Tag: HUM TV

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 5 (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 – Finally, some plot progression! In Episode 5, there are some key revelations about Maqsood sahib and Sakina’s mysterious past. And for the most part, they are quite satisfying.

ii – This bears repetition but Hadiqa Kiani’s performance (especially as a non actor) is great and a clear highlight of the show. Her subtle, nuance spoken words and gestures give her character the much needed depth that she so richly deserves. Judging solely by her performance, it is entirely convincing that Sakina has gone through some clear domestic trauma.

iii – Although we again return to the same , chamber play location of the bungalow, the house plays a crucial role in creating a claustrophobic atmosphere for the plot revelation that accompanies Episode 5. One of the most consistent bright spots of the show has been the selection of its locations and set design. They ultimately bring some tension that you can literally cut with a sharp kitchen knife.

Iv– The flashback scene in the village was incredibly well staged and directed. The lighting, cinematography, the gritty, intense music; everything about the sequence was brilliantly played out.

v– After a hiatus of a few lackluster episodes, we finally have a cliffhanger to an episode which would hopefully make its viewers come back for more.

 + Low Points

i – Music selection during tense or comic relief scenes are still a massive problem with this show. Even with good dialogue and performances, the tension in the scene is instantly deflated with poor music selection that is at complete odds with the tone of that set piece. Also the few tracks that they have are now becoming quite repetitious and the show needs to diversify its music library a bit more.

ii – Faryal Mehmood’s performance is noticeably below par as compared to the rest of the main cast. Her stiff dialogue delivery and lack of emotions prove detrimental to each scene she is supposed to take center stage in.

iii – Even though Episode 5 was eventful as compared to others, Raqeeb Se needs to pick up its pace a bit with its plot development. Otherwise they constantly risk losing viewership each week.

iv – It is fairly obvious that Hajira’s character needs some depth. At the moment, she noticeably just blends into the background whenever she is part of an essential scene. Of course, her character is naturally timid and forgiving but she needs some flair and detail to her personality.

+ Overall

With new plot revelations, Episode 5 proves that Raqeeb Se still has something engaging to offer to its viewers. Although the flaws of the show are painfully obvious, it is primarily the performances of its lead actors that are capable of producing engaging set pieces and great melodrama. But with that in mind, falling back to its slow lingering plot development could also prove the downfall of the show.

 Rate: 3 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 4 (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 – Since the last episode, the only character that has been entertaining throughout is Saqib Sameer’s Rafiq Ali. From his performance, it’s fairly obvious that Saqib is having a lot of fun playing Rafiq. From his small physical inflictions to his exaggerating his thick, Punjabi village accent; Saqib is a treat to watch in what can be best described as a long drawn out slog of an episode.

ii – The episode depicts a lucious, green Punjab countryside which inturn, creates gorgeous imagery onto the small screen. Even if nothing engaging is happening on screen, one can at least admire the beauty of the countryside.

iii – Even though Hadiqa Kiani had nothing to do in the past 3 episodes, her acting chops are still sharp as ever. With better character development, she could very well bring some much needed new life for this TV show.

 + Low Points

i – Episode 4 contributes absolutely nothing to the overall narrative. Apart from the short, vague backstory of Hajra, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to watch this week’s episode. Episode 3 and 4 could’ve simply been merged together to create a more coherent storytelling.

ii – Faryal Mehmood and her lover’s scenes are still meaningless and tiresome to watch. Why should we care about them? What emotional stakes are involved that would make me as a viewer interested in their plotline? 

iii – Raqeeb Se, as I understand, is primarily a character driven soap opera. While the plot is minimal, it’s the compelling characters that are supposed to drive the narrative through with their individual character arcs. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There has been absolutely no character development since the first episode. Sadly, this makes the TV show unengaging to watch and as a soap opera, that is a detrimental sin. One needs story progression, character arcs to keep the viewer interested to watch the next episode. And Raqeeb Se is failing at that.

iv – Up until now, Maqsood sahib’s trip back to the village brought nothing new onto the table. Raqib Ali is an abhorrent man, yes. But we already knew that since the first episode. What else noteworthy was added in these past two episodes?

v – Even though Raqib Ali always wants to “cut little pieces of (insert name here)’s body and throw them in the river”, visually his character appears goofy and non-threatening. I guess this could be the case of ‘his bark worse than his bite’ but as a viewer, you need a strong antagonist onscreen to hate and a protagonist to root for. This has sadly not been the case up until now.

 + Overall

Episode 4 is nothing but a repeat of the last episode. There was no character development or story progression at all. Whatever entertainment came was solely from Saqib Sameer’s character. The rest feels arbitrary and pointless to watch. 

Raqeeb Se needs to make things happen. Otherwise it risks falling into obscurity of stale, mediocre dramas of HUM TV.

 Rate: 2 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 3 (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 – This episode was the debut of Saqib Sameer as Raqib Ali who is quite entertaining as the husband of Sakina from the village. His thick Punjabi accent and over the top performance is enjoyable and most certainly the key highlight of the episode.

ii – Most of the episode’s runtime takes place in the countryside where the gorgeous view of the fields and grass was a much needed change of scenery from the constant claustrophobia of the bungalow back in the city. 

iii – Since the last episode, Ameera’s character has been much more fleshed out and compassionate. Iqra Aziz’s performance is consistent and is always the bright side of each scene.

 + Low Points

i – Repetition is the name of the game. And certainly, also for this TV series. The recyclable themes and dialogue of why Sakina should’ve been thrown out the moment she arrived at Maqsood’s house is becoming fast tiresome and cumbersome.

ii – While episode 3 took a further leap into the storyline in comparison to the last episode, Raqeeb Se is still lingering and stretching its plotlines to its limit. Not necessarily bad but many viewers can grow tired of this slow approach and perhaps this long burn needs a spark somewhere to wake its audience up a bit.

iii – There seems to be major conflict between the dialogues and the music accompanying the scene. Each scene starts with a flow of dialogue that indicates the viewer to take it seriously but then light hearted strings play in the background to make you think otherwise and vice versa. The tone of the dialogue and the music seems to be at complete odds with one another. Should I sense the vibe of the scene by listening to the dialogue or the music? This seems to be a recurring problem that doesn’t seem to fix itself in the foreseeable episodes.

iv – Faryal Mehmood’s scenes outside her family STILL serve no purpose to the overall plot of the drama. Why should we be emotionally invested in her love life when no stakes are even introduced up till now to the plot?

v – Sania Saeed’s character seems less and less believable with each passing episode. She seems a bit too generous in providing sympathy for Sakina’s character. Not giving any spoilers away, there was a throwaway dialogue which hinted at why Hajira is so much in Maqsood’s debt. Perhaps it will be more clear in the next few episodes and her characterization will make more sense.

 + Overall

While the introduction of Saqib Sameer’s character brings something new to the table and Iqra Aziz’s performance shines throughout the series, Raqeeb Se is still struggling to keep its viewer’s attention because of the lethargic plotting, slow burn drama. Will it pay off in the end? One cannot assume anything at the moment but with all its interesting characters, Raqeeb Se can be a whole lot more engaging than it currently is.

 Rate: 2.5 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 2 (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 – While the first episode was busy in setting up the plot, the second episode had the time to flesh out its characters and make them resonate more with its audience. There is much depth into Ameera’s character as to why she lets out these sudden bursts of anger or even if Hajira is sympathetic to Sakina’s plight, she also has her fears of her seeping back into Maqsood’s life. This episode also had much more interactions of characters with opposite personalities which creates a certain sense of awe and excitement for the viewers.

ii – The cinematography was much more creative this time around. The camera floats around the huge bungalow, giving a sense of beauty but loneliness inside the mansion, the shot through the netting of a back of a chair to reveal Insha’s angst of entrapment in her world. Good stuff.

iii – What is also great about Raqeeb Se is the costume design of each character. Just by looking at the clothes, one could tell what kind of personality they possess. 

iv – The cliffhanger for episode 02 was great and much more impactful than last time. This will definitely make the viewers wait impatiently for episode 03 to come around.

 + Low Points

i – In terms of plot, episode 02 comes to a screening halt. Even though the episode obviously focused much more on character development, there is almost no sense in watching this episode IF you watch TV dramas for the sole purpose of plot progression (with exception to the last scene of the episode). The dialogue which jumps back and forth with:

“Mujhe tum ko usi Raat bahar phek dena chahiye tha!”

“Tuo mai kiya karta? Un ko usi Raat bahar phek deta!?”

And it does become tiresome after the first three times.

ii – The scenes between Insha and Raqib are only there for the sole purpose of expository dialogue, change of scenery and characters reflecting back on the current plot of the show. One can easily switch channels, come back to it after and wouldn’t miss a thing.

iii – The show depicts mother and daughter sleeping in one bed while Maqsood sahib sleeping alone in his massive, luxurious bed. Why? Will there be an explanation in the next episodes? I hope so because this seems extremely odd and unrealistic. Perhaps Maqsood sahib’s snoring is too extreme for Hajira’s tolerance…

iv – There are at times issues with how music is being used in the show. There plays a scene of high voltage dialogue between two characters; as a viewer, you could at times assume that it’s a tense moment but then light hearted music starts playing in the background to ease the tension out. Each scene is at times too reliant on the music to make the audience understand the mood of the scene, rather than just by dialogue and performances. A bit less reliant on the music please.

 + Overall

Although Raqeeb Se – Episode 02 is an improvement with its character interactions, it unfortunately has nothing to offer with its plot development. But the episode is never dull because the performances once again keep you engaged throughout the show. There might be one or two repetitive scenes but can easily be forgiven due to the cliffhanger of the episode.

I am still interested where the tale of Maqsood sahib’s mysterious past will lead us to. No real change in the rating for me since its premiere episode unfortunately but can very well potentially go much higher if Raqeeb Se plays its cards right and takes its audience in a direction where no other Pakistani TV drama dares to.

 Rate: 2.5 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Raqeeb Se – Episode 1 (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.

+ 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 performances from the leads are great and is what makes this TV drama compelling to watch. The family relationships in the show seem effortlessly natural and are undoubtedly the heart of the show. Hadiqa Kiani is fantastic in portraying the hardships of an abused housewife and even without any dialogue, her face tells a thousand stories.

ii – Speaking of dialogue, Beegul’s writing is poetic and plays a vital role for the audience to create sympathy for the characters on screen.

iii – The Production design of the bungalow is a visual maze of objects that creates an atmosphere of tension and claustrophobia for the three main leads.

iv – The makeup department (especially of Sakina’s wounds) are believable and quite well executed. 

v – The soundtrack by Hadiqa Kiani ‘Raqeeb Say’ is great and melancholic. It perfectly encapsulates the longing of past love which is the overarching narrative of the show.

 + Low Points

i – While the show is captivating to watch, it really takes it time to get its point across each scene. This might leave some viewers changing channels quickly if they do not possess the patience for it.  

ii – Even though most performances are great, Faryal Mehmood for me, falls a bit short. Her dialogues do not seem convincing to the character she is supposed to be portraying. It’s almost as if she isn’t comfortable enough to read the dialogues out loud.

iii – As we all know, stories about past lovers/ unsolicited affairs always play a key role in soap operas all over the world. But a show like Raqeeb Se is also a reminder that women on TV cannot be portrayed in any other way than bickering against one another for their ‘man’. I hope the show takes itself to an unknown territory and not tread similar waters of narrative that countless other HUM TV dramas have done before.

iv – By just judging from the first episode, the characters of Insha and Rafiq have really nothing to add to the overall narrative. They seem like mindless filler just to extend the length of an episode. Let’s hope that the characters end up contributing a lot more in the next coming episodes.

v – The outburst of a certain character near the end was unearned and not really a great cliffhanger to end the first episode. The show just unceremoniously ends and leaves a perplexed thought in a viewer’s head as to what to make of it.

 + Overall

Raqeeb Se follows a safe, coherent structure that even with its bold subject matter, refuses to take risks with its presentation. But it is the performances of Kiani, Noman and Sania that makes the show riveting to watch. If you like slow but gripping dramas with a plot that moves at its own pace, you will enjoy what Bee Gul and Kashif Nisar have brought onto the TV screens.

 Rate: 2.75 out of 5 stars