In a world where friendships are tested in cut throat industries, Ehd-e Wafa remains a timeless story of loyalty, love, and adventure. Five years after the serial aired on our screens, it continues to be a cult favourite.
Ehd-e-Wafa star Osman Khalid Butt shared a nostalgic story on his Instagram account with the caption, “Incredibly proud of what all of you have gone on to achieve and that we created a bit of magic with this. All of us, cast and crew your fellow mischief-maker.”
The drama is written by Mustafa Afridi and Saife Hassan, produced by Momina Duraid Production.
Actor Ali Abbas’ acting career kicked off with director Amin Iqbal’s drama Meri Dulari opposite Yumna Zaidi on Geo TV. He weighed 86 kilos before stepping into TV and lost around 9 kilos to look the part.
However Ali revealed on Nida Yasir’s morning show that on the first day of his shoot, the veteran director slammed him. According to the Meherposh star, Amin told him that he doesn’t look like a star and will never become one, also that he doesn’t have the qualities in him to be a leading hero. This incident dampened his confidence.
Now in an exclusive interview with The Current while promoting his movie Rehbra, Amin Iqbal responded to Ali’s allegations. The Ishq-e-Laa maker said, “The judgement could be wrong at times as I am a human too but whatever I have said about someone, it has become true. There is a difference between being a star and being an actor.
“I have introduced artists like Yumna Zaidi, Saba Qamar and Sameer Sohail from Lahore to the showbiz fraternity, even recently when I casted Azaan Sami Khan in Ishq-e-Laa, people scrutinised his casting in the play but respect and disrespect is in the hands of God.”
“I know his father and grandfather personally and have had good terms with him.”
Iqbal concluded by saying that now that Ali is in a better space career wise, it could be because of the remarks that Amin gave him early on his career as Abbas must have improved himself after it.
Earlier this year Abbas appreciated his contemporary Ahmed Ali Akbar in an interview with Maliha Rehman.
The Mere Apnay star stated that Ahmad has given a superlative performance in Parizaad and it makes him happy that underrated actors like him are now getting leading roles in mainstream projects.
He added that at the time of Ehd-e-Wafa there was noise about him being sidelined in the play which starred bigger names like Ahad Raza Mir and Osman Khalid Butt alongside him.
Ehd-e-Wafa emerged as a blockbuster in 2020 and starred an ensemble cast.
The Fitrat star mentioned that he is the biggest fan of Naumaan Ijaz and takes inspiration from him while performing, especially from his performance in Mera Saeen.
Actor Osman Khalid Butt tweeted on Qandeel Baloch’s brother Waseem’s acquittal last week, “Qandeel Baloch’s murderer walks free today after serving less than six years of his life sentence. He is on record admitting to drugging and murdering his sister. Someone please make this make sense to me.”
Qandeel Baloch’s murderer walks free today after serving less than six years of his life sentence. He is on record admitting to drugging and murdering his sister. Someone please make this make sense to me.
He went on to comment, “We are in the concluding stages of a high-profile and incredibly brutal murder case even now – how does this ruling inspire any confidence (except to the guilty) in our judicial system? Six years – and an anti-honour killing Bill – later, we’re back to square one.”
The Lahore High Court (LHC) acquitted the prime suspect and brother of model Qandeel Baloch, Waseem Azeem, in her murder case, abolishing the life imprisonment awarded to him by a sessions court.
The LHC’s Multan bench cancelled life imprisonment of the accused after witnesses deviated from their statements in the trial court and Qandeel’s mother submitted a reconciliation agreement stipulating parental pardon.
In 2016, Muhammad Waseem was arrested after he confessed to killing Qandeel Baloch, 26, for posting what he called ‘scandalous’ pictures on social media. The case became Pakistan’s most high profile “honour killing” of recent years.
The Baaji star also recently commented on Zahir Jaffer’s on-going case. He took to his Twitter to lash out at primary suspect, Zahir Jaffer in the Noor Mukadam murder case.
He penned, “After all this time, not a hint of remorse. Not a hint of shame. I hope you rot in the deepest pits of hell, Zahir.”
The actor made his remarks in the response to Jaffer who retracted his confessional statement and refuted all the allegations of the murder of Noor Mukadam.
After all this time, not a hint of remorse. Not a hint of shame. I hope you rot in the deepest pits of hell, Zahir. https://t.co/YaHAQbuAni
Zahir recently said that Noor called her friends at his house for a drug party, and she was murdered by someone else, maybe someone present at the drug party, and not him.
Lal Kabootar actor, Ahmed Ali Akbar appreciated the acknowledgment by PTI Senator Faisal Javed on his performance in HUM TV’s drama Parizaad.
PTI Senator penned on his Twitter, ” A character getting more fame than the actor behind it, it is a huge acknowledgment of an actor’s outstanding performance. Such is the case with Ahmed Ali Akbar.”
The actor took to his Instagram story to thanked his praise and tagged him as well.
Ehd-e-Wafa actor also thanked TV actor, Zhalay Sarhadi for her praise for his acting in Parizaad.
Multiple Bollywood actors including Vikram Kapadia of Bazaar fame, Darshan Jariwala of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani fame, and Namit Das of Wake Up Sid fame indulged in an online chat about the drama when the Kapoor & Sons star posted an appreciation note for the drama and it’s star Ahmed Ali Akbar.
Indian designer Manish Malhotra also used the OST of the hit drama for his promotional video proving that Parizaad is not only loved in Pakistan but has a strong following across the border as well.
The last episode of Parizaad will be screened in cinemas nationwide on January 28, 2022 (today)
2020 has been an interesting year for Pakistani dramas with several controversial dramas hitting our screens this year. In terms of popularity, there is no denying that Meray Paas Tum Ho was television’s highest-watched dramas with a cult following. As we look back on this year, here’s a list of dramas which had the maximum number of views on YouTube till the filing of this story.
Note – We are only including episodes that aired in 2020 in this list. Views have been indicated in brackets.
Nand Episode 1 (12M)
Despite having close to 100 episodes, Nand continues to trend on YouTube and social media. The first episode of the show was fast-paced and thrilling. Not only are we introduced to nand Gohar (Faiza Hassan) and the rest of the family, we dive straight into the story, which is about a woman who likes to control everything and everyone around her. Apart from being very masalaydar and spicy, the drama also boasts solid performances by the lead cast.
Deewangi Last Episode (13M)
Danish Taimoor and Hiba Bukhari’s Deewangi ends with Nageen (Hiba) killing Sultan (Taimoor) and getting her happily ever after with Haroon (Ali Abbas), who first divorced her. Audiences loved the drama for its depiction of love that reached a point of madness and continued to root for Sultan till the very end, even though he commits several mistakes along the way because of his mad love for Nageen. The last episode of the drama was thrilling, intense and fast-paced with viewers hooked to it.
Ishqiya Episode 1 (15M)
The first episode of this intense romance involving two sisters featuring Feroze Khan, Hania Aamir and Ramsha Khan opens with a scene which will instantly remind you of Rahul and Anjali’s basketball matches in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The rest of the episode introduces us to the different characters and their relationship dynamics. Its ends with Azeem’s (Gohar Rasheed) family asking for Hamna’s (Ramsha) hand in marriage, who is in love with Hamza (Feroze).
The last bumper episode of Ehd e Wafa was initially scheduled to hit theatres but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the plan couldn’t fall through. The grand finale, which included a special appearance by Humayun Saeed, saw Captain Saad (Ahad Raza Mir) get injured in tensions on the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir, following which all four friends gather at the hospital to be on his side as he battles between life and death. The final episode was emotionally charged but ended on a happy note leaving viewers satisfied.
Though the second-last episode of the immensely popular Meray Paas Tum Ho was a slow one, it is one of the highest-viewed ones. The episode saw Mehwish (Ayeza Khan) shift back into her old house and use a wazeefa to try and win Danish back. She regrets the decisions she made and is wallowing in misery. On the other hand, Danish (Humayun Saeed) agreed to marry Hania (Hira Mani) and wore the ring she bought for him after Roomi proposed to her on behalf of his father. Meanwhile, Maham (Savera Nadeem) made sure she reminded Shehwar (Adnan Siddiqui) of his aukaat.
Apart from a stellar star cast, Hum TV and ISPR’s joint project Ehd e Wafa also boasted some breathtakingly beautiful shots of Pakistan. And it turns out that the drama was shot in 16 cities across the country.
Osman Khalid Butt, who played the spoiled Malik Shahzain, revealed this little fun fact in a social media post in which he thanked director Saifee Hasan for his unrelenting effort in making the drama. Butt also shared that the drama’s shoot was spread over nine months.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9zZS1ep8oX/
The last bumper episode of the drama was released on Sunday (March 14). It was initially supposed to be screened in cinemas but the coronavirus outbreak lead to a closure of cinemas across the country.
Earlier Zara Noor Abbas also took to social media to share some fun BTS from the sets of the drama and thank her co-stars for the experience. She also offered “special thanks to Col Asif and Major General Asif Ghafoor for all his love and hard work for this project which was his dream to fulfil.”
Directed by Saifee Hassan and written by Mustafa Afridi, Ehd-e-Wafa is centred around the SSG, short for Secret ‘S’ Gang, consisting of Shehryar (Ahmed Ali Akbar), Shariq (Wahaj Ali), Saad (Ahad Raza Mir) and Shahzain (Osman Khalid Butt). The series won the hearts of the audiences because of its heartwarming storyline and great performances by the ensemble cast which also includes Alizeh Shah, Hajra Yamin, Vaneezah Ahmed, Zara Noor Abbas, Faraz Yahya, Syed Muhammad Ahmed and Adnan Samad Khan (Gulzar) among others.
Ehd e Wafa’s last episode is coming to cinemas on March 14 and it appears that audiences will be in for a thrilling ride. At least, that’s what the trailer promises.
To celebrate ‘Surprise Day’ – the day Abhinandan’s plane was shot down in Pakistani airspace – Momina Duraid Films released a trailer for the last episode of the super hit drama serial.
The two-minute teaser doesn’t give away much but introduces two new characters in the drama – Major Humayun and Indian Airforce’s Wing Commander Abhinandan. It is likely that the episode will shed light on the retaliatory attack by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) after India’s Balakot airstrike.
Apart from that, there is also a glimpse of the Kartarpur Corridor which marked a monumental moment in Pakistan’s history and action on the Line of Control.
The teaser ends with an injured Captain Saad (Ahad Raza Mir) trudging through the trees.
Directed by Saifee Hassan and written by Mustafa Afridi, Ehd-e-Wafa is centered around the SSG, short for Secret ‘S’ Gang, consisting of Shehryar (Ahmed Ali Akbar), Shariq (Wahaj Ali), Saad (Ahad Raza Mir) and Shahzain (Osman Khalid Butt). The series won the hearts of the audiences because of its heartwarming storyline and great performances by the ensemble cast which also includes Alizeh Shah, Hajra Yamin, Vaneezah Ahmed, Zara Noor Abbas, Faraz Yahya, Syed Muhammad Ahmed and Adnan Samad Khan (Gulzar) among others.
A man has filed a petition against the drama serial Ehd-e-Wafa in the Lahore High Court arguing that the drama has negatively portrayed politicians and media personnel.
The petitioner, Muhammad Zeeshan, in his petition stated that the show has represented a politician, media anchor, bureaucrat and army official but have ignored the judiciary.
“Four pillars of the state were displayed but the role of the army was shown instead of the judiciary,” read the petition.
Zeeshan further said that Ehd-e-Wafa could damage the image of politicians and media personnel. He said that the roles shown in the drama portrayed a negative image of Pakistan internationally and requested the court to stop the airing of the drama episodes.
In Ehd-e-Wafa, Shahzain (Osman Khalid Butt) is a politician, Shariq (Wahaj Ali) a successful journalist, Shehryar (Ahmed Ali Akbar) an assistant commissioner and Saad (Ahad Raza Mir) an army officer.
Directed by Saifee Hassan, Ehd-e-Wafa is a joint collaboration between ISPR and Hum TV. It has been penned by Mustafa Afridi of Sang-e-Mar Mar and Aangan fame.
Ehd-e-Wafa promised to be an emotional rollercoaster but truth be told, I was not prepared to shed a few tears while watching it. The 21st episode of the drama serial aired last Sunday and though it was a bit of a drag and completely disconnected from the last scene of the previous episode (the last episode ended in Waziristan and this one began in Pindi on a happy note), two emotional scenes – Saad (Ahad Raza Mir) and Shahzain’s (Osman Khalid Butt) reunion and Shehryar’s (Ahmed Ali Akbar) effort to help Khursheed (Muhammad Hunbal) – made the entire episode worth a watch.
All four members of the SSG (Special ‘S’ Gang) have settled into their respective lives. Saad (Ahad Raza Mir) is now Captain Saad, while Malik Shahzain (Osman Khalid Butt) is a well-known politician. Shehryar (Ahmed Ali Akbar) cleared his CSS exams and is currently serving as an Assistant Commissioner, while Shariq (Wahaj Ali) is an established journalist.
Shehryar, who is serving as the Assistant Commissioner, comes across his old teacher Firdous Baig, whose son, Khursheed was his class fellow at Lawrence College. In a tear-jerking scene, it is revealed that Khursheed was put behind bars by some powerful land mafia over a dispute. Sheheryar uses his power to release Khursheed from jail and when the two meet and Khursheed throws himself in his friend’s arms. This scene was brilliantly executed and pulls at your heartstrings, leaving you misty-eyed.
On the other hand, Saad is about to get married to the love of his life, Dua when he happens to run into Shahzain. After exchanging the usual pleasantries, Saad pulls down the barriers between the two and they have an endearing conversation in which they bury their hatchet and promise to start their relationship afresh. If you’ve ever reconnected with an old friend after a long time, you’d feel the scene.
But everything aside, this episode was without a doubt Ahmed Ali Akbar’s, who owned every scene of his. Ahmed played Shehryar with utmost ease and slipped into the many layers of his character without a hiccup. It was an absolute treat to watch him.
And we’re not the only ones who thought this episode was an emotional roller coaster. Osman Khalid Butt also felt sentimental after watching this episode.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ZMYIAJwO2/
Directed by Saifee Hassan, Ehd-e-Wafa is a joint collaboration between ISPR and Hum TV. In the stream of dramas which are either tackling serious topics such as rape (Ruswai) or are the usual masala fest (Jhooti/Kaheen Deep Jalay), Ehd-e-Wafa is a great entertainer and something you can enjoy watching with your family. It airs every Sunday at 8pm.
Google Trends has released the list of what was trending in year 2019 in Pakistan in the categories of Searches, People and Movies & TV.
Pakistan vs South Africa tops the Searches list while Naimal Khawar was the top searched person in the country in 2019. Number one on the Movies & TV list is Avengers: Endgame followed by Bigg Boss 13 and the ISPR helmed drama Ehd e Wafa.
See the rest of the list here:
Searches
Comes as no surprise that all the top searches this year were related to cricket. 2019 also saw Pakistan participate in the ICC Cricket World Cup and Pakistan narrowly missed making it to the semi-finals this year. However, the uncanny differences between the 1992 cricket world cup and the 2019 one had everyone on the edge of their seats.
Pakistan vs South Africa
People
Naimal Khawar was the most searched person in Pakistan mainly because her debut drama Anaa was a huge success and because this year she also became Mrs Hamza Ali Abbasi. Hamza and Naimal’s wedding was one which fans had not seen coming at all which is probably why they were more intruiged by it.
Number two on the list was the ‘Chocolate Hero’ Waheed Murad. The late actor became the second most searched person in the country after he was honoured with a Google Doodle on his 81st birthday.
Waheed Murad
Babar Azam followed on number 3, who left everyone in awe with his brilliant cricket skills, especially during the ICC World Cup 2019 when he smashed several records. He remained the world’s top-ranked T20I batsman.
Babar Azam
Number four on the list is Asif Ali which is interesting because he did not really impress anyone with his cricketing skills.
Asif Ali
Adnan Sami, better known as ‘undercover agent’ Major Adnan Sami, was the fifth most searched person in Pakistan. Sami, who is now an Indian national, is often trending on social media when tensions between India and Pakistan are high.
Adnan Sami
Others on the list included Sara Ali Khan (6), Mohammad Amir (7), Alizeh Shah (8), Abhinandan Varthaman (9) and Madiha Naqvi (10).
Bollywood actor Sara has garnered quite a loyal following in Pakistan, while Alizeh Shah is the country’s latest national crush, particularly after her roles in Superstar and Ehd e Wafa. Madiha Naqvi made it to the list after she tied the knot with Muhttahid Quami Movement’s (MQM) Faisal Sabzwari in a low-key wedding ceremony this summer.
Sara Ali Khan
Muhammad Amir
Alizeh Shah
Abhinandan Varthaman
Madiha Naqvi
Movies and TV
In Movies and TV, Avengers: Endgame topped the list followed by Bigg Boss 13 (2) Ehd e Wafa (3), Suno Chanda Season 2 (4) and Kabir Singh (5). Meanwhile, the ongoing superhit drama Meray Paas Tum Ho was number seven on the list.
