Tag: Sajal Aly

  • ‘Alif’ is slow-paced but intense

    ‘Alif’ is slow-paced but intense

    Hamza Ali Abbasi and Sajal Aly’s Alif hit screens early October amid a lot of hype and fanfare. This is their first pairing and fans were naturally excited to see two acting powerhouses come together. Not only that, the speculation that this might be Hamza’s last venture also added to the drama’s attraction.

    So far five episodes of Alif have aired and though the drama’s plotline is engrossing and interesting, it’s slow pace distracts you from it.

    Alif follows the life of two individuals Momin and Momina – oh the irony. The two belong to completely different worlds: Momin is a hotshot director who objectifies women and promotes vulgarity to sell his films, while Momina is a struggling actor, who is only in the profession to raise money for her sick brother. Their paths cross when Momina auditions for one of the Momin’s films and given their dissenting views, they clash.

    Till now, the drama largely focuses on Momin and his relationship with his grandfather with constant flashbacks to his childhood and Momina and her financial struggles.

    While the plotline and synopsis of the drama is captivating, the slow-pace makes your attention waiver. It is not gripping enough as yet but considering only five episodes have aired so far, we’re willing to let this go for now. The dialogues are also powerful.

    Both Hamza and Sajal have put up remarkable performances. Sajal as the struggling Momina is great – her expressions and the way she portrays the depth of her character is superb. Sadaf as Hamza’s love interest is also charming. We haven’t seen much of Kubra Khan but she does fit into the character of Husn-e-Jahan smoothly. The supporting cast is also commendable.

    Alif has been penned by Umera Ahmed and directed by Haseeb Hassan of Parwaaz Hai Junoon fame.

    The drama does appear to be promising watch given the teasers and cast but I do hope the pace doesn’t make it mundane and tiresome to watch.

  • ‘Ye Dil Mera’ is off to a mysterious start

    ‘Ye Dil Mera’ is off to a mysterious start

    The anticipation for Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly’s latest drama Ye Dil Mera was high. Even though the drama’s teasers made headlines for all the wrong reasons and were touted to glorify workplace harassment, fans and audiences were excited to see the real-life couple on the big screen.

    The first episode of the drama aired this Wednesday and it was off to a mysterious start as audiences are introduced to the characters.

    Noor-ul-Ain, played by Sajal Aly, is a happy-go-lucky girl with a dark past – viewers are just shown snippets of it. She lives with her overprotective Agha Jaan, played by Adnan Siddiqui, who has his daughter followed by guards at all times. Agha Jaan is so possessive of his daughter that he has his men beat up Aina’s university colleague because he flirted with Noor. So we’re a little wary of Agha Jaan’s character – he seems dubious.

    On the other hand, we are introduced to Amaan, played by Ahad Raza Mir. From the glimpse the audiences are given, we’re assuming that he also has a mysterious past. Amaan is confident, successful and rich and Ahad gives off strong Christian Grey vibes as Amaan. There is more to Amaan than what meets the eye.

    Noor and Amaan cross paths at a dholki where Amaan draws a sketch of Noor. What’s puzzling to both Aina and the viewers is that Amaan in his sketch drew a mark on Aina’s neck, a reminder of a haunting past, that she has covered up. The two later meet again when Amaan visits Aina’s university for an internship drive.

    The pace of the first episode was a little slow while the flow was slightly bumpy because of weak editing. But considering it was only the first episode, we’re prepared to give it some time.

    As far as the acting is concerned, Sajal, Ahad and Adnan delivered strong performances. Particularly noteworthy was Ahad’s performance as Amaan. Amaan has many shades to him and Ahad played them all finely – his expressions, mood and body language changed swiftly according to the mood of the show and deserve a round of applause. Looks like all his theatre work has polished his acting skills – not that he didn’t have them before.

    Ye Dil Mera has been penned by the award-winning Farhat Ishtiaq and directed by Aehsun Talish of Suno Chanda fame. Along with Ahad, Sajal, and Adnan, the drama’s cast also includes Rabia Butt, Zarnish Khan and Mira Sethi.

    Hum TV has described it as a tale of “love and revenge” and from the look of it, the drama will be a thrilling one – unusual for the Pakistani screens.