline.

Rate: out of 5 stars