Category: TV series

A review on Pakistani TV Drama Series, Mann Ke Moti (2013 – 14) aka Qismet Ke Khial. Its Production House is A & B Productions while its Distributor is Geo Entertainment.

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Nadeem Siddique & Ali Faizan
• Written by Kifayat Rodini
• Director of Photography by Saleem Abbas, Rehan Mirza & Adnan Bukhari
• Score by Mohsin Allahditta
• Produced by Asif Raza Mir and Babar Javed

 

 

+ Note
Mann Ke Moti aired on Geo Entertainment from 23^rd Feb 2013 – 7^th Dec 2014. In total it consists of 62 episodes (1 – 2 Seasons). Its associate director is Hassan Qureshi and assistant director is Azam Khan. The editing is done by Kashif Ahmed and its production design by Waqas Hassan Rizvi.

Nadeem Siddique directed the 1st Season while the 2^nd Season was directed by Ali Faizan. In India, this drama series is known as ‘Qismet Ke Khial’.

This review may carry SPOILERS!

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

1. Faisal Qureshi as Raheel
2. Yasra Rizvi as Fariha
3. Zuhab Khan as Guddu / Bablo
4. Fiza Arif as Hina (Young)
5. Sonia Kazmi as Falak (Young)
6. Asma Abbas as Nasreen / Raheel’s Mother
7. Waseem Abbas as Farhan
8. Suddu Ali as Daniyal (Young)

 

 

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+ Supportive Cast

1. Sundas Tariq as Zara / Raheel’s Sister #1
2. Minza Waqas as Maham / Raheel’s Sister #2
3. Suhaee Abro as Hina (Adult)
4. Faizan Khajawa as Daniyal (Adult)
5. Mona Shah as Falak (Adult)
6. Ali Sheikh as Sagheer / Falak’s Boyfriend
7. Arisha Razi as Munni
8. Arjumand Rahim as Bablo’s Mother

 

 

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+ Other Cast

1. Aiman Khan as Sehrish / Maham’s Sister-in-Law #1
2. Minal Khan as Kaavish / Maham’s Sister-in-Law #2
3. Faizan Shaikh as Asfaq / Maham’s Husband
4. Fareeha Jabeen as Maham’s Mother-in-law
5. Sohail Khan as Maham’s Father-in-law
6. Omer Shahzad as Zara’s Husband
7. N/A as Nida / Falak’s Friend
8. Malik Raza as Garbage Collector (Cameo)
9. Salahuddin Tunio as Sagheer’s Father

 

 

 

+ Plot

Raheel feels it’s necessary for him to go abroad for work to earn a better living for his family. Although his family, including his mother is against to such decision as they would be alone without his presence. Soon, bad luck is struck upon Raheel’s family where they need to survive on their limited resources.

 

 

+ High Points

i – Zuhab Khan gave a superb performance as loud mouth, short temper son / brother as Guddu / Bablo who speaks out bluntly but is good at heart. It is rare to see such performance by a child star. Other Honorable Mentions: Yasra Rizvi, Asma Abbas, Faisal Qureshi, Waseem Abbas, Aiman & Minal Khan and Faizan Khajawa.

ii – The hardships to show how the family has to struggle in absence of Raheel and how their most closest ones starts to reject them from their lives is very realistically been shown to the audience.

iii – Though the performances by the entire cast is good but the child stars especially have done a fantastic job, such as Sonia Kazmi, Fiza Arif and Suddu Ali.

iv – It is interesting to watch as the story continues to progress without the lead actor; how Raheel’s family suffer mainly the children, is heart breaking to watch. It reminded me of the fame Bengal film, Pather Panchali (1955).

v – A sensitive, uncalled love relationship is shown of Hina & Daniyal and how the both families have to deal this situation including consulting the religious law over it.

vi – The direction of the 1^st season by Nadeem Siddique is praise worthy. The collaboration with the writer, Kifayat Rodani has helped Nadeem to direct the first season is very intriguing manner.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Wait, hold on a second… you are telling me that Raheel’s both sisters are now living elsewhere (one is in Islamabad and other in Dubai) therefore it’s okay that they are not informed of their mother’s near death condition including falling in coma for such a long time and Raheel’s 12 years of absence return. What?!

ii – An embarrassing end to this ‘Once a Great’ TV drama series. This would happen only when one cannot take ‘No’ for an answer. Instead of having respectable, decent end which you did had in 44^th episode. And yet, why go for the second season (45 – 62 episodes) came from the depths of hell which was highly unnecessary to show and the inclusion of mumbo, jumbo ‘Black Magic Baba’ with a tongue-in-cheek to watch and eventually make fun of yourself as to why watched this TV series in the first place for.

Mann K Moti’s 2^nd season and its end, strongly reminded me of infamous TV series Mann Mayal (2016); a very similar ending to watch in it too.

iii – I am not sure if Arjumand Rahim was the best option to play Bablo’s mother. Same thing I would say for Fareeha Jabeen in a mother’s role. They both are best suitable for negative roles only. Yes, I know that here too they were used in somewhat negative light but would prefer some other good actresses in such characters.

iv – Just because your production team / writer was forced to end this drama series with 62^nd as your last episode, therefore showing anything on-screen doesn’t do the job as effective as it needs to be. Example: Sagheer few episodes ago, was making fun of Falak & her father. And the next thing you know is that he is seriously begging Falak for forgiveness, make her accept him as once more as her ‘Loving, Caring’ husband!!  How does his character made such a sudden ‘Big Leap’ to change his flirt type nature to a ‘Mature’ one completely?

The reasons that they tried to show was that by living with his first wife he had realized of his mistakes (in such a short time) and wants to leave his lavish life so that he could be with Falak and her baby forever.

This is highly indigestible and unforgivable by the audience to accept such a big change in his negative character. If you had shown that his character was having changes slowly and gradually then yes, we as an audience would have no issue. But this is no Tamil Film!

 

 

 

+ Overall
Mann Ke Moti plays with your emotions well with good direction and strong performances by the child stars mainly but this only lasts till the first season.

 

 

 

Rate: 2.75 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani Classic Drama TV Series, Chand Girhan aka Lunar Eclipse (1991). It’s Production and Distribution is done by STN.

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Hyder Imam Rizvi and Tajidar Adil
• Written by Asghar Nadeem Syed

 

 

 

+ Note
Chand Girhan aired on STN in 1991. In total it consists of 15 episodes. It depicts a true picture of feudalism which has strong roots in Pakistan. The drama shows how promises made and broken and everything is right in political dictionary.

The powerful script by Asghar Nadeem Syed along with the superb performances by the best team of actors ensures engrossing viewing experience for the masses.

It is rare to see TV shooting with actors in early 90’s happening inside the airport of Pakistan.

 

 

+ Main Cast

1. Shafi Mohammad as Shah Sb
2. Sohail Asghar as Jahanian Shah
3. Faryal Gohar as Gul Bahar Begum
4. Ayaz Naik as Nasir
5. Huma Nawab as Sher Bano
6. Gulab Chandio as Dil Bahar
7. N/A as Shireen

 

 

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+ Supportive Cast

1. Qazi Wajid as Kamal Sb
2. Abdullah Kadwani as Amjad
3. Shakeel as Khawar Sb
4. Sajida Syed as Ms. Khawar
5. Sheema Kermani as Ameer-ul-Nisa
6. Tahira Wasti as Khamnam
7. Mehmood Akhtar as N/A
8. Latif Kapadia as N/A

 

 

 

+ Plot

Gul Bahar Begum, who even after getting married to Shah Sb; is unable to achieve respect in the eyes of the society because of her bitter past. As for Nasir, he with the help of Shireen and his friend are tracking down the source of human trafficking through their journalism skills and newspaper factory that his father owns.

 

 

+ High Points

i – Shafi Mohammad performance was very strong as Shah sb, a respectable feudal lord. The late actor had able to make his appearance and character memorable due to his convincingly acting on-screen.

ii – Gulab Chandio, who played the character of Dil Bahar not only performed very well than expectations but also to be noted that his character was very interestingly written. I thoroughly enjoyed watching his performance.

iii – Here we have strong star power, such as Shafi Mohammad, Faryal Gohar, Huma Nawab, Sohail Asghar, Qazi Wajid, Shakeel, Mehmood Akhtar, Tahira Wasti and Sheema Kermani to attract the viewers’ attention to it.

iv – An important topic is discussed, showed regarding human trafficking and how our corrupt police try to tone its publicity down.

v – The story is good with interesting sub plots, especially of revolving around Dil Bahar.

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Sohail Asghar who played Jahanian Shah, his dialogues and performance were so-so. Although, his character is quite memorable.

ii – There were some illogical and unrealistic things that they had shown. Examples: Never they showed an actual factory or workers or editorial team of the newspaper factory but only Kamal Sb’s room who is the owner. Similarly, Shah sb is a well-known and respected feudal lord but still anyone can enter his home regardless of having several security guards at his residence.

iii – The chemistry between Nasir and Shar Bano was so dull to watch. Instead, really enjoyed watching Nasir and Shireen together; Nasir was not only colleague to her but she had secret admiration for him.

 

 

 

+ Overall
Chand Girhan may be most watchable TV drama of its time, but it was not as interesting as it should be with such a dynamite star cast and powerful story.

 

 

 

Rate: 2.75 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani Drama TV Series, Diyar-e-Dil (2015) aka The Valley of the Heart. Its Production House is MD Productions while its Distributors are Hum Network Limited and MD Productions.

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Haseeb Hassan
• Written by Farhat Ishtiaq
• Director of Photography by Zeb Rao
• Theme Composed by Bilal Allah Dita & Shani Arshad
• Created & Produced by Momina Duraid

 

 

+ Note
Diyar-e-Dil aired on Hum TV from 17^th Mar 2015 – 27^th Oct 2015. In total it consists of 33 episodes. It is based on the same name novel ‘Dayar-e-Dil’ by Farhat Ishtiaq. The Editing is done by Mehmood Ali Areeb. Its Opening Song “Yar-e-Man” is sang by Zebunnisa Bangash and Ending Song “Goyanke Ishq” by Momin Durani.

The locations for shoot are Skardu; Gilgit–Baltistan and Lahore; Punjab. This TV series follows the lives of a dysfunctional family led by Agha Jaan and his grandchildren, Wali and Farah. It concludes moral lessons regarding respect, love and care in relationships.

Diyar-e-Dil has received critical acclaim and won 12 awards at 4th Hum Awards the most for the ceremony including, Best Drama Serial – Jury and Best Drama Serial – Popular for Momina Duraid, Best Director Drama Serial for Haseeb Hassan, Best Actress – Popular for Maya Ali, Best Actor – Jury for Meekal Zulfiqar, Best Actor – Popular for Osman Khalid Butt, Best Writer Drama Serial for Farhat Ishtiaq and Best Original Soundtrack for Shani Arshad. At 15th Lux Style Awards, it won 2 awards including Best TV Play and Best Original Soundtrack for Duraid and was nominated for Best TV Actor, Best TV Actress, Best TV Writer, and Best TV Director.

There may be SPOILERS ahead!

 

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

1. Abid Ali as Bakhtiyar Khan/ Agha Jan
2. Mikaal Zulfiqar as Behroze Bakhtiyar Khan
3. Ali Rehman Khan as Suhaib Bakhtiyar Khan
4. Sanam Saeed as Ruhina Behroze Khan
5. Hareem Farooq as Arjumand Suhaib Khan
6. Osman Khalid Butt as Wali Suhaib Khan
7. Maya Ali as Faarah Wali Khan

 

 

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+ Supportive Cast

1. Ahmad Zeb as Moeiz Tajamul
2. Behroze Sabzwari as Tajamul Arsalan
3. Maryam Nafees as Zarminey Suhaib Khan
4. Tara Mahmood as Zuhra Tajamul
5. Eshita Mehboob as Laila Feroze Khan
6. Rasheed Naz as Bedar Khan
7. Azra Mansoor as Yasmeen Bedar Khan

 

 

 

+ Plot

It follows from where the disturbance occurs in the lives of Agha Jaan’s wealthy tribal joint family due to their eldest son, Behroze’s decision of marrying elsewhere.

 

 

+ High Points

i – This is best performance I have watched up till now of Mikaal Zulfiqar, who acted splendidly as Behroze Bakhtiyar Khan.

ii – Sanam Saeed as Ruhina shown as mean, cold heart old woman who has gained a great dislike and hatred for her husband’s family / her in-laws after disowning them for their will. It is always a welcome to have her on-board.

iii – The performance given by Maya Ali as blunt mouth, out spoken, immature, confused girl ‘Farah’ is worthy to watch and has able to regain her status as good actress. Her previous performance I have watched was in ‘Mann Mayal’ (2016) which then made me seriously to avoid watching any of her projects for a long time until now. Other Honorable Mentions: Abid Ali, Ali Rehman Khan, Ahmed Zeb, Behroze Sabzwari, Hareem Farooq and Osman Khalid Butt.

iv – The story’s opening and its ending is strongly written. A solid opening gives a good impression while a decent ending gives an everlasting reputable impression. This has worked well with many different media adaptations and projects alike. One of the most popular current examples can be given of the Hollywood comic film ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012).

v – The last three episodes are dedicated to a proper, detailed ending. It is rare to see this in TV series or films even. Here the writer and director made a well-earned decision and stick by it to have a respectable, memorable finale.

vi – The direction of this TV series is praise worthy. This is the first project I have watched of Haseeb Hassan and it is safe to say that it is a very decent work. Good job!

vii – The performances by the entire cast is superb. The real credit goes to the director, Haseeb Hassan as it is his responsibility to make sure to get realism from his cast members according to their respected characters and how the script demands it to be.

viii – The strong emotional link which was established in the start between the main characters and the viewers was really heart touching. The deaths of main characters made the viewers’ feel for their great loss and have gained emphatic link for them.

ix – The production design has given noble efforts to fulfill it in most decent manner. This can be seen in its entire series.

 

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The body of the story is very weak especially keeping it in the view that this is total 33 episodes drama series. In the start, the strong interest level lasts till 14 – 15  episodes while the interest level is gained back to the viewers in the last five episodes (i.e. from 29^th – 33^rd).

In the mid of the episodes, the writer has stretched this drama as long as possible with similar repeated story issues of getting emotional black mailed, Aga Jan’s heart conditions, Moeiz & Wali’s feud and believing every love support is a lie. The interest level of the mid story starts to deteriorate just like slow poisoning. I literally thought it may eventually end up similar to the in-fame TV drama series ‘Mann Mayal’ (2016) but thank God it does not. If it wasn’t for the review, I may have gave up watching in the mid of the episodes.

ii – The logic of the drama is that if a female character is wearing ‘Hair Band’ then she is childish while if the same character stops wearing it the next day, has now become a mature person.

Likewise, they play comic score only when they want their viewers not to take us serious in their particular scenes / moments. Mind you that there is no comic relief character in this drama series.

There are many examples including when Wali finds Moeiz & Farah having dinner behind his back and catches Moeiz proposing to Farah for engagement, Wali confronts them. At that same scene, the comic score is played when the jealousy is shown between the two guys while in the same scene a serious score is suddenly played when Wali makes Farah realizes that she is still his wife and if wanted, can force her to go with him to his home town. WTF?

And I would never dine in those restaurants if I find them completely empty while having waiters only.

iii – If the family is living from generations to generations at Gilgit-Baltistan area then why does their accent is in Urdu for? Only in some minor scenes in the start we are shown that the same characters are now speaking their origin accent.

iv – I believe that the negativity of Moeiz’s nature should have been kept hidden till when he faces Ruhi and exposes his true intentions then & there. It would have been a good twist but it is the writer’s / director’s call in the end.

v – I don’t understand that if this TV series is good budgeted and has an experienced crew working on it then why its visual effects are equivalent to the ranks of a student’s film? Example: In the starting of the episodes, it clearly shows that the cast is standing in front of a green screen where their surroundings is artificial and when the main characters are looking at the pictures on the wall are not actual photographs but visually inserted there to look as they are real photos.

vi – After Arjumand’s refusal to Ruhi on the marriage proposal for their children, Arjumand realizes later on that Farah is really innocent and convinces her son of it too. But they never care to show how and when Arjumand has made her peaceful ties with Ruhi again but that everyone is now living happily together as joint family.

 

 

 

+ Overall
Diyar-e-Dil is a close adaptation of the novel by Farhat Ishtiaq, good performance with emotional bond have made the viewers’ fall in love with the characters instantly. Though, it is burdened with absence of ideas on how to progress the story while preserving the interest level till its end and the supposedly fainting love triangle among Farah and her beaus which lacked serious interactions that could produce good chemistry.

 

 

Rate: 3.25 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani TV Drama Serial, Mera Naseeb (2011) aka My Fate. Its Production House is MD Productions while its Distributor is Hum Entertainment.

 

+ Crew
I – Directed by Adnan Ahmed

II – Written by Samira Fazal

III – Theme Music by Waqar Ali

IV – Produced by Momina Duraid

 

+ Note
Mera Naseeb was aired on Hum TV from 1^st Apr 2011 – 26^th Aug 2011. It consists of total 21 episodes.

Indian-American author, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has accused the writers of the show of plagiarizing her novel Sister of My Heart for the story of the serial. However, the writer had mentioned earlier that it is a drama adaptation of a story provided to them while she (writer) had no prior knowledge a plagiarized work was being provided to them to work with.

The Opening theme ‘Boond, Boond’ song is written by Momina Duraid and performed by Komal Rizvi.

 

+ Main Cast

1. Syra Yousuf as Nazia Fahad
2. Sanam Saeed as Shazia Moiz
3. Sakina Sammo as Habiba / Phupi Ammi
4. Rubina Ashraf as Sajida
5. Samina Peerzada as Salima

 

 

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+ Supportive Cast

6. Imran Aslam as Fahad
7. Imran Abbas Naqvi as Moiz
8. Bushra Ansari as Nazia’s Mother-in-Law
9. Sajid Hasan as Shazia’s Father-in-Law
10. Adeel Hussain as Shahbaz

 

 

+ Plot

Two best friends, Shazia & Nazia are born at the same date. Bizarrely, their fathers were also expired at the same day as well. Both the girls live same house with their widow mothers and aunt. Shazia is shown as a bold outspoken whereas Nazia is a pretty simple girl. They live under strict house rules by their mothers from the society. The story takes a turn when one of the girls falls in love with a guy.

 

 

+ High Points
i – Sanam Saeed performed very strongly on-screen while her character supported her act throughout the drama serial. Her bold character gave incredible encouragement to our society for women power.

ii – Sakina Sammo as Habiba/Phupi Ammi was fantastically played. She proved us all to be a very good actress. Other Honorable Mentions are: Imran Aslam, Rubina Ashraf and Imran Abbas Naqvi.

iii – This drama would help the viewers to see what kind of problems our females face with strict backgrounds and pressurized in difficult times.

 

 

+ Low Points
i – I am not such a big fan to watch TV serials where unnecessary violence / tragedy is shown in able to get more good ratings. People who are habitual in watching such serials may find it okay but it does not work for me. It is a habit of Pakistani TV dramas to make their serials over dramatic and insert unnecessary tragic scenes where it could have been easily avoidable. Even if you did watch it… you can watch it only once.

ii – This drama’s target audience was for females basically. So yes, this is also one of the reasons why I find it difficult to watch it with interest.

iii – In our TV drama serials, in almost all of them we see that anyone at any time can enter people houses as their main gate or door is never locked (or somehow, they always have keys to it). Likewise, in this drama as well Habiba & Sajida enter the rent home of Shazia without bothering to knock the door/ring up the bell to show as if they were entering their own home!

Logic in these kinds of scenes just goes out of the window.

iv – Sajjad Hasan performance as abusive husband & father-in-law seemed as though he was forcing himself to be in that character. It did not look natural. Also, that when his character starts having flash backs of his cruel behavior (in much later episodes), we able to see one of those flashback memories which Shazia saw it only as her nightmare and none of that really happened in drama serial reality.

v – I felt that Imran Abbas Naqvi’s character was not properly written. I understand and accept that he fears that he might / have become just like his abusive father yet at the same time he tries to change himself towards positivity. However, his sexual attraction towards Nazia is shown in a very flirt type manner whereas his sober personality with others does not make any sense. The only explanation can be given is that he perhaps has split personalities (which was not the intent of the writer).

vi – After first few episodes, Adeel Hussain’s character became absolute useless! His existence did not really matter as such. And then his apology letter to Nazia was way out of proportion and pointless.

vii – In another flashback we see how Nazia’s & Shazia’s fathers have really died while the true character of Salima is also exposed. After their deaths, two questions still remain that how no one in the neighborhood had listened to their loud quarrel and noises of gun shots? How did they get rid of the two dead bodies? It’s not like we have professional hit-men / assassins here, who did their job nice and easy.

viii – Almost all of the problems what our society females face are shown here. Let’s see… we have sexual harassment / flirting, strict mothers with outdated mindsets, domestic abuse, suspicion of extramarital relationship, forceful marriages, pressurized of giving birth a son, forced for abortion, threat of giving divorce, abusive husband, earn in the place of alcoholic & a bum husband, cruelty, barrier to freedom of speech and many more.

The writer might defend this by saying that all this was shown gradually to see how the two sisters became strong women and fought for their rights. But having all these problems in small space of time i.e. just 2 – 3 years is very less. A long passage of time period let’s say 8 – 10 years would have looked realistic and be acceptable.

ix – Of course, we do have a cliché ending! I mean, what did you really expect from it?

x – Whenever Rehan Sheikh is included in a TV serial, would always find him in small roles where he makes appearance in only 2 – 3 episodes and his character always dies in it. His previous works that I have watched are Udaari (2016), Beshahram (2016) and now this Mera Naseeb (2011) with similar fate.

 

 

 

+ Overall
Mera Naseeb’s unquestionably well-meaning message is served by chaos of problems with melodramatic clichés and over-forceful moralizing.

 

 

Rate: 2.0 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani Drama TV Serial, Dusri Bivi (2014) aka Second Wife. Its Production House is Big Bang Entertainment while its Distributor is ARY Entertainment.

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Anjum Shahzad
• Written by Samina Ejaz
• Music by Ahmed Jahanzaib
• Produced by Fahad Mustafa & Dr. Ali Kazmi

 

 

 

+ Note

Dusri Bivi aired on ARY from 1^st Dec 2014 – 4^th May 2015. It consists of total 23 episodes. Fahad Mustafa had announced that this drama would be his “Last” television commitment.

 

 

 

Main Cast

1) Fahad Mustafa as Hassan

2) Hareem Farooq as Ayesha

3) Maha Warsi as Farah

 

 

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Supportive Cast

4) Ahmed Ali as Aamir

5) Dr. Ali Kazmi as Ahmed

 

 
+ Plot

Hassan, a loving husband and a father, is a CEO of his company where his colleague Farah works. Soon after a true friendship bond is made between Hassan and Farah, she finds herself falling in love with him. Once Ayesha (first wife) learns about her husband’s marriage to Farah in secrecy… nothing remains the same.

 

 

+ High Points

i – Maha Warsi as Farah performed soundly and really looked as true loving wife.

ii – Nice to see a change of character as the main antagonist of this drama series.

iii – The tense scenes shown once married and bringing in your second wife in the same house where your first wife lives… it was directed very nicely.

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The tension created during hospital scenes where Hassan has to decide whether the mother or the baby life is more important to live? He knows well who is responsible for this… it could had brought out Fahad Mustafa’s great acting… he could had easily been remembered by this drama series performance but we were not so lucky. The performance in those high intense scenes was just mediocre.

ii – The reason shown to us as to why Hassan marries Farah is so WTH! I mean, are you serious?? Is Farah’s father that lame? Unbelievable!

iii – A miracle occurred when a baby is born. We all adults know well that how a new born baby looks like? But here we have a baby who looks like a few months old. I asked a friend on the baby appearance (just to make sure) … and she said that the baby looks at least six months old! Imagine the stupidity by the team of this ‘Great’ drama series.

iv – In Pakistani dramas, car accidents are as common as in Indian dramas, plastic surgeries are.

v – Aamir character is so badly written. Not only had he reminded me of the character Rohit from the Bollywood film Dil Chahta Hai (2001) but his character so irritating that even the main characters as well as the viewers hated to see him appear. You would say that this is what they wanted to show, right? No, this is not what I mean by ‘Bad’. What I am saying is we as viewers wanted to get rid of this character ASAP so that we could move on with the next phase of the story.

vi – Every house that shown to us, no one had enough money to buy few bulbs for their homes to lit up? The rooms are shot in such gloomy state as if these people are always a victim of load shedding. Only day light is helps them, where able to see who they are talking to or where they are going?

vii – Hareem’s hairstyle is always the same no matter where she is or at what time you see her.

viii – The interest level arises after 12^th or 13^th episode. Before that there was hardly any story to watch. As I am a reviewer, therefore, I made an effort to watch first 11 episodes. But if I was one of the viewers, then just after just 3rd episode I would have switched to some other drama series instead.

ix – Fahad & Hareem performances were so-so. Although I had good expectations from Fahad but he performed way too calm than he should have been… In some places he should be using sharp tone or shout but didn’t, was really off scene for the viewers.

x – A scene takes place where an apology been is made by a character at the hospital — this would have given a proper good ending. Okay, fine! The writer thought of a twist afterwards which is BTW good only if it is digestible and its retaliation shown properly but did not. Instead it looked like as if there is no end to this drama series. We all are stuck in some kind of Time Loop. Yikes!

xi – The title really grabbed my attention and decided to watch this drama series. But the behavior deteriorates by one of the wives in such bad light as one may have lost her marbles. Nonetheless, it was not similar to Glenn Close’s performance in Fatal Attraction (1987).

xii – The ending is highly cliché and so unrealistic. It seemed to me that the writer was pressurized to give a ‘Happy’ ending. Even in the end of the finale, still very hard to believe if that character would keep herself stable and accept reality or not?

xiii – A daughter is about to die due to someone’s fault but here we have her father who is talking very nicely, calmly to that person (who is responsible) while also handing over a new born of his dying daughter to take care of. What?

 

 

 

+ Overall:

Despite having no proper story, the simplicity made it still watchable. Nevertheless, since the performances were not up to the mark while the finale was dull therefore Dusri Bivi may be best left as forgotten.

 

 

Rate: 1.0 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani Drama TV Serial, Mann Mayal (2016). Its Production House is Momina Duraid Productions while its Distributor is Hum Entertainment.

 

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Haseeb Hassan
• Director of Photography is Zeb Rao
• Written by Samira Fazal
• Music by Shuja Hyder
• Produced by Momina Duraid & Sana Shahnawaz

 

 
+ Note

Mann Mayal was aired on Hum TV from 25^th Jan 2016 to 5^th Sep 2016. It consists of total 33 episodes.

There may be some SPOILERS ahead!

 

+ Main Cast

1. Maya Ali as Manahil Javed / Mannu
2. Hamza Ali Abbasi as Salahuddin
3. Gohar Rasheed as Mikaeel
4. Ayesha Khan as Jeena

 

 

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+ Supporting Cast

1. Saleem Mairaj as Jameel
2. Saba Hameed as Manahil’s mother
3. Naeem Tahir as Javed / Manahil’s father
4. Shehryar Zaidi as Shahid / Salahuddin’s father
5. Ismat Zaidi as Durdana / Salahuddin’s mother
6. Mehmood Aslam as Shahaab / Mikaeel’s father
7. Laila Zuberi as Rahila / Mikaeel’s mother
8. Aiman Khan as Beeya / Salahuddin’s Sister
9. Arjumand Rahim as Cookie
10. Vasay Chaudhry as Ifti
11. Talat Hussain as Rehman
12. Lubna Aslam as Saliha / Manahil’s aunt
13. Faizan Haque as Mikaeel’s friend
14. Haris Waheed as Mikaeel’s Gambling Partner

 

 
+ Plot

The childhood friends, Mannu & Salauddin accept their love in their adulthood for each other. But their families have their differences mainly due to social class issues. Hence, Mannu receives a high-class marriage proposal while Salauddin goes to city for search of job.

 

 

+ High Points

i – I watched this TV serial till the end only because of Hamza Ali Abbasi.

ii – Talat Hussain’s character as well as his performance is praise worthy. Other Honorable Mentions: Aiman Khan, Naeem Tahir, Saleem Mairaj, Mehmood Aslam and Lubna Aslam.

iii – The first 10 episodes are very well written. It is not a typical ‘Saas – Bahu‘ (Mother & Daughter-in-Law) story where our Pakistani / Indian TV dramas are usually based on.

iv – The cinematography is pretty decent, not your average standards of our TV industry.

v – Nice work behind makeup & hair styling. The stars looked elegant on silver screen.

vi – The soundtrack “Tere Naal Mein Laiyan” by Quratulain Balouch and Shuja Haider is flourishing to listen to.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The story climbs on the peak point and ends with a decline. It eventually becomes a drag, which is really a shame. This TV serial is a high-budgeted, A-star cast and yet the viewers lost interest in this ‘Rona Dhona’ (hue & cry) TV drama very soon. Many of my friends and relatives warned me not to watch this TV serial. Still, I had to watch it for review sake. Now I know why they warned me.

It seems the writer must have said ‘Since I made this drama good and interesting for the viewers. So, now I am accepting the challenge to make the same drama serial as bad & boring as possible. I don’t care what people say, I just want to ruin the story and the characters I have written where viewers don’t give a heed to their bad happenings. Let the ratings have the downfall, I just don’t care’!

ii – Maya Ali’s character in later episodes becomes absolute rubbish and annoying. Always crying and crying. Her tears up till now have made a huge wave of sea. No one likes to watch characters in Damsel in Distress anymore. The time has moved on. People prefer strong female characters that don’t waste their time in crying and tolerating harsh behavior but rather work out on coming up with solutions.

Her character has two responsibilities which are to cry and tolerate all the wrong doings surrounding her presence. ‘Wa, Bhai, Wa’! Someone should slap on the writer’s bottoms with a steel bat. Her character is written as the worst of them all. The worst!

iii – Although, Gohar Rasheed’s performance as one of the antagonists is properly handled but he is stuck in the limbo of being ‘Type Cast’. At first, I was pleased to see him in the role of ‘Mikael’ as good, loving son. But then later his true nature is revealed. His sudden change of character in the last few episodes doesn’t make any sense! How the hell his character changes??

No hints were shown for character about to shift. As if the team behind drama serial said ‘Guys, the ratings are dropping and producer has refused to further finance this project. So, it’s better to end the drama quickly. I don’t care how you do it, just do it! Quick! Quick! The audience is stupid. They would not ask for logical reasoning behind the character’s change. I just want this to end it now, please‘!

iv – Jeena, wo hai, jis k maa baap nahi hai. Aur Aiesha Khan wo hai, jis k paas is k ilawa aur koyi dialogue nahi hai (Jeena is the character who does not have her parents and Aiesha Khan is the one who does not have any other dialogues). Aiesha Khan keep repeating her two dialogues on & on, ‘Mere maa baap nahi hai’ & ‘Mujhe Salauddin se shadi karni hai’. It becomes so annoying to listen. And due to lame reason, her character comes to an end. Pathetic!

v – ‘Jameel’ character was played superbly by Saleem Mairaj. But the writer did not want this to happen. No. He wanted to ruin his character as well by forcing his character story with Aiesha Khan’s character ‘Jeena’. If this decision lasted for a couple of episodes then it was acceptable or that Jameel to remain faithful in secrecy would had turned out to be a great twist. But no! The writer took this idiotically move of ruining ‘Jameel’ character for many episodes. Till the point the viewers shout on top of their lungs, Enough Already!

The writer turned this loving character of Jameel into ‘Manhoos’ (Dull). The eyes of the viewers must be burst out open to see one of their favorite character as no longer delightful to watch. The viewers started hating him as well along with characters of Maya Ali, Aiesha Khan and Gohar Rasheed’s.

vi – There was no story left for the Mann Mayal team. They just dragged it till the point where the viewers gained indeed strong hatred for it. Shame on the team of Mann Mayal. I truly loved your work in first 10 episodes. But slowly and gradually most of the main cast turned out to be dud in the end. Not even the good performances, editing or direction could save this TV serial as the story was going nowhere.

The kind of story they have given, this TV serial should have ended by 15^th episode. After that it is just a big black hole.

 

 
+ Overall

There is no engagement or contrasting the story to grab viewers’ attention. It is filled with weakly written characters and unnecessary 20+ episodes to a very limited story, have made Mann Mayal a very forgettable TV serial and should held in the ranks of shame.

 

 

Rate: 1.0 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani TV Soap Series, Bhool (2014) aka Fault. Its Distributor is Hum Entertainment.

 

+ Crew
I. Directed by Asad Malik
II. Written by Syed Wasi Shah
III. Produced by Momina Duraid and Gemstone Production
IV. Theme Music Composed by Wajid Saeed

 

 

+ Note
Bhool was aired on Hum TV from 13^th Jan 2014 – 24^th Apr 2014. It consists of total 76 episodes. At 3rd Hum Awards series was nominated Best Soap Actor for Shehroz Sabzwari, Best Soap Actress for Sanam Chaudhry and Best Soap Series for Momina Duraid. The story is set against a backdrop of political intrigue revolving around a family that suffers from love, hate, selfishness and deceit.

 

 

+ Main Cast

1. Shehroz Sabzwari as Shazain
2. Sanam Chaudhry as Hira
3. Sara Khan as Nida
4. Haya Sehgal as Hira’s Step Mom

 

 

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+ Supportive Cast

5. Behroze Sabzwari as Nida’s Father
6. Saleem Sheikh as Sardar Jahanzaib (Hira’s Father)
7. Fazila Qazi as Nida’s Mom
8. N/A as Homicidal Manic

 

 

 

+ Plot

Shazain and Nida run away from their families to get married. After some years Shazain who is now happily married family man, is introduced to Sardar Jahanzaib and to his young daughter Hira who took some years to recover from her nervous breakdown after losing her mom. After their first meeting, Hira’s only hope of living is the love towards Shazain that is to win him by any means necessary.

 

 

+ High Points
i – Haya Sehgal performance as Hira’s step mother was very effective and good while mild performances by everyone else.

ii – Nice to see Saleem Sheikh on TV screen after long, long time. Welcome back!

 

 

 

+ Low Points
i – Nida looked older than Shazain, more like bhabhi than wife.

ii – Nervous breakdown of Hira earlier and late episodes was expected but with too much shout and cry. I would prefer watching some other channel instead.

iii – What a couple of goons did Hira hires to kidnap Shazain’s wife, that Nida attempts to run away two times. And speaking of kidnapping, to know that anything could had happened to his wife… we are shown that on the night of kidnapping, her two kids are so worried that they order pizza and then they both and Shazain sleep peacefully in their rooms.

iv – We are shown that Nida has not eaten anything or very minor while being hostage that she is malnutrition but still have enough energy to run away to some distance without them the two goons knowing. Plus the room where she is kept as hostage looked so fragile to be opened with one hard push only.

v – After losing Nida, her parents are not shown at all especially her father to make any efforts in investigating or force arrest Shazain or fight the custody of his grandchildren as he once said to do in mid episodes.

vi – Sardar Jahanzaib never gets to know that his only daughter ever hired goons to kidnap and murder someone. Not only this but the fact that the same goons he had hired to kill his second wife for political gains.

vii – At one time, Hira’s father seemed very desperate to get his daughter married to any guy and in next few episodes, he lost the interest to get his wish fulfilled.

viii – If God forbids someone’s loved one is kidnapped once, then he / she would increase the security measures and restricted that person’s outgoing as does not want to repeat their same mistake twice. However, here we are shown that even after Nida’s kidnap and return home safe, no security measures or restrictions are been implemented. Instead, this is what the same goons take the opportunity by trespassing, break in to their house and steal their valuables and kill the person for what they were hired to do. Wa! Wa!

Oh, and speaking of the valuables, normally people keep their jewelry and valuable items at locker rooms of a bank but here Nida’s all the jewelry is still kept in their boxes, inside a cupboard where any person even a maid can steal it easily.

ix – Whenever you see someone sleeping in their rooms, their room lights are always brightly lit on.

x – Honestly, there was nothing new to watch here. The love obsession is something, ‘Been there, done that’. It means, we have watched SO MANY movies and TV series using same story on and on. Come on now! If you want to invest in a soap series, please write something new and different. Not interested to watch ‘Ghisi Piti stories’.

xi – Yes, naturally the finale was predictable… by 10 miles at least!

xii – The real story / interest began by 28^th or 29^th episode. Now except for the reviewers, how anyone in the public would watch this soap series with interest? What first impression you are giving us? People who have nothing else to do might watch your soap series just to kill time. I can assure you that it was real challenge for me to watch this soap series till the end.

What is more shocking to know is that this soap series was nominated in Best Soap Series on Hum TV awards! What?!?

 

 

+ Overall
A number of love obsession films rip-off, Bhool is a highly predictable, mediocre thriller drama.

 

 

Rate: 0.25 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani TV Comedy Drama Serial, Farwa Ki ABC (2015). The Production Company is A-Plus Entertainment.

 

+ Crew
I. Directed by Sohail Javed

II. Written by Aamna Mufti

III. Produced by Sadia Jabbar

 

+ Note

Farwa Ki ABC was aired on A Plus from 24^th Jul 2015 – 18^th Dec 2015. It consists of total 20 episodes. The characters of Farwa and Mustansar reminded me of the similar main lead characters from the classic American musical film, My Fair Lady (1964).

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

1. Soniya Hussain as Farwa
2. Adnan Jaffar as Mustansar
3. Ahmed Hassan as Gogi
4. Yasir Mazhar as Junaid

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

  

+ Supportive Cast

5. Irsa Ghazal as Begum
6. Khalid Anam as Saeed
7. Shehryar Zaidi as Junaid’s Dad
8. Faryal Mehmood as Aqsa

 

 

 

+ Plot

A fun-loving girl haunted by ABC and her new English tutor. She will go to any lengths to stay away from studies, even if it means becoming the biggest trouble maker for all!

 

+ High Points
i – Ahmed Hassan’s performance was far better than rest of the cast while Soniya Hussain and Yasir Mazhar did okay. Ahmed played boyfriend role as ‘Gogi’, the carefree, school drop-out and lover of Farwa very reasonably.

ii – Junaid’s obsession of white color, either in the shape of clothes, walls, jewelry etc was amusing to watch.

 

 

+ Low Points
i – After 5^th episode, one would realize that there is no story left for the viewers as this drama was stretched till 20 episodes in total which were too many to consume! Instead it would have been better if it was a miniseries with max. 5 – 6 episodes only.

ii – Naturally when there is hardly any story to move further then yes it would become boring with no motive to watch. I completely lost interest to know what was happening in further episodes including the finale.

iii – Most of the characters were dryly written with no developments in their respected roles.

iv – The production team’s intentions seemed as if to throw money, make aimless TV drama and waste viewers’ time.

 

 

+ Overall
Farwa Ki ABC is a collection of mostly missed gags which is tied together with a thin plot.

 

 

Rate: 1.0 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani TV Drama Series, Noor-e-Zindagi (2017) aka as Spiritual Life. Its Distributor is Geo Entertainment.

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Siraj ul Haq
• Written by Sarwat Nazir
• Created & Produced by Abdullah Kadwani & Asad Qureshi

 

 

+ Note
Noor-e-Zindagi was aired on Geo Entertainment from 15^th Jul 2016 – 27^th Jan 2017. In total it consists of 29 episodes.

 

 

+ Main Cast

1. Ayesha Khan as Noor Jahan
2. Syed Jibran as Saleem
3. Anam Tanveer as Gulshan Ara
4. Noman Habib as Waseem / Saleem’s Brother
5. Sajida Syed as Saleem’s Mother
6. Saleem Mairaj as Saleem’s Friend #1
7. Adnan Shah Tipu as Adnan / Saleem’s Friend #2
8. Faria Sheikh as Zebo / Noor’s Sister

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ Supportive Cast

1. Yousuf Shakeel Kamal as Noor’s Father
2. Hira Pervaiz as Mehrunisa / Noor’s Sister-in-Law
3. Ismat Iqbal as Gulshan’s Mother
4. Somi Dawood as Mano / Saleem’s Sister (Younger)
5. N/A as Mehrunisa’s Sister-in-Law
6. Humaira Bano as Mehrunisa’s Mother-in-Law
7. Hanif Bachan as Mehrunisa’s Father-in-Law
8. Shameen Khan as Saleem’s Daughter

 

 

 

+ Plot

Just like his late father, Saleem is also short tempered and a school drop-out. Instead he managed to take care of his family business in the absence of his father and bread earner. His beloved mother desperately looks for a humble, well mannered, loving wife for him who is also a very literate. To their fortunate fate, they are blessed with Noor Jahan.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Syed Jibran gave a remarkable performance as loud mouth, short temper son / husband / brother Saleem. Throughout the drama series, you would see how he realizes his mistake after taking out his anger and frustrations at his loved ones due suspicion and excessive thinking. Though lot of shouting makes the viewer’s uncomfortable to watch but in this case, it was most of the times hilarious to see his stupendous acting. Saleem probably is the most memorable character of this TV drama series.

ii – Ayesha Khan as Noor Jahan in wife role has executed it very nicely indeed. Noor Jahan is a character written as an ideal wife / daughter-in-law / sister-in-law to the in-laws family. The personality shown of Noor is beautiful, faithful, and full of light for anyone’s life as the title of this drama series indicates Noor-e-Zindagi … Spiritual Life. Ayesha Khan played her character of maturity and patience.

iii – Saleem Mairaj gave out his best as one of Saleem’s goof friends who quickly grabs enmity towards Noor (Saleem’s wife) due to her being highly literate, clever woman who can / able to control Saleem and make him avoid committing mistakes or even being a threat to Saleem’s friends easy going life. Other Honorable Mentions: Sajida Syed, Yousuf Shakeel, Noman Habib and Adnan Shah Tipu.

iv – The story is quite fascinating and how the characters are portrayed. It is something new and different to watch.

v – The character of Anam Tanveer as Gulshan Ara is very well written. Anam plays an attractive femme fatale who is a gold digger just like her mother, played by Ismat Iqbal.

vi – The direction is worthy indeed throughout this wonderful TV drama series while the viewers would notice that almost every cast member able to give out their best performance on-screen. It is mainly due to director’s call. A good director is responsible to get decent performances from his entire cast.

vii – It is rare to watch a TV drama with interest where a lot of shouting is going on, especially one of the lead performers. I myself try to avoid such dramas with lot of shouting, hue and cry but this one is exceptional.

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Noman Habib’s character as Waseem reminded me of the usual younger brother role played by Harish Kumar in Bollywood films of former super star Govinda. — Jokes apart aside, the suspicion of illicit affair between him and Noor by his elder brother Saleem and to confront it that is in able to realize Saleem that they have only sibling type relationship only was really embarrassing and shameful to say it loud to his own brother. In real, a brother would actually feel a disgrace to make his brother realize that what he is thinking is disgraceful, low level thinking.

A similar situation happens in fame Hollywood film ‘Raging Bull’ where exact same thing happens where they both refuse to reply it as it’s really shameful to answer such a question to his own brother. I believe the writer & director of the Hollywood film pulled it off properly, in most realistic manner.

ii – The 29^th episode (finale) was useless and unnecessarily shown. Yes, I do understand and know well to why the writer chose to show this extra episode although knowingly that the true ending did came in 28^th episode. But one should understand that you cannot do JUSTICE with just ONE EPISODE regarding Saleem’s offspring genetic temper flaw while Saleem still battling his own demons with a surprising twist in the end.

 

 

+ Overall
Noor-e-Zindagi brings out enough mileage off its hilarious yet emotional sequences with a team work stars’ performances which make this TV drama series an unforgettable one from a respected director.

 

 

Rate: 4.0 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani Rom-Drama TV Series, Do Qadam Door Thay (2017) aka [Two Steps Away]. The Production Houses are Ironline Productions and KK Entertainment whereas its Distributor is Geo Entertainment.

 

 

+ Crew

1. Directed & Produced by Mohsin Mirza
2. Creative Director by Kashif Ahmed Butt
3. Written by Kifayat Rodani
4. Title Song by Nida Arab and Nabeel Shaukat Ali

 

 

+ Note
Do Qadam Door Thay aired on Geo Entertainment from 3^rd Feb 2014 – 7^th Apr 2014. In total it consists of 21 episodes. It is about selfishness, deceit and betrayal. The winner of Sur Kshetra, the singers of hit OSTs were Darmiyan, Shukk, Pachtawa and Zindagi Tere Bina while this OST is composed by Waqar Ali. This story is loosely based on the novel ‘Zan Zar Zameen’ by Wajeda Tabassum.

After the fame drama series Hum Safar, Do Qadam Door Thay gained the 2^nd highest TRP and ran for couple of years more.

  

 

+ Main Cast

1. Aiza Khan as Nayab Iqbal
2. Sami Khan as Zohabuddeen/Zoab
3. Alyy Khan as Dr. Salman
4. Sana Khan as Neesha
5. Faisal Naqvi as Zoab’s Close Friend
6. Anum Aqeel as Nayab’s Close Friend

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ Supportive Cast

1. Qavi Khan as Zohab’s Grandfather
2. Azra Mohenuddin as Zohab’s Mother
3. Fareeha Jabeen as Welfare’s Monitor
4. Shahid Naqvi as Welfare’s Ward Head
5. Ambar Arshad as Zoab’s Sister
6. Kunwar Arsalan as Raza (Nayab’s Cousin)
7. N/A (woman) as Beggar

 

 

 

+ Plot

To save Nayab’s life and her future, a random young guy, Zoab is kidnapped and forced to marry Nayyab by her cousin Raza. After marriage as soon as Zoab finds the chance, he ditches her in the middle of the road. After some time, Zoab feels guilty on his part and tries to find her. But the problem is, both of them did not saw each other faces nor remember their names.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Faisal Naqvi is a wonderful actor. I have watched and praised of his performance in the drama series Sangdil (2016) as well. And here too, he turned out to be a good choice too.

ii – Anum Aqeel’s performance is the first one I have watched and pleased by it. Other Honorable Mentions: Alyy Khan and N/A (woman who performed as a Beggar).

iii – Alyy Khan’s character was written better than the roles he is usually offered to do.

iv – I liked the writer’s move of comparison to show the behavior of maturity by Dr. Salman and immaturity by Zoab towards Nayyab.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – I find hard to agree with the story’s main plot.  Forceful marriage is NEVER considered as VALID / ACCEPTABLE marriage in terms of law and in the eyes of ANY respected religion.

ii – For a short story like this one, total 17 episodes are more than enough.

iii – Sami Khan … this guy simply cannot act. It’s a SERIOUS advice for him to concentrate and work hard on his acting skills.

iv – In the start of this drama series, anyone with right mind would know and act quickly in changing the bridal red dress before many curious people attentions are grabbed. However in this series, Nayyab acts upon it too late.

v – When Nayyab goes to meet an older guy at his ‘office’ and he quickly reveals his ill intentions for her. Its highly unrealistic to see that he actually waits for Nayyab to dial the caller and speak with him for few seconds before deciding to hang the phone down; means giving the chance to the caller of her panic situation and to know the dialed the number (which would reveal the location address too).
vi – Zoab and his close friend have nothing to talk about than of Zoab’s forced marriage & finding his wife.

vii – Nayab’s kidnapping part was totally unnecessary inserted in the story.

viii – Damn you PEMRA! It’s a great skill to understand the difference of normal and intimate scenes.

ix – Nayyab did not appeared or looked as beautiful as the way all other characters were reacting to her beauty.

 

 

+ Overall
When it comes to romantic-drama series, Do Qadam Door Thay stumbles down from its path mainly due to lack of interesting subplots and below average direction.

 

 

Rate: 1.0 out of 5 stars