Tag: Sabeen Farooq

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 20 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

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

+ Note

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

 + Main Cast

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

+ Plot

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

+ High Points

i –  Even though the confrontation scene between Dania and her mother in law was abysmal, at least we (as the viewers) got to see character development from our protagonist. From the meek, impressionable girl to the strong, independent woman; Dania has grown massively as a character in these past 15 to 20 episodes. It is a reward that the viewer feels when they chose to stick by the show since its premiere episode and it has finally somewhat paid off.

+ Low Points

i – Episode 20 was lame and inconsequential at best. Nothing of note ever took place in this hour’s time. Dr. Hasan’s mother is forcing him to create a romance with Dania but to no avail. The confrontation between the Mother in law and our protagonist was as cliche as you could have imagined and the narrative felt nothing more than padding for the next coming weeks of the show. Entirely skippable of an episode.

ii – You know when the show has run out of its creative juices when you see a slap and a blocking of the slap routine. The Saas/ Bahoo storyline has come to a dead end by now. The confrontation between Dania and her mother in law is beyond its expiry date and apart from being treated with line after line of pure repetition and nonsensical dialogue, Dania has finally taken her kids away and I hope that is the end of that storyline.

iii – It is still astonishing to me that the real life married couple of Farhan Saeed and Urwa Hocane can be so devoid of onscreen chemistry. None of the scenes that they share feel exciting and engaging in any shape or form. The scenes feel rushed and a practice recitation of dialogues so they can end the day’s shoot as quickly as possible. And on top of it all, Dr. Hasan is now arguably turning into an unlikeable character. 

iv – It is obvious that Dr.Hasan makes intrusive remarks towards Dania in the episode just to push her further away but I am not really sure why. If Hasan is not interested in Dania then these actions could make sense but if it is just for spite since his mother refused the last girl he brought home then that is just ludicrous. In episode 20, Dr. Hasan just comes off bitter and unapproachable to the viewers and I am sure that is not what the show wants us to feel about him. 

+ Overall

An inconsequential episode, riddled with cliche scenes and dialogues, Meri Shehzadi can do much better than this.

Rate: out of 5 stars 

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 18 and 19 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

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

+ Note

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

 + Main Cast

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

+ Plot

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

+ High Points

i –  Episode 18 starts a new phase in Dania’s life. Her political career looks uncertain, her family life is in shambles, the only thing she has going for her is her grandfather who is currently in the hospital. Enter; Dr. Hasan. Inspired by the real life lover of Princess Dania, Dr. Hasan is played by the real life husband of Urwa Hocane, Farhan Saeed. And immediately, one could see why this was such an ideal casting. Farhan’s performance possesses a certain arrogance with a hint of empathy to create a character for Dania whom she could eventually fall in love with. A total 180 if in comparison to her husband. Initially, Dr. Hasan comes off harsh and unsympathetic but as you get to know him, he eventually warms up and reveals his inner thoughts and emotions. All in all, Farhan Saeed as Dr. Hasan is perfect casting the show.

ii –  With everything imploding around Dania (her marriage, her career), it’s nice to see some good fortune bestowed upon her. The romance with her husband was doomed right from the start. Since then, Dania has faced countless hardships with no silver linings in between so Dr. Hasan is undoubtedly a sigh of relief for the show. 

+ Low Points

i – Even though casting Farhan Saeed as Dania’s eventual lover was a no brainer, one would have expected a much better chemistry from the real life married duo. Urwa Hocane’s one note dialogue delivery seems like a bad mix with Farhan’s calculated performance. 

ii – So this move left me somewhat perplexed. After the grandfather’s heart attack scene, Qavi Khan as the ‘Nana’ just retired from the role and was handed over to a new actor who physically looks nothing alike! The subtitle underneath claims no real reason behind it so why was this decision made? Did Qavi Khan have other commitments or was he physically not well? Such decisions break the immersion of the viewers and unless there is a vital reason behind it, these actor swaps should be avoided.

iii – We are two-thirds way into the life of the show and Meri Shehzadi has been a poor (loose) adaptation of the life of Princess Diana. Urwa Hocane has been very disappointing with her performance in the lead role, the plot has strictly focused on uninspired family drama that has been depicted countless times on every Pak TV show and the show hardly gives you any reason to re-visit it each and every week. I would wish the show to end on a high note, develop the romance between Dania and Dr. Hasan, make the audience root for them to be together. With such an interesting narrative platform, Meri Shehzadi should have been a much better show than it is. 

+ Overall

A silver lining in the form of Dr. Hasan but Meri Shehzadi continues to walk on familiar territories and never challenge itself with originality.

Rate: out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 17 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

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

+ Note

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

 + Main Cast

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

+ Plot

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

+ High Points

i –  Even with all its flaws, Meri Shehzadi always has at least one scene per episode which combines all the best elements of the show. And for episode 17, it was the confrontation between Shehroz and his mother in the garden. The tension and frustration on Shehroz’s face was quite evident as he contemplated the future scenario where he will have to officially announce his relationship with Cam to the general public. What follows is the talk that his mother gives him through her life long experience working as a politician. “Allow your loved one to die and you will finally be free of having anyone close to you again”. This is the sort of mentality I could expect from her character and plays a perfect role in morphing and corrupting Shehroz’s way of thinking. 

ii – Unlike Dania, Cam’s character has always been on point. Bringing up the son on her own, she is desperate for Shehroz’s love and attention, and wants him all for herself. Dania will always be a major threat to her because to the general public, Dania will always be Shehroz’s one and only wife. Cam’s treatment by the family as an imposter is taking a toll on her mind and Cam finally want to break the shackles and achieve the goal of finally being Shehroz’s one and only love.

+ Low Points

i – Its very disappointing to see Meri Shehzadi doubledown on the narrative path towards a more “family melodrama” approach and less focused towards the “political aspect” of the plot. We now get to see Dania and Cam constantly fight one another for the affection of Shehroz and quite frankly, it’s very demeaning to the women of the show. By this point, Dania should be moving on with her life and focusing on her political career instead. Shehroz has made it very clear that he will never love her the way he does Cam so it all makes Dania seem desperate for attention. Wasn’t the real life Princess Diana also stuck in a loveless marriage? But she made something of her career as a philanthropist and a public figure instead. And so should Dania.  

ii – Oh, the dialogue! “Please do not go to the event because I fear if you see Dania there, you will instantly fall in love with her!”. This is clearly how people do not talk in real life.

iii – Dania has been very poorly presented in the show. She pretends to be strong but cannot stand to leave her husband’s side. It has been proven time and time again that Shehroz’s approval is all that she needs to make her feel special and I feel it is a total disservice to how the show wants to portray Dania to the viewers. She should be smart enough to let go of this loveless marriage and pursue helping those in need.

+ Overall

Decent but tad disappointing that the show continues to focus on the family melodrama and Dania refuses to mature as a character.

Rate: out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 16 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

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

+ Note

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

 + Main Cast

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

+ Plot

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

+ High Points

i – Episode 16 brings in a closure for Dania as to which direction she should like to move; fighting injustice towards her in the Shehroz household or furthering her career as a politician? The chairman of the party personally calls Dania, strongly advising her to return back to her family and not throw away her potential political career in the process. I am glad that the show has brought in a new perspective to the plot which deviates away from the usual ‘Saas/ Bahu’ politics at home. Dania should have aspirations beyond being a good wife/ mother, she should be smart enough to understand that quarreling with her In-Laws the whole time will ultimately spell the end of her.  

ii – I like minor details in the show like the Photo session scene. It brings a sense of realism to the world of Dania and how her life is divided between the public image and the tortured personal life behind the curtain. 

+ Low Points

i – Meri Shehzadi is becoming incredibly repetitive with the tug of war between Dania and her mother in law. Every episode contains at least two scenes where they both hit off at one another without adding anything new to the plot of the show. I believe it is high time that the show should move on from this plot point and Dania should focus now more on her career as a politician.

ii – I sincerely do not understand what the motive of the Shehroz family was to publicly defame Dania by accusing her of having an affair. By publicly humiliating her, they are inadvertently denying the trust of the people. And how is the chairman of the party allowing all of this without interference of any kind? 

iii – Although some characters like the Mother in Law have had hints of sustainable emotional torture behind the facade (as she admitted once that her husband also in fact betrayed her trust), the rest of the cast is still incredibly devoid of any real characterization. The father, the stepmother and other supporting characters bring nothing substantial to the table. They either defend or plot revenge against Dania. Everything revolves around her. They have no ideas or aspirations of their own. The lack of in depth characterization has clearly made the show repetitive and centered solely towards the internal family conflict rather than playing along the political life of the family as well.

+ Overall

Meri Shehzadi definitely has the potential to be unique with its storyline if it manages to create a good balance between the political and the social drama.

Rate: out of 5 stars 

A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Meri Shehzadi Episode 15 (2022). The new TV series is directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Zanjbeel Asim Shah. Meri Shehzadi is a story of a girl with a tragic past but is destined to become Royalty. Can she handle the responsibilities that come with it? Meri Shehzadi is an MD Productions and HUM TV Production.

+ Crew

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

+ Note

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

 + Main Cast

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

+ Plot

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

+ High Points

i – Even though it’s a very selfish move, I like that Shehroz has a certain level of allegiance to Cam, his first and only love. The marriage with Dania was and will always remain a political tool for him. This adds such a unique layer of intrigue in the characterization of Shehroz.

ii – It is appreciated that Nana jaan is finally aware of the emotional tricks of manipulation that Shehroz possesses and chose to support his granddaughter in this situation. In many Pakistani shows, characters act dumb and oblivious when the script requires them to be but Nana jaan has proven to be written with some realistic intelligence.

+ Low Points

i – Episode 15 is an unfortunate mess in terms of plot direction and consistencies. From exploring political nepotism in Pakistan, the show has decided to head once again into the tried and tested waters of family melodrama. Since Shehroz has refused to divorce his first wife, Dania has decided to separate from her husband which of course, has led to the question of the custody of the children. For a short period of time, Meri Shehzadi was swimming in uncharted waters, taking thematic risks and trying something new. Dania was learning her ways of playing the political game but the show (for some unexplained reason) decided to concentrate once again on Dania’s woes with her husband and in-laws. And none of it can qualify as engaging television.

ii – It is HIGHLY unlikely that a political party would deliberately wash their dirty laundry in public. There is no logical reason why Shehroz’s family would smear their daughter in law’s name to the press. Technically, Shehroz and Dania are still married and even though Dania has never held office, she was nominated and has publicly represented her party. There is no way that the party would willingly question the credibility of their own family to the public. 

iii – Fifteen episodes in and Urwa Hocane as Dania still feels like a miscast. Her performance is not up to the mark of what is required from the script. Instead of innocent and pure hearted, she largely sounds confused and slow. Whether Dania is happy, sad or depressed, the tone of her voice remains the same and I cannot solely put the blame on Urwa but also the director Qasim Ali Mureed for not getting the desired emotions from his cast of actors.

+ Overall

It is quite disappointing to see Meri Shehzadi going down the old route of family melodrama rather than an exploration of nepotism and corruption in Pakistani politics.

Rate:out of 5 stars 

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

+ Crew

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

+ Note

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

 + Main Cast

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

+ Plot

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

+ High Points

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

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

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

+ Low Points

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

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

+ Overall

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

Rate: out of 5 stars 

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

+ Crew

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

+ Note

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

 + Main Cast

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

+ Plot

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

+ High Points

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

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

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

+ Low Points

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

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

+ Overall

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

Rate: out of 5 stars