Tag: Faryal Mehmood

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 23 (2021), the FINAL EPISODE of the series. The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – The final episode brilliantly wraps up the loose threads and ends the series on a well deserved high note. Episode 23 was everything good about Raqeeb Se as a TV series and more. The episode never overreaches its goal and settles in a comfortable space where the audience can admire and ultimately reminiscent being on an emotional journey with Maqsood, Sakina, Hajira, Insha and Ameera. Suffice to say, Raqeeb Se’s last episode more than lives up to its hype. 

ii – Since the previous episode was a showcase of Faryal Mehmood’s talent, this episode was definitely a display of Iqra Aziz’s wide range of acting chops. In the last few episodes, the actress has clearly proven that she could play comedic and darker roles with ease. Ameera, as a character, had the most prominent story arc of all. It’s the coming of age story, followed by the harsh realities that she was (at the time) too naive to understand. 

iii – The conclusion of the show (which I will get to more in the next point) was arguably the right outcome and a perfect send off to this tale of tragic love. Have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by how neatly Beegul wrapped things up with her characters and the conflicts surrounding them. This is of course a clear indication that regardless of the longevity of the show, the writer was well aware of her destination.

iv – MAJOR SPOILER ALERT COMING UP!!! (If you would like to avoid it, please skip to Overall and Final Thoughts section)

The ending was surprisingly dark and I loved it! The conclusion finally brought new goals and ambitions for its cast of characters:

• Maqsood finally learns how to act like a father to Insha.
• Circumstances allow Hajira to finally live a life with her husband without the “obligation” that she needed to fulfill for it. 
• Sakina comes to terms with her past and learns to look forward in life.
• Insha, on the other hand, needs to understand more about life and goes on a soul searching journey of her own.
• But the most unfortunate one is Ameera, who had to endure murder of an innocent man right in front of her eyes. As she lays her head down in a bustling night train, she reminicents the innocence and happiness she once possessed. But that Ameera died with Kashif in that very car. She finally understands what her mother had to go through. Whether she wanted to or not, Ameera is now the new ‘Sakina’. As she now becomes cynical and disenfranchised taking care of her father Rafiq Ali, the vicious cycle of pain and suffering continues.

Every character gets a closure to their situations, some ride off into the sunset while others are introduced to the dark elements of Life.

 + Low Points

i – Honestly, there isn’t much I can criticize about this episode. The only part of the episode which felt rushed was the romance between Kashif and Ameera. They never had much interaction before this episode and I guess Kashif started falling for her off screen? If they had built this romance for a couple of episodes and then the tragic ending is brought into the mix, that would’ve been much more impactful in my book. But in any case, the cold blooded murder was still shocking and was proud of the show that it dared to go in such pitch black direction.

+ Overall and Final Thoughts on Raqeeb Se

I am a firm believer that regardless of how an episodic show flows, the conclusion needs to bring everything together and in the process, reward its audience for sticking with them every step of the way. And Raqeeb Se does exactly that. The show had a fantastic cast, the performances were brilliant all across the board, especially Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina. For a debut performance on prime time television, her performance was nothing short of amazing. I hope we get to see more of her in the near future. The writing (although not consistently perfect) was engaging as we got to set foot into the world of Beegul and her tragic characters for a few months. 

But even with such a great plot and interesting set of characters, where the show suffered for me was its pacing. Raqeeb Se could’ve immensely benefited with less number of episodes (around 13-15) as midway through the show, the episodes dragged on with absolutely nothing happening in between them. Also at times, some back stories were unfortunately not well explained or visually depicted on screen which might have left some viewers perplexed where the story stands. And it’s a shame because Raqeeb Se is unique and dared to be different from the rest of what Pakistani television has to offer. The production, set designs, costumes, everything was marvelous. The show was very uniquely lit with shadows playing a major role in its gloomy atmosphere. A lot of credit goes to the director Kashif Nisar and his production team.  

In the end, Raqeeb Se took us on an emotional journey, the audience could empathize with each of the characters and their dilemmas. And most importantly, the show left us with questions and some lingering thoughts of our own. And that is a sign of a great television show. 

 Rate (Last Episode): 4.25 out of 5 stars

Overall Series Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 22 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – As the show is reaching its conclusion, an abundance of sharp screenwriting, performances and set pieces are on display. Characters are confronted, lines have been drawn and revelations have been made. And it’s great to see that the whole cast is up to the task.

ii – Episode 22 is probably the first in the show that Insha really gets the limelight. A lot of the episode was centered around her, she gets to confront the truth and perhaps once and for all, come to terms with it. I have criticized Faryal Mehmood’s performance during dramatic scenes in the past but I’m glad to say that she was more than up for the task when it really counted.  

iii – Insha’s journey from a naive, impressionable girl to a mature woman was very awe-inspiring. A lot of credit should go to the writing of Beegul and performance of Iqra Aziz as both aspects were brilliantly realized onscreen. The scene between Ameera and Hajira was modest and restrained but was nonetheless impactful (and quite possibly, my favourite scene of the episode).

iv – Once again, the cinematography was outstanding for this episode. I am always of the belief that a picture does tell a thousand tales and Raqeeb Se is excellent in depicting visual stories. Just take this framing as an example here:

Framing through the open door, characters engulfed into their surroundings, Insha’s face exposed, it gives the audience a sense of illusion that (perhaps) we are the ones eavesdropping into their private conversation. This kind of visual artistry is sadly missing from a lot of Pakistani TV shows but Raqeeb Se has always been pretty much consistent with its production quality. 

v – MAJOR SPOILER ALERT COMING UP!!! (If you would like to avoid it, please skip to Overall section)

So a lot of fan speculation and theories were proven true, Insha is, indeed, not the daughter of Maqsood. And this is a revelation that truly pays off. Why? Because they did set up this twist throughout the series and slowly built it up to its crescendo. So when it is finally revealed, it feels earned. Of course, it could be argued that it was perhaps a tad bit too obvious as many viewers already speculated it but sometimes, predictability is not detrimental to the show. The plot twist works fine to the context of the story. Although I do have another issue to this revelation but I’ll get to that in the low points section.

 + Low Points

i – Even though the revelation of Insha was great, I am completely perplexed why the creators decided to reveal it at the BEGINNING of the episode?? Guys, this is TV episodic writing 101! Make an earth shattering revelation at the END of the last episode so that the viewers would tune in for the next episode for more clarification. Right now, it feels like the show just wanted to get it over with and the payoff could’ve been utilized a lot more than it should have.

ii – The end of the road for Insha and Abdul’s short lived marriage. Where Insha’s revelation worked, this plot element, for me, just fails to live up to its expectations. From what was built up about Abdul’s character till now, I cannot imagine him having the cunningness to manipulate someone he loves without Insha realizing it. It was never even well hinted at and comes completely out of left field. If the divorce angle was really necessary, the reason could have been the obvious one that Insha was just sick and tired of playing “mama” to Abdul’s manchild personality. In this very episode, Insha does confess that fact to her cousin Kashif and that reason alone could have been more believable as compared to Abdul playing her to his future endeavours. Unlike Insha’s, this plot twist doesn’t work at all because it was never well set up to begin with. The show needed the marriage to end and here we are. 

iii – Also Rafiq Ali’s emotional scene with Sakina was a total bust. There is already too much going on in this episode and by the time we get to Rafiq Ali’s emotional outburst, the audience is completely drained out. You can’t expect that in one hour runtime, the audience should empathize with Insha’s secret upbringing, Ameera’s realization of her naivety towards life, the falling apart of the marriage between Insha and Abdul, the unsolved future between Maqsood, Sakina and Hajira and now, we are suppose to care for Rafiq Ali? It’s already an uphill task to empathize with him since he is a wife beater and the scene between him and Sakina doesn’t work in this episode. I hope that’s the last we see of him as his character arc should be done and dusted by now.

+ Overall

With a major plot revelation and confrontations, Raqeeb Se is full steam ahead to its grand finale! 

 Rate: 3.25 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 21 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – Episode 21 was eventful to say the least. Lots of emotional set pieces and confrontations. Good character building moments and high tension all around as the narrative is reaching its overarching and inevitable conclusion to the Maqsood/ Sakina saga.

ii – Iqra Aziz was particularly good in this episode. Her subtle gestures and dialogue delivery shows how much she has developed since the introduction to her character in the show. The events that take place in this episode also brings a certain epiphany to her character and matures her mindset as Ameera reaches adulthood.

iii – The “Talk” that Maqsood has with Ameera was brilliantly written and poignant to that moment. It’s exactly what it needed to be. The phrase “Stars can be admired from a distance but never touched upon” brings a lot of depth to the scene. It also signifies the amount of experience and pain Maqsood has and he genuinely wants Ameera to avoid the mistakes that Maqsood made in his youth.

iv – Even though Rafiq Ali is now out of the picture, it was a nice touch for writer Beegul to have Sakina reminiscent over him. He obviously was a terrible husband but sharing years of your life together does leave an impression on you. It was great piece of writing for Beegul to address that, giving some further depth to Sakina’s character.

v – The episode ends on a tense note and rightfully leaves the viewer eagerly awaiting for next week. 

 + Low Points

i – Even though the episode was significant to the narrative, there were way too many emotional set pieces crammed into a 1 hour mark. One can endure only a handful of sobbing scenes before becoming desensitized to it by the end of the episode.

ii – SPOILER ALERT!!! (If you would like to avoid it, please skip to Overall section).

So there were two massive turns of events in this episode. And unfortunately, both have not been handled particularly well for the audience to follow. So the first was Ameera’s attempted suicide. Arguably, there seems to be some scenes missing which should be vital before such a drastic step. Granted, Maqsood (in the previous episode or so) had a short talk with Ameera about her feelings for him but there was never a scene where Ameera felt hopeless or emotionally charged enough to take such a life threatening step. The scene before, Ameera is just (in her trance state) justifying her love for Maqsood and suddenly in the next, the whole family rushes to see her in a critical condition. Was it all leading up to Ameera attempting suicide? Perhaps but it needed a few more scenes (even an episode or so) to build upon. As if now, the whole turn of events feel rushed and not earned enough for the audience to be fully onboard with this.

iii – The whole Insha/ Abdul situation. It seems very out of character for both sides to act so impulsively in such circumstances. If what lies on the surface is accurate, it’s incredibly hard to imagine that Abdul would be capable of manipulating people to his advantage. It’s very hard to buy into all that. Insha, on the other hand, seems totally convinced of Abdul’s unfaithful behaviour and impulsively has decided to file for Khula (divorce). Is she being played by her father? Or her cousin Kashif? Perhaps that could be the case but her sudden life changing decisions seem out of character for her as she was always the most level headed of the main cast of the show. 

+ Overall

Episode 21 was eventful, dramatic and essential to the story of Raqeeb Se. Perhaps it went overboard in a few places and the emotional twists did not make complete sense but the episode was a breeze to watch.

 Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 20 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – The relationship between Insha and Abdul is going through turbulence of sorts. It’s hard to say exactly where this turn of events are heading but I’m nonetheless intrigued.

ii – Probably sounds a tad bit awkward to say this but it was very satisfying to see Hajira show a bit of aggression and frustration in this episode. Throughout the show, she has mostly been stoic and calm so it was gratifying to see a different side of Hajira’s personality. 

iii – For once, Ameera was calm and collected in this episode. Iqra Aziz got to display some good, dramatic performance and in turn, shows a class of character maturity and development. This is the character progression that Raqeeb Se badly needs for the rest of the cast as well.

 + Low Points

i – Earlier in the episode, Masood asks his younger brother out of frustration: “What do you want?” 

I think Masood is acting as a composite for the viewers to the writer of the show. Since the past few episodes, Raqeeb Se has lost its sense of direction and is just meandering in Purgatory. 20 Episodes in and the show has no overarching conflict to overcome. The conflicts that are already present are not dramatic enough for the audience to tune in every week for it. Sakina’s fate can easily be resolved since Maqsood wants to keep her in his house and Hajira wants them to get married so she can “repay” Maqsood for marrying her. So what crucial, overbearing problem is there to be solved?

 When it comes to storytelling, Raqeeb Se is a drag to watch. 

ii – The scene with Kashif and her sassy Punjabi mom was a complete waste of time. Granted it wasn’t really time consuming but why have such moments where nothing is being really said other than the show fulfilling its 1 hour episode mark?

iii – SPOILER ALERT!!! (If you would like to avoid it, please skip to Overall section).

So the big revelation of Episode 20 was that Ameera has admitted to her mother (and everyone else) that she has fallen in love with Maqsood…. Um, was that not obvious? She didn’t exactly hide her emotions before. Her body language and gestures (even her dialogue) made it pretty clear that she at least has a crush on Maqsood sahib. In this scenario, only Insha was the one who was not utterly shocked by this revelation (and arguably the most sensible of the bunch). This was such a lazy, mundane technique to deliver some tension and drama into the show. 

+ Overall

Episode 20 was, at times, entertaining to watch (due to some good performances) but the big revelation really fell flat on its face.

Rate: 2.75 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 19 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – The episode was a great showcase for Saqib Sameer’s wide range of acting chops. Rafiq Ali got some great dramatic moments throughout the episode and it was also a brilliant display of some humanity left within him.

ii – Speaking of great performances, Maqsood and Sakina had some fantastic moments to shine together as well. Maqsood remincienting over his deceased brother was quite tragic and heartfelt. 

iii – There were some wide range of locations within the episode which made for some great visuals. As I’ve mentioned before, Raqeeb Se is by far one of the best looking shows out there simply because the creative team knows how to tell visual stories. Even if there are no words uttered throughout the scene, one could tell the atmosphere in the room by simply observing the moving images.

 + Low Points

i – SPOILER ALERT!!! (If you would like to avoid it, please skip to Overall section).

(So with this single trial of thought, I will try to summarize the Elephant in the room, the most egregious flaw of Episode 19 and the show itself): 

With Episode 19, everything returns back to status quo. The main protagonist Rafiq Ali is out of the way, Sakina is back again in the vicinity of Maqsood sahib, Hajira is content with her husband having his ex lover around, Ameera fantasizes day and night about marrying her crush and…. This just seems like a dead end of storytelling. Where is the overall conflict of the show? Where is the obstacle that our protagonist has to overcome?  Unless some miraculous secrets are revealed in the next coming episodes, this show lacks a coherent sense of direction. The writing is afraid to even slightly experiment or develop its vast range of characters. And even if some episodes do experiment, they instantly return back to their status quo. 

I would like the readers themselves with a question: since Episode 1, how much has each character developed? What has been their character arcs? Where do you expect the show to go from here?

Raqeeb Se has some good actors, great production, a good premise even but it all falters in the end due to lack of any character/ story development. As a viewer, if I see Mr. Maqsood come to certain realisation about himself, situations that force him to develop as a person, I feel rewarded having sat through all the weekly episodes. But if the show itself is not clear which direction it wants to go into, it demotivates the viewer as well into tuning in every week. Which is why episode 19’s return to the status quo of Episode 1 left me utterly frustrated. The only real character development anyone ever got was Ameera who (rather abrasively) fell in love with Maqsood sahib.

When the dust has settled and the show ends up exactly where it started from, as a viewer, what do I have to look forward to?

+ Overall

Episode 19 does contain some good set pieces and performances but lack of character/ story progression are the shackles of Raqeeb Se that it never seems to truly shake off.

 Rate: 2.5 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 18 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – Episode 18 contains some good dramatic confrontations; namely Maqsood and Rafiq Ali. Noman Ijaz and Saqib Sameer play off brilliantly with each other’s dialogue and emotions. A man who is driven by moral integrity in contrast to one who cunningly finds a way to exploit every situation he could get his hands on. There is a clear sense of desperation on Maqsood’s face as he tries his best to save Sakina, his love from the clutches of this madman. Maqsood and Rafiq were undoubtedly the highlight of this episode.

ii – There’s a short but poignant interaction between Insha and Ameera as she explains to Insha how things would’ve been different if she was Maqsood’s lover instead. It sets up an incredibly awkward situation between the two “daughters” of the family and allows Insha to strongly retort back at her. Credit goes to Beegul for writing this scene so well.

iii – Although the end of the episode was far from spectacular, it was a nice, quiet way to conclude this chapter of affairs.

 + Low Points

i – SPOILER ALERT!!! (If you would like to avoid it, please skip to the next point).

This episode was frustrating to watch at times. Especially when it comes to Hajira and Insha. After pressing her mother on to reveal her dark past, Hajira finally caves in. Only to explain the facts that we as an audience already know! What? They already described the situation with her father several episodes ago. It might be new information for Insha but how does this retelling brings anything new to the table? What a letdown. Until and unless there are more secrets to be revealed in the upcoming episodes, this really has been one of the worst bait and switch this show has ever pulled off. And as a viewer, it frustrates me to no end!

ii – Unfortunately, the scenes between Insha and Abdul were really not on par with the quality of acting from the rest of the cast. When it comes to lofty dialogue or brief romantic moments, Insha and Abdul work great together but with intense, dramatic moments, their performances flounder and fall apart as the scene progresses. 

iii – Episode 18 also pertains to some unfortunately bad, unnatural dialogue. The graveyard scene between Hajira and Ameera could have been a perfect setting for some much needed character development but it once again devolves into worshipping Maqsood sahib. At this point of the show, it is getting tad ridiculous that the only personality trait that Ameera has is her falling head over heels for Maqsood… in front of his wife! And she finds it endearing? I’m just utterly surprised how badly (at times) the female characters are written in this show.

iv – Ever since Sakina has returned back to her villiage, the show has been struggling what to do with her. She has been starkly sidelined to Maqsood and Rafiq Ali. Aside from some minor interactions, Sakina hasn’t contributed much to the show.

+ Overall

Raqeeb Se has a terrible habit of taking one step forward and two steps back. Apart from the Maqsood and Rafiq Ali confrontation, nothing really stands out from this episode.

 Rate: 2.25 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 17 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – Episode 17 was one of the quieter ones and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This gave the show to explore more on the main cast dealing with the current situation and the tension filled atmosphere created due to it. The episode was a nice display of acting chops all across the board and perhaps sometimes, that’s all an episode needs.

ii – The episode clearly focused on the volatile yet saddened emotions of Rafiq Ali. He is the main antagonist and the show was not afraid to depict his unpredictable nature. In perhaps an eerie manner, Rafiq Ali longs for Sakina to show affection to him as she does for Maqsood but Rafiq’s volatile nature stops him to show any emotions other than jealousy or anger. 

iii – The last few episodes have been dedicated to exploring Hajira and her motivations. She has taken the centerstage and has shown some initiative to display her true intentions. Although it has been solely in service of Maqsood, it is still commendable that the show is showing some signs of attention to Hajira.

iv – Kashif is a new character added some episodes ago to the show and I think he has a lot of potential. He’s awkward, sophisticated (unlike the rest of his family) and probably serves as a gateway for Insha to let out her true emotions. 

 + Low Points

i – One of major sins that Raqeeb Se I feel commits on a regular basis is repetition. Whether its plot progression, character development or motivations, the show repeats its current themes once too often. How many times have we seen Hajira worrying about Sakina or Ameera flirting with Maqsood? Even if it’s all leading up to its conclusion, the pacing of a weekly show should never repeat the same themes if you would like to grow your weekly audience. And episode 17 unfortunately, suffers from the same trope.

ii – The usage of greenscreen with this show is extremely odd at times. Throughout the show, some scenes shot inside a moving car are shot with greenscreen in the background and frankly, it looks terrible. The lighting on the actor’s faces as compared to the background are completely at odds and looks amateurish at best. 

iii – At times, it’s hard to understand if Hajira just wants to see good in people or if she just has terrible character judgement. In this episode, Hajira describes Ameera as “gentle and innocent”. I understand its the “mother” in Hajira talking but to think that Ameera is “naive” about the world is like saying Rafiq Ali is “decent and well mannered”.

+ Overall

Episode 17 was a “middle of the road” journey to its destination. Although minimal plot progression, it contains good character development moments that will keep you entertained throughout its runtime.

 Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 16 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – Even after Insha’s nika, she still feels alienated from the rest of the family. Maqsood and Hajira are, at this point, completely obsessed with the situation of Sakina. So much in fact that they are neglecting their own child in the process. That is some clever storytelling, both Noman Ijaz and Sania Saeed were fantastic in this episode.

ii – The continuing tensions between Maqsood and Ameera is a great way to show how young minds can easily be fascinated (or abused) as they are incredibly impressionable. The bedroom scene was brilliantly handled with Iqra Aziz’s performance living up to the task at hand. Well known for being such a chatterbox, Maqsood is probably the only person who could leave Ameera for loss of words.

iii – The change in scenery from city to village is always a nice visual touch to keep the audience’s attention going. The location scouting of the show has always been top notch and feels quite authentic.

iv – (SPOILER ALERT! If you would like to avoid it, please skip to the Low Points section).

This episode finally makes the move to let Sakina go back home to her abusive husband. Of course, morally it’s an appalling move but the show had been teasing this for so long and could bring up potential interesting plot elements for the show. Sakina would rather sacrifice her well being in order to disappear from Maqsood’s life once and for all. The obverse relationship dynamic between Sakina and Rafiq Ali is brilliantly handled. On one hand, Rafiq wants to treat her nicer by buying her food at the train station but still will never let go of the notion that she is his property and is now being “returned” back to him. Rafiq is a despicable, cowardly man and for once, the show brought this to the forefront with such tenacity.

 + Low Points

i – One of the annoying things that Raqeeb Se does is that after a cliffhanger from the last episode, there is no pay off to it. The last episode ended with Hajira about to reveal her past till Maqsood enters the room and in this episode, that scene is completely ignored. No reaction from Insha. Nothing. As if that scene never happened. She at least should have protested why she has not been given any answers to mother’s past yet.

ii – Although the performances are good in this episode, not much noteworthy happens. Still the same old problems. No real plot or character exploration.

iii – The sporadic fight between Insha and Abdul was awkwardly presented. I can understand if Insha is the one who instigates it since she has a lot of frustrations regarding her family’s secrets but why Abdul? Why the sudden jealousy to her cousin Kashif? Has the nika ceremony instantly made him a grumpy husband?

+ Overall

Episode 16 was good but nothing extraordinary in terms of character development. Still, the performances were great enough to breeze through the episode.

 Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 15 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – Confrontations! Finally! It’s been a long time coming. From the cliffhanger from the last episode to the beginning of episode 15, Sakina is now under scrutiny from Maqsood’s side of the family. The scene was engaging, dramatic and helluva entertaining way to kickstart the episode!

ii – What is always great also about Raqeeb Se’s supporting cast is that although they are undoubtedly colorful, they are never over the top with their mannerisms. The older brother/ politician and his sassy Punjabi wife are (in their own respect) a godsend to the show. They bring a much needed levity without overstaying their welcome. This is where a lot of Pakistani dramas fail to find a balance between drama and timid comedy but Raqeeb Se nails it to almost perfection. 

iii – For once, Hajira also displays slightly more character than just repeating how great Maqsood sahib is. There were a couple of great interactions of hers with the rest of the cast including one where she is found frying a fresh omelette for her husband when even though there is plenty left on the kitchen table. These sort of subtle actions show that perhaps Hajira is somewhat suffering from emotional Stockholm Syndrome. She has to always subconsciously please her husband and show that she can also reach the level where Maqsood has placed Sakina on.

iv – Episode 15 did display some great Mano-a-Mano interactions, especially the one with Maqsood and his older brother. Just a mere few dialogue between them shows how different characteristics they have from one another. Also the brother sticking his political campaign sticker on Maqsood’s shirt was kind of hilarious. The show is not really known for comedy but such short gags are always welcome.

v – Once again, a strong cliffhanger to end the episode. Hopefully, the viewers will be receiving a few answers regarding Hajira’s past. And honestly, its way overdue at this point of the show. I would be extremely disappointed if we again end up with nothing in the next episode. 

 + Low Points

i – The whole flashback scene with Maqsood’s brother and Rafiq Ali randomly visiting him was kind of awkwardly executed. It took me a while to realise that it was a flashback and not the present time. Why didn’t Maqsood’s brother just explain him that? The audience is intelligent enough to understand that without any visual depiction of Rafiq Ali visiting him. Felt a bit unnecessary.

ii – For once, Sakina stood up for herself…. But it was incredibly brief. And then, she went once again into her self-hating mode. Let Sakina’s character grow more, let her journey have a purpose in the end. I hope the creative team has a good conclusion in mind for her character because she does deserve it.

iii – In this particular episode, Maqsood doesn’t come off likeable at all. It almost feels like he has taken Hajira as a hostage. In the episode, Maqsood literally states that he “doesn’t need anyone permission to marry Sakina… except yours”. It was a bit of relief that he mentioned that last part but it almost felt like an afterthought for Maqsood. Also later in the episode, Maqsood asks Hajira if she keeps tabs on him when it comes to him and Sakina. Hajira swiftly replies negatively but Maqsood then retorts “Maybe you should”. 

 I suppose the question is if the show wants us to like Maqsood for his nobility or if we should question his morality. Up till now, Raqeeb Se has not shown itself anything against our main protagonist.

iv- After a great, dramatic start to the episode, the rest of it just felt a bit tame and didn’t had too much to contribute to the storyline. Just a minor complaint.

+ Overall

With each passing episode, Raqeeb Se is slowly but surely, improving and becoming must see TV. Let’s hope that the trend continues till the end.

 Rate: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 14 (2021). The new TV series is directed by Kashif Nisar and is a production of Momina Duraid Productions. Raqeeb Se is a HUM TV Production.

(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).

+ Crew

• Directed by Kashif Nisar
• Written by Beegul
• DOP by Hassam Mairaj
• Music Composed by Hadiqa Kiani
• Produced by Momina Duraid Productions

+ Note

Raqeeb Se is the newest HUM TV Production and is once again the collaboration of the award winning Writer/ Director duo of Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar. 

The title of the show is heavily inspired by a poem from the legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz when the young poet fell in love with a girl next door in Sialkot. But alas, as luck would have it, she one day unexpectedly left the city, only to be reunited years later when Faiz was already an established poet in the circles of Urdu literature. This encounter inspired Faiz to write a poem “Raqib Se!”. The backstory of this poem plays a crucial role in the premise of the show.

 + Main Cast

1. Hadiqa Kiani as Sakina
2. Noman Ijaz as Maqsood
3. Sania Saeed as Hajra
4. Faryal Mehmood as Insha
5. Iqra Aziz as Ameera
6. Saqib Sameer as Rafiq

+ Plot

Raqeeb Se is a call of Maqsood’s dark past that could potentially destroy his present life. In order to escape her abusive husband, Sakina, along with her daughter Ameera, flees from her village to find shelter at her former lover’s place, Maqsood. Unfortunately Maqsood, who still holds a grudge against Sakina’s past actions, refuses to aid her in her most dire situation. But his wife, Hajra, seems much more sympathetic to the situation and lets Sakina stay at their home till things are figured out for the future.

But can Sakina be trusted to stay out of Maqsood’s life or will they be tempted to rekindle their lost love and in the process, destroy what Maqsood and his wife Hajra have built together?

+ High Points

i – Great episode! The pacing, interactions between characters, the continuing tensions between Maqsood and his lover(s); everything worked out quite well. After numerous filler episodes, Raqeeb Se is finally now becoming a weekly rewarding experience for its viewers.

ii – It’s always amusing to see Ameera interact with her crush Maqsood as she tries her utmost best to engage Maqsood in a conservation of his interests (or at best, make him laugh). Its also fascinating that Ameera is probably the only one that can bring out actual human emotions locked within Maqsood. Noman Ijaz and Iqra Aziz’s performances worked great off one another and were involved in some of the best scenes in this episode.

iii – It’s charming to see ‘lover’s quarrel’ between Insha and Abdul. The Tea house scene was short but a gratifying way of them teasing but in the process, displaying love for one another.

iv – In this episode, Sakina is depicted a lot more character without needless dialogue. The dramatic Mother/ daughter interaction also was powerful and impactful to the overall narrative of the show.

v – Once again, the cinematography and production of the episode was excellent. What I love about Raqeeb Se is that the show is not afraid to let certain scenes play out without heavy use of closeups. Sometimes a wide shot can capture distinctive body movements that close ups can’t. A lot of credit should go to Hassam Mairaj and his crew. Raqeeb Se is still one of the most unique looking shows out there. Fantastic work!

vi – Great cliffhanger! Another episode that makes you impatient till the next one comes out. 

 + Low Points

i – One of the potential flaws that is obvious in the show right now is unfortunately the worship of Maqsood sahib. Up until now, the show has put Maqsood on a high pedestal of morality; a man who is protecting his ex lover even though she broke her heart years ago. That is the level of selflessness that Maqsood pertains within himself. But is he that noble and admirable? Apparently all three women are probably in love with him (for some reason) and especially for Ameera, the show has never really given a valid reason why. 

ii – Hajira is still by far the most unsympathetic character on the show and this episode changes absolutely nothing about it. There still lack answers as to why she is so overly passive when it comes to her husband and his ex lover. The answers probably lie in the final episodes but up till now, there is not much content that could make the viewer empathize with her.

iii – Once again, we get an obligatory scene of Sakina and Hajira where she painstakingly explains to the audience how Maqsood has only loved Sakina his whole life. The show can easily utilize that TV time to further develop Hajira’s backstory and motivations.

+ Overall

Fourteen Episodes in, Raqeeb Se is finally picking up steam with its narrative pacing and characters. Makes one quite curious how all of this will conclude.

 Rate: 3.5 out of 5 stars