Director Asim Abbasi sent a clear message to the critics of his web series ‘Barzakh’. Asim Abbasi shared a picture of the show on his Instagram story, where a person replied saying, “Please don’t add more to the fire by saying he ‘chose’ Saifu. They’re asking to boycott the show, and you’re giving them more reasons to so it. Glorifying these characters in the name of art is distasteful. It was wrong churails, its wrong here.”
On which Asim Abbasi, who is also the writer of Barzakh, replied, “With all due respect, if you find queer non-heteronormative storylines distasteful please do not watch my content.” Fawad Khan is playing the characters Saifullah and Lorenzo. The statement comes in response to a scene in episode 3 featuring an almost kissing moment between two male characters.
Asim Abbasi tagged the producers of web series with the caption on his story, “Shailja Kejriwal Waqas Ali and I will always champion rights of all, and tell stories that we believe in.”
The main plot of Barzakh is to explore the mysteries of life, the afterlife, and the enduring power of love. Set in the beautiful Hunza Valley, the story follows a 76-year-old recluse who invites his estranged children and grandchildren to his remote valley resort for a special event his wedding to the ghost of his first true love.
A resident in Multan dug a long tunnel to capture jinn and witches.
As per reports, the man identified as Asif is a government employee. Police arrested him on Monday from the Multan government quarter area after he illegally dug a 15 feet deep tunnel at his house.
Made in Pakistan and released on Indian OTT platform ZEE5, Churails has won the ‘OTT Platform Show of the Year’ at the British Asian Media Awards (BMA).
OTT Platform Show of the Year: #Churails, @ZEE5Global Churails released globally by Zee5 is an exclusive series on the platform directed and written by #AsimAbbasi. The show received critical acclaim as it brought together diverse characters & broke stereotypes. #BAMAwards2020pic.twitter.com/3Fp3jr7qC3
Sharing her thoughts on the win, Chief Business Officer at ZEE5 Global, Archana Anand said: “Churails with its rich, bold narrative and the globally relevant storyline has broken stereotypes and opened up the fresh conversation around gender equality not only in South Asia but also in other markets across the globe by putting strong women at the center of its story.”
“Winning this award is a recognition of the tremendous impact that our content has created across key markets and how deeply it is resonating with the audiences,” she added.
According to details, “The British Asian Media Awards (BMA) acknowledge the growing and persistent influence of different cultures and communities living in the UK.”
The awards aims to help the industry develop by showcasing exceptional work and proving the value of Asian media to the wider market.
Written and directed by Asim Abbasi and featuring, Sarwat Gilani, Yasra Rizvi, Nimra Bucha, Meher Bano and Omair Rana among others, Churails is the story of four self-proclaimed ‘Churails’ who come together to open a covert detective agency to expose cheating husbands amongst the city’s elite. As their operations expand, they come to be saviours of abused, harassed and mistreated women. The 10-episode series covers a myriad of issues such as child abuse, sexism, the domination of class and race and aims to challenge the hypocrisy of patriarchal societies.
In October 2020, the show wasbanned for viewers in Pakistan. However, it was restored in less than 48 hours. According to Abbasi, the show was taken off after the streaming platform received complaints from authorities here.
Meanwhile, in November 2020, the State Bank of Pakistan ordered all banks to block Pakistani users from subscribing to Zee5. Zee5 had commissioned five original web series from Pakistan. While two of them have released, three more are in the pipeline including Saba Qamar and Naumaan Ijaz’s Manjogiand Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly’s Dhoop ki Deewar.
When asked how the web series changed her, Sarwat said: “I was a very Churail-like person myself, I have always tried to carry women along.”
“I have travelled in all kinds of public transport during my university days to save money, so I have always been a Churail,” she continued. “But Churails taught me how to take ownership of your own problems.”
Later while talking about her thoughts on feminism, Sarwat said: “I would not say I am a feminist.”
She continued: “I feel a man has his own place. I feel that a certain time a woman needs a man, no matter how independent she is. I am an independent woman, but at the end of the day I feel like I need somebody, who would say that I will take care of you and who I can depend on.”
“But at the same time, especially in Pakistan when we talk about feminism, people think that men have nothing to do with it but there are so many men who help to promote feminism because they support their women to come forward, so I feel feminism is a very balance sort of idea where you say everything belongs to whoever earns it,” she added.
When the host questioned if Sarwat why she is hesitating to call herself a feminist, the actor said: “A lot of people think that feminism is all about women. I feel it has to do with men also. If a man is making changes in himself we can also call that feminism.”
“We misunderstand feminism, that is why I don’t call myself a feminist,” said Sarwat. “But yes I talk about equal rights.”
“I’m feminist but I also talk about the problems faced by men,” she added.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview with The Current, Sarwat talked about her experience of working in Churails and how she felt when the series received backlash in Pakistan.
Yasra Rizvi has hit back at critics of her latest projects Dunk and Churails. She also responded to those who are criticising her character, Jugnu Chaudhary, from Churails.
In a social media post, Yasra wrote: “Many saw Jugnu as a drunkard druggie who was selling be-hayai in the name of women empowerment and many think Saira will cause serious negative repercussions for harassment victims because she is a character in a story about false allegations.”
“No one really knows who I am and what I do every day, how I work, what I truly believe in, many haven’t watched Churails or will not watch all the 20 something episodes of Dunk,” she continued.
“Many don’t know anything about my body of work and its detail to really understand what is it that I even stand for BUT everyone gets to talk because I am out there doing my thing so talk away,” remarked Rizvi.
Rizvi has done a number of dramas on television along with web series Churails and Ayesha. Senti Aur Mental is her upcoming Lollywood comedy film debut. The film is directed, written and cast by herself along with Zain Afzal, and Yousaf Bashir Qureshi as a lead cast. Initially, the film was set to release in 2020 but was stalled due to COVID.
Her latest project Dunk which has been produced by Fahad Mustafa has come under fire after Mustafa stated that the drama “is a tribute to every victim who has been falsely accused of sexual harassment”.
Beside Rizvi, Dunk also features Bilal Abbas Khan, Sana Javed, Shahood Alvi, Fahad Sheikh, Tara Mahmood, Saifi Hassan, Salma Hassan, Kanwal Khan, Noman Ejaz, and Azekah Daniel. It has been written by Mohsin Ali Shah and directed by Badar Mehmood.
Sarwat Gilani celebrated her birthday with husband Fahad Mirza and close friends this weekend.
Pictures of the celebrations were shared by those in attendance on social media. Among those present were designers Nomi Ansari and Asim Jofa, stylist Khojii, model Fouzia Aman, Shazia Naz Khan and Hasan Rizvi.
The State Bank of Pakistan has ordered all banks to block Pakistani users from subscribing to Indian streaming platform Zee5 with immediate effect, according to a notification issued this week.
While it is unclear as to why this action was taken, reports have suggested that the reason behind this is Asim Abbasi’s web series Churails, which riled up the moral brigade in Pakistan prompting authorities to take this decision.
Responding to the notification, Churails director Asim Abbasi tweeted the title of a poem penned by Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz to protest the oppressive regime of dictator General Zia-ul-Haq.
It is pertinent to mention here that Churails was earlier also banned for Pakistani audiences. However, it was restored in less than 48 hours. According to Abbasi, the show was taken off after the streaming platform received complaints from authorities here.
Featuring Sarwat, Yasra Rizvi, Nimra Bucha, Meher Bano and Omair Rana among others, Churails is the story of four self-proclaimed ‘Churails’ who come together to open a covert detective agency to expose cheating husbands amongst the city’s elite. As their operations expand, they come to be saviours of abused, harassed and mistreated women. The 10-episode series covers a myriad of issues such as child abuse, sexism, the domination of class and race and aims to challenge the hypocrisy of patriarchal societies.
Meanwhile, Mehreen Jabbar, who directed Eik Jhoothi Love Story – another original web series for the platform – expressed her disappointment over the ban.
“Don’t do anything yourself, just keep banning,” commented the director.
Mehreen’s directorial, featuring Bilal Abbas Khan and Madiha Imam, in the lead, is a quintessential Pakistani love story, starkly different from Churails. It released on October 30.
Zee5 had commissioned five original web series from Pakistan. While two of them have released, three more are in the pipeline.
The banning culture in Pakistan seems to be getting out of hand. The week started with calls to ban Mehwish Hayat’s latest biscuit commercial and now original Pakistani series Churails has been banned from streaming in Pakistan.
The director and creator of the show, Asim Abbasi took to social media to express his disappointment and hurt over the move.
“How strange for Churails to be lauded internationally, and now be shut down in its country of origin,” wrote Abbasi on social media. “In the very country where hundreds of artists came together to create something that could initiate dialogue and open doors for new narratives. Artistic freedom squashed because it is wrongly perceived by some as a moral threat. Predictable, and yet, still disappointing.”
He added: “For this is not just my loss. This is a loss for women and marginalised communities that this show meant to re-represent.”
How strange for #Churails to be lauded internationally, and now be shut down in its country of origin. In the very country where hundreds of artists came together to create something that could initiate dialogue and open doors for new narratives. (1)
This is a loss for all actors, writers, directors and technicians across Pakistan, who were hoping for digital/OTT to be their saviour. And it’s a home-run for all the misogynists who have once again proven that they are the only voice that matters. (3)
Sarwat Gilani, who plays one of the leads in the show, also posted a cryptic message on social media after the ban.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGCXrW1jKMl/
Several Twitter users including Osman Khalid Butt and Sanam Saeed expressed their outrage over the ban.
Oh, you got Churails banned? Congratufuckinglations. Now please focus your outrage on the fact that police have failed to arrest the prime accused in the motorway rape incident.
Banning dancing ads, outspoken films and webseries will not end rape if that’s the agenda. Why are we riddled with such hypocrisy? Buss bandh darvaazon kay peechay ho sub. God forbid hamari bholi awaam influence na ho jai if we take creative liberty to be honest and open.
Honestly, banning #Churails just shows “maard ko dard” hogaya hai. I am happy a lot of people got to watch it as soon as it was released. It was bound to touch a nerve. Hopefully more of such shows to follow!
Pakistani Govt has its priorities sTraiGhT. They banned #churails, the content that engages in imp conversation but they won’t impose a rape emergency.
Though Churails released on August 11 and has already been streaming for almost two months, it is believed that the ban was imposed after a clip from the show went viral on social media. In the clip, Hina Khawaja Bayat’s character talks about giving a ‘hand job’ to a much older man for a promotion.
Featuring Sarwat, Yasra Rizvi, Nimra Bucha, Meher Bano and Omair Rana among others, Churailsis the story of four self-proclaimed ‘Churails’ who come together to open a covert detective agency to expose cheating husbands amongst the city’s elite. As their operations expand, they come to be saviours of abused, harassed and mistreated women. The 10-episode series covers a myriad of issues such as child abuse, sexism, the domination of class and race and aims to challenge the hypocrisy of patriarchal societies.
Step aside folks, Pakistan has truly arrived at the web series front with Churails. Though this is not the first original web series to come out of Pakistan, it is indeed the one that has put us on the map and from this point onwards, there is no looking back.
Created and directed by Cake director, Asim Abbasi, Churails features Sarwat Gilani, Yasra Rizvi, Nimra Bucha and Meharbano as the four churails (witches) who are here to shake things up. Bakhtawar Mazhar, Sameena Nazir, Zara Khan, Mareeha Safdar, Amtul Baweja, Meher Jaffri and Shabana Hassan play the chosen seven while the male leads include Omair Rana, Kashif Hussain, Fawad Khan and Sarmed Aftab. There are plenty of cameos in the series, some of which are bound to surprise you and keep you hooked even more.
The series is about four women from completely different backgrounds come together one rainy night and decide that they have suffered enough at the hands of the men in their life. They come up with the idea of setting up a detective agency under the guise of a hijab and burqa store with the aim to get justice their way. They then set up an army of baby churails – the Chosen Seven – and train them to carry out their spying and sleuthing missions. The interesting bit is that their team is not all women – their army also consists of two men, one of whom is a hacker. All is going well for the Churails until of their own goes missing and the women come face to face with the powerful men of the city.
Churails has been wonderfully directed and presented. I like how the director made sure to strike a balance. Contrary to popular belief, the series is not anti-men or ‘fahash (vulgar)’ from any angle – it aims to challenge the system of patriarchy and break stereotypes surrounding outspoken and confident women. While the series shows plenty of ‘bad’ men, on the other end it shows decent men also, who support the women around them. Similarly, while they show mazloom and oppressed women, they also show women who support the system and enable the men around them. At the same time, I also liked how Asim cleverly combined fiction with reality. While the concept of Churails and all-women superhero team is something we all wish for, it is unrealistic at the end of the day. However, the situations the Churails find themselves in are very much real and oftentimes uncomfortable.
Perhaps the strongest part of the whole series were the performances, cinematography and music. The performances were absolutely phenomenal – it was like each role was written with the actor in mind – whether it was Sarwat as Sara ‘the perfect wife’ or Yasra as the hippie wedding planner Jugnu or Meharbano as Zubaida the young girl aspiring to be a boxer, each actor put forward their best foot. As for Nimra Bucha, she was on another level as Batool. She spoke little and had limited dialogues but the way she communicated with her eyes and expressions was just brilliant. The male actors also deserve a round of applause, especially Hussain as Shams and Aftab as Dilbar. Not only were they great in their roles, but their characters were also likeable. Omair Rana was fantastic as the manipulative politician and Sara’s husband Jamil as were the Chosen Seven.
Mo Azmi is a master of his craft and with Churails, he did his thing with finesse. He shot each frame meticulously, paying attention to detail, because of which the entire show was so aesthetically pleasing. The way he shot the frames in which the faces weren’t showing was simply mind-blowing. I particularly liked how Azmi played with lights to create an impact. The music of the series was also well-thought-out and each track and sound perfectly complemented the mood of the scene and added depth and character. Kudos to the music director for using music so deftly.
Production value of the series was also high with beautiful sets and chic costumes. I particularly loved Sara’s wardrobe – so glamourous.
Churails HQ
While everything seems to be going right with the series otherwise, the one department which was I felt was a little weak was the editing, which would have been crisper. Each episode is approximately one hour long. Most web series have 45-minute episodes. Keeping that in mind, I do wish the episodes were a tad bit shorter. However, given how much I enjoyed the series, I’m willing to overlook this.
Shams
Overall the show is fun, fierce and full of sass. Asim attempted to shake things up with his series and I think he definitely did because these feisty and badass ‘Churails’ are here to stay. I would highly recommend everyone, especially all women to watch the series because I’m pretty sure you all will thoroughly enjoy it.
Churails is currently streaming on Zee5, which is accessible in Pakistan. The service operates similarly to Netflix and Amazon Prime and requires a subscription. While the subscription is usually Rs 2500/year, they are currently offering a deal through which you can get the subscription for Rs 1500 for the whole year. Payment can be done via a credit card.
