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Tag: Pakistani dramas

  • Meri Zindagi Hai Tu: Mills & Boon toxicity, now in Urdu

    Meri Zindagi Hai Tu: Mills & Boon toxicity, now in Urdu

    Read the toxic Mill and Boons? Or Judith McNaught? The thwarted duke, snubbed by the brave heroine who then loses all her intelligence and marries him even though he’s obnoxious to her and isn’t going to change his rakish ways?

     

    Welcome to the Urdu televised version of the same, incredibly toxic romance novels. Meri Zindagi Hai Tu’s latest episodes this week, Episode 25 and 26, result in a marriage which Ayra’s (Hania Aamir) father does not agree to, but Ayra must, must do because she feels guilty. Why? Because rich hero Kamyar (Bilal Abbas) will kill himself in drunken, self-annihilating ways because he cant get over what happened to him. Ayra walks out on him, kicks him out of his house and he just cannot deal and also, yes, doesn’t want to marry Ayra. But marries her because she wants to marry her so that she can ‘save him’.

     

    If you were expecting anything profound or thought-provoking to come out of this drama, please stop now because it isn’t. The drama is fluff, fun fluff at this point and it’s not meant to contribute anything to a better society. But the absolute trash that is Kamyar is just cringe-worthy. Why is it that we are still watching? Because let’s be honest, we do love the mindless toxic trash but its very important to understand that in real life, none of this is okay. 

     

    It gets so much worse in Episode 26, when Fariha (Vardah Aziz) who Kamyar tried to murder by giving her fake pills, still picks up his phone and gets in a car with the guy who tried to murder her, who is drinking and driving and while driving, tells him that she wanted to go to a party with him. It’s too much and it doesn’t get much better.

     

    And Ayra? She’ls being her sassy self with him, telling him off just as much as he tells her off and seeing how bad and dysfunctional his family dynamics are. Is she going to fix them? Of course, because bad boy-gone-good-boy-gone-bad-boy will turn good again.

     

    It’s literally too much to handle so the strongest recommendation is to watch it, because the masala chemistry is really good but watch this care because you definitely don’t want to see anyone go through this incredibly toxic love story in real life.

  • Saba Qamar turns Muamma into a slow-burn obsession

    Saba Qamar turns Muamma into a slow-burn obsession

    Eight episodes in, Muamma is a suspenseful thriller that revolves around the versatility that is Saba Qamar’s acting. It’s a series that will keep you guessing, and you can almost feel the drag coming on and then it speeds back up.

     

    Muamma is the story of Jahan Ara (Saba Qamar) who rents out a portion of her house to married couples. She gets close to the husbands, coyishly flirting with them, getting close to the wives and the best part: she has a secret window into their lounge where she can watch them and they can’t see her. She becomes part of their lives and they don’t even know it. 

     

    The drama opens with Jahan Ara’s first hit, Zeeshan (Nabeel Zuberi) who is her tenant and in a stupor, declares his love for Jahan Ara in front of his pregnant wife and neighbours. The marriage ends in divorce and a new couple moves in and Jahan Ara’s next target.

     

    The drama highlights how every betrayal starts with a lie. Jahan Ara lies to her tenants to get close to the men, they lie to their wives to stay in Jahan Ara’s presence and the lies wrap up happy marriages and then ultimately tear them apart. And it’s reflective of Jahan Ara’s (also known as Gigi in the show) marriage. She loves another (we know that the love of her life will be played by Usman Mukhtar) and marries a brutal man instead. The void in her life is filled by creating trouble for others, almost like she wants everyone to suffer just as she did. She lands in the lives of the wives as their saviour, listening to them, helping them, taking care of them, all the while she’s tearing them apart and watching them as it all breaks down.

     

    It will be interesting to see how the drama develops and the twists it is bound to take as we meet Jahan Ara’s husband who is in jail and find out how he got there. It’s all going to be unveiled and it’s a treat to watch as it gets there.

  • Kafeel makes a case against destiny and it’s uncomfortably real

    Kafeel makes a case against destiny and it’s uncomfortably real

    Kafeel is probably the underdog drama that will rise to win this year. With powerful, raw performances by Sanam Saeed, Kashif Mehmood and Munazza Arif, episode 8 had us holding our hearts for the millions of women who suffered in unhappy marriages because of the divorce taboo, in the past and even now.

     

    Jami (Emmad Irfani) is in love with someone else, broke, lazy and happy to mooch off his in-laws. Meanwhile, Zeba (Sanam Saeed) keeps mum about her life and perfect marriage until her mother Yasmin (Munazza Arif) sees Jami with her other lover. Confrontation ensues, and blame is set on the parents for marrying off Zeba too early just because they found a number written by a boy on a handkerchief and assumed the worst.

     

    That scene, with the mother and daughter and father watching on without them knowing hits hard because it has happened to someone we know – or us. The chance, fleeting thought of a daughter dating someone else, the badnaami, the awful character assassination and worse, illicit affairs – it’s better off to push your child into the unknown of naseeb and let God handle it for you. Kafeel, so beautifully exposes this awful mindset that we have, showing us how hollow and frankly, stupid it is to place your trust in destiny that you don’t know rather than talking it out and choosing a destiny that you would know.

     

    It’s clear that the drama won’t end in just a divorce, despite Zeba’s father (Kashif Mahmood) delivering a convincing performance that no daughter should suffer because of what people will say, despite his own mother saying that for seven generations there has been no divorce in the family. 

     

    That scene deserves a special mention because it pitted old and new against each other, a father emotionally connected to his silent daughter, knowing that the pushback he would get existed. He comes to his mother, distraught, confused, but leaves knowing that he’s making the right decision by freeing the pain that his daughter is in. You think that Zeba might get that divorce and her life will go on but it’s evident that that’s not what’s going to happen after Zeba visits her friend.

     

    As it is often quoted (mostly wrongly) destiny takes control and the guy Zeba likes is engaged. You have a constant reminder, and echo telling you that destiny is like a closed fist – you don’t know what you will get, until it opens its hand. But that’s not entirely true. Could destiny have changed if Zeba’s parents had sat her down and asked her about the guy who wrote the number on the handkerchief, discovered that he’s a good guy and gotten her hitched to the person she likes? Likely, yes. Unfortunately, we ascribe marriage to destiny which isn’t true – if it was, we would not need to do any checks on who to marry and how. And with Zeba blaming her parents fully for marrying her off so suddenly because of a phone number is also not entirely correct. She wanted to marry and she thought she was marrying the guy of her dreams, didn’t tell her parents about him, didn’t wonder or even ask if it was the same guy. She did the same thing. Left it to fate. And leaving things to fate doesn’t always work in your favour.

     

    The drama takes an interesting turn now to see how Zeba takes her destiny in her own hands and whether she does or not.

  • There’s hope for Meri Zindagi Hai Tu

    There’s hope for Meri Zindagi Hai Tu

    The drama has hope and honestly, it’s because of Kamyar (Bilal Abbas) and Ayra (Hania Aamir) and their explosive chemistry. Episode 13 was as dull as could be with Kamyar helping Ayra with her exam, by convincing her professor to let her retake it. Until Ayra confesses her love. But before that, she starts daydreaming during this retake too and honestly, we would never want her to be our doctor because the professor says that he will still pass her because of Kamyar. 

     

    Obviously, since life is looking up for Ayra, she finally decides to express her love to Kamyar, and it really is the sweetest scene that gives the drama its spark. The dialogues don’t do either of them any justice but the acting, the lingering, the chemistry makes them shine. Said it before and saying it again: this drama is only a hit because of the hit pairing.

     

    Episode 14 took an interesting turn with both families agreeing to let Kamyar marry Ayra, Ayra’s family taking a stand and saying that whatever happens, even if they had agreed to let Ayra marry elsewhere, it is her choice that matters the most. But it comes with an ominous warning that might signal that this drama is not what it seems. 

     

    Ayra’s mother tells her that people don’t change and this ‘he’s changed’ that everyone was raving about in Kamyar, the reason why her father agrees to the marriage, and his parents as well, it might not last. 

    This twist is also signalled when Kamyar tells Ayra that he only changed because of her and if he did not have her in his life, he would’ve gone back to his ‘old ways’. Also, lets not forget, we might have written Fariha off, after she’s been told that Kamyar is marriyng Ayra, but she’s not the type to be taken so lightly and might also make a comeback.

     

    If it doesn’t then there is a lot more to this drama than what it seems. One wishes the dialogues were better but if the twist is so twisty, there is hope for the drama and the blockbuster it could turn into in the end. 

  • Pamaal’s big twist undercuts its own message and women deserve better

    Pamaal’s big twist undercuts its own message and women deserve better

    The major twist in Pamaal is here and it’s really not the one we wanted. The bad guy turns good because surprise, surprise the only way  an emotionally abused woman can leave a man is if the man dies, that too an early death with stage 4 cancer. Gone in 40 days, quite conveniently. 

    It’s just not the trajectory we hoped for, especially for Malika (Saba Qamar) who was supposed to find strength on her own, not because the pain was ‘tragically’ taken from her. We now have to feel bad for this guy who turned her into a beychari, albeit a rich beychari and she should be happy with that (right), and now he’ll have to die for her to find herself.

    Exactly the lesson we do not want women to learn. It is very, very clear in episodes 18-19 that Malika would’ve never left Raza (Usman Mukhtar), if fate had not given him cancer (that is also so advanced, he’s only got a few days to live).

    Would we want a Malika who will now make it on her own because of a dead husband or did we want the one who found herself even if he was alive?

    Obviously, the latter but it’s clear that we won’t get that because it is now emotional abuser Raza who is telling Malika that she needs to be stronger, more independent to take care of her child since he won’t be around anymore.

    Malika’s mother is no less obstinate, talking about how life ends when the husband dies and its almost like the first 15 episodes were a joke compared to what we are seeing now.

    It makes little sense that Saba Qamar would pick a drama that was going on a very different trajectory and is now turning into an entirely new one. Initially when we saw this drama it prompted women to relate to Malika, telling their own stories or stories of other women they knew who were feeling trapped in their marriages to controlling men.

    And all of a sudden the drama flips, Raza is a great guy with troubles not of his own making, Malika is the loving wife, and it’s such a contrast that we actually feel let down. 

    What remains to be seen is how Pamaal will recover from making Raza, the clear villain, the tragic hero and if women will now be able to relate because what we refuse to relate to is that to get out of an emotionally abusive marriage, it has to be fate that will help you – not yourself.

  • Bilal Abbas saves Meri Zindagi Hai Tu as episodes 7–8 take an interesting turn

    Bilal Abbas saves Meri Zindagi Hai Tu as episodes 7–8 take an interesting turn

    Meri Zindagi Hai Tu Episode 7-8 just got interesting. Yes, the drama is still toxic but we weren’t expecting Kamiyar (Bilal Abbas) to go through the bayizzati that he does at the hands of Ayra (Hania Aamir). 

    You would like Kamiyar a lot if he wasn’t ‘psycho’ as said by Ayra’s sister Dr. Falak (Meher Jafri), and after Ayra does a crazy good rant against him, in front of his parents and hers, you do feel for him. 

    Can’t be sure if it’s deliberate or not but Bilal Abbas does a brilliant job in playing the self-indulgent Kamiyar, bad boy going good, and softly highlighting how a rich, arrogant guy can also want ‘real love’, or the concept of it. You can’t tell: Is Ayra Kamiyar’s temporary obsession or his one true love? Is she what he wants to complete him, the love he never got or saw, as he says explicitly to his parents, or once he gets her, he’ll move on?

    We can’t be sure and that is why it is clear that the only saving grace in Meri Zindagi Hai Tu is Bilal Abbas’ excellent portrayal of a very complex guy. The drama was going in a very typical direction but Bilal as the ‘rogue going good but unable to stop smoking for love’ guy is keeping viewers hooked – or at least willing to stick around to find out what happens next.

    Ayra on the other hand, seemed more interesting than she is. Lacks depth as a character, principled girl but likes Kamiyar enough to check out if he’s still outside her window, doesn’t like him but picks up when he calls, doesn’t want to marry him but kinda does too. She slaps Kamiyar and tells him off primarily because of her own father, who is looking on to see what his daughter does. Which one can accept. But it is very unclear, still, as to why she likes this guy who she considers to be a narcissist. Because he’s doing nice things? Or because he has money and is the ‘chairman’ of his company? The character seems fuzzy and superficial and we can’t be certain what Arya is doing for what reason.

    The good characters are such a disappointment that the villains really are the ones carrying the drama through. Fariha (Vardah Aziz), Kamiyar’s childhood friend and on and off girlfriend it seems, is another character you can’t help but be intrigued by. Vardah does an excellent job as an unlikeable villain, barging into Arya’s house, telling her off in public and having family issues of her own that she can’t figure out. Vardah is very clear in what she wants and that is why she is a refreshing break from the fullness of Arya and her flip-flopping. Fariha might have nefarious designs and evil plans but at least she knows what she wants. 

    After the first few episodes, the drama is finally picking up as something that might not be what it had seemed before. Although we have to look past the cringe, good girl wears shalwar kameez, bad girl is modern in jeans and other stereotypically redundant points, there might be hope for the drama yet. Maybe there is a twist, the psycho turns good (and maybe psycho again), Arya develops some kind of personality and personally we can’t wait to see what Fariha will do to gain the love of her life. 

  • Saba Qamar rises as the star of the year with new upcoming drama

    Saba Qamar rises as the star of the year with new upcoming drama

    Can anyone stop Saba Qamar? With two concurrently running super hits, Pamaal and Case No.9, Hum Entertainment has revealed the teaser of her new drama, Muamma. 

     

    The teaser shows Jahan Ara (Saba Qamar),  as someone who is in love with Ali Ansari’s character, and looks like a story of obsessive love. 

     

    Saba took to Instagram stories to share the teaser, saying that, “this is a side of me I’ve never shown before,” in a “mysterious calculator and addictive” drama. She says that her character Jahan Ara lives in the ‘thrill of her own mind’, revealing that the character is complicated and calculated. 

     

    The teaser starts off with Jahan Ara holding a rose and walking down the stairs with Saba’s voice saying, “Zindagi guzarne mai aur Muhabbat karne mai zaida mushkil kya hai,”.

     

    We then see scenes of Ali Ansari’s character getting ready and fighting with another woman, as Saba’s voice continues, “magar yeh kumbakht muhabbat na jeenay deyti hai na marne.”

    Fans are already loving the teaser, lauding Qamar for being an actor that can play so many different roles and at the same time, saying that she is the reason why people watch dramas and can’t wait for the new drama she’s about to show them. She promised another fan that they would love the drama and thanked her fans for the love she was getting.

    Qamar was always one of Pakistan’s most loved actors but she has truly risen in the past year with two super hit dramas and one on the way. She plays a rape survivor in Case No.9 and in Pamaal she plays an emotional abused and battered wife, who finally finds her way through. 

     

    Qamar chooses dramas that made a social and dramatic impact and in Muamma, it seems like she is playing the villain and there is no one who could make such a drastic impact. 

  • Money, obsession, and toxic love: Why Meri Zindagi Hai Tu gets it wrong

    Money, obsession, and toxic love: Why Meri Zindagi Hai Tu gets it wrong

    Let’s just get to the point. Stalking is stalking and romanticising it is not okay. Yes, Kamiyar (Bilal Abbas) is the hero, and yes, love between Kamiyar and Ayra (Hania Aamir) is what we all expect – and want – but not like this. It’s time, Pakistani drama industry stop selling crazy, stalker, rich men as the goal for the good, strong, independent girl. With dramas like Case No.9, Pamaal, and Jama Taqseem, we know that it’s possible to get ratings and views and not make girls want the actually bad, crazy guy.

    Episode six of Meri Zindagi Hai Tu this week showed puppy dog Kamiyar who would set his own million dollar car on fire if Ayra wanted it. Ayra is no less. The guy is hanging out outside her house like a crazy stalker in the night, and instead of being scared, her solution is to go out with him ‘to make him understand that she doesn’t want him’. I mean, who in the world thinks this is a good idea except her friend who knows that Ayra is secretly into this guy?

    And then in comes Kamiyar’s friend Faria (Vardah Aziz) who is also into him although he treats her like crap. And again, we do not go for guys that treat women like they are trash which is exactly what Kamiyar does with Faria. He only wants Ayra because Ayra rejects him, slaps him, berates him and that’s creepy enough on its own.

    Here is the dead honest truth: It’s the money isn’t it? The “only son of a super loaded, cybertruck-owning, huge mansion, doesn’t have to work for a living, doesn’t give a crap about his parents, and hello, buys things for above market value” lust that is doing it for this drama that instead of telling Ayra to run for her life, people are rooting for them to get together.

    Would they do the same if a ordinary guy was going around lighting cars on fire and sitting outside houses staring at windows? Highly doubt it.

    As money still reigns supreme for this Pakistani drama, nothing much is expected as Kamiyar helps resolve Ayra’s sisters marriage issues to win her favour, and writes down a list of things she wants him to change about himself – already a really bad warning sign when someone wants you to change something about themselves. 

    Ayra gives him a long list and he lovingly writes it down because Kamiyar is now going to become the non-smoking, office going, family loving boy that Ayra wants him to be, only so he can get together with her. 

    Only in dramas. And this one would’ve likely not done so well had it not been for the star couple. We’ll keep watching it for Haniya and Bilal but don’t expect much from the storyline.

  • Case No. 9: When Ego Takes the Stand and Justice Fights Back

    Case No. 9: When Ego Takes the Stand and Justice Fights Back

    Case No.9 Episodes 15 and 16 were like we predicted it! Kamran (Faysal Quraishi) was unable to control his ego and thought he could take down Beenish (Amina Shaikh), in a dream no less and thought he was fully able to make it a reality. He failed of course, revealing that he had no evidence that Sehar (Saba Qamar) had been flirting with him whereas Sehar had evidence that he was the one who was after her. Beenish’s epic takedown of Kamran’s staff member was also full of suspense when the information was being relayed to her by her fellow lawyer. In that moment, when Beenish was given information that could help the case, you couldn’t help but think that doing the right thing is so very hard with so many hurdles.

    But it seems like the hurdles are clearing, as we see Inspector Shafeeq (Gohar Rasheed) also feeling the burn has his superior tells him that Kamran is taking the stand and he might be exposed, we see Kamran’s lawyer pleading with Kamran not to take the stand (when the law gave him the right not to take it), but Kamran’s ego getting in the way and we also see it, in the most complicated way with Rohit (Junaid Khan).

    It is clear that the drama will take the direction of Rohit having to make a choice between his friend who saved him from a blasphemy mob and his friend who is a rapist and he knows about it. He will have to accept that Kamran is not the same person he thought he was but can Rohit’s guilt of convicting his friend get out of his way of doing the right thing? That will be the most important break and crack in the case and Kamran and Rohit’s business and friendship.

    The show is getting so gripping that you have to see the teaser for the next episode because you must know what happens. We see in the teaser that Kiran (Rushna Khan) confronts Rohit and he has a breakdown and a big showdown in court between Sehar and Kamran. 

    While the showdown seems to be one of Sehar finally taking charge of her rights and really letting go and giving it to Kamran, it also seems a bit out of place in this very realistic drama. Are there really outbursts like that in court between a rapist and a rape vicitim? One would like to believe so, despite seeing that Sehar might be taken in for contempt of court, but secretly happy that she faced her attacker and told him exactly what she thought of him. 

    Only time will tell until next week.

  • Osman Khalid Butt roasts misogynistic expectations after controversial Jama Taqseem scene

    Osman Khalid Butt roasts misogynistic expectations after controversial Jama Taqseem scene

    Actor and writer Osman Khalid Butt has once again used wit and satire to challenge patriarchal norms, this time in response to a controversial tweet that circulated on X (formerly Twitter), following a scene from the most-talked drama Jama Taqseem.

    The now-viral scene features Qais (played by Talha Chahour) asking his wife Laila (Mawra Hocane) to manage his daily essentials including socks, shoes, belt, and underwear because that’s how he was “raised” by his mother and family. The moment sparked widespread debate, prompting one netizen to share a list of “qualities” a woman must possess to be considered marriage material.

    The list read: “Never marry a girl who:

    •             Doesn’t make breakfast for you

    •             Can’t organize your daily essentials

    •             Leaves your shoes and socks dirty

    •             Doesn’t know how to tie a tie

    •             Lacks basic domestic skills

    •             Doesn’t respect traditional household roles”

    Osman Khalid Butt, known for his sharp commentary and progressive views, responded with biting sarcasm, mocking the regressive checklist with his own exaggerated and hilarious “26-point guide” for what some men apparently expect from a wife.

    “This list is weak. Allow me to expand,” he began, before launching into a satirical tirade that highlighted the absurdity of such expectations. His list included gems like: “Won’t whisper Masha’Allah my big strong boy I’m sure your daddy loves you every time you breathe.”

    “Refuses to hand-wash your fragile masculinity in washing powder Nirma. Once said ‘therapy’ instead of ‘dua. Can’t make roti that heals your generational trauma. Doesn’t fold your emotional baggage & Oedipus complex neatly.”

    Butt’s satire struck a chord across social media, with many applauding his ability to expose the underlying misogyny that often goes unchecked in desi households and media.

    His post quickly went viral, with users praising the actor for calling out problematic gender roles with humor and insight.

    Osman Khalid Butt has long used his platform to advocate for gender equality, mental health awareness, and the importance of progressive storytelling in Pakistani media.

    The drama is winning hearts by showing the bitter realities of life and the writer has very aggressively handled the writing with some very harsh lessons taught in previous episodes.