Television in Pakistan went through a seismic shift when 13 years ago, the drama ‘Dastaan’ debuted on our screens. Featuring a star-studded cast like Fawad Khan, Sanam Baloch, Saba Qamar and Ahsan Khan, the series was an adaptation of the novel ‘Bano’ by Razia Butt, an exploration of the aftermath of the subcontinent’s partition.
The main leads, Hassan (played by Khan) and Bano (played by Baloch), are two lovers who meet when their relatives Suraiya and Salim get married. At first Hassan tries to befriend Bano, but Salim refuses to let them marry because he wants to marry her off to another man. However, just as their families approve and both are engaged, Hassan has to leave for University, and then the partition of 1947 takes place after which their lives are completely changed.
Pakistani dramas today can’t seem to move on from saas-bahu kay jhagray and toxic love stories where women are nothing but a prop for men, so many remember the magic of ‘Dastaan’ especially the tragedy of the love story between Hassan and Bano.
A viral tweet on Twitter had asked about a couple from a drama series that had devastated them, and the most popular reply in the Pakistani context had to be Hassan and Bano’s tragedy from ‘Dastaan’.
Are you worn out and tired by constantly hustling under capitalism? Adulting can be incredibly hard, especially when you’re working from 9 to 5 on a regular basis, its hard to find a good show to bring some peace of mind.
With the constant flow of sexist and repetitive plot lines and utlra-cringey jokes that Pakistani dramas can’t seem to put a cap on, we can understand the frustration our audiences could be going through to find something they can binge watch.
Especially now that one has to fast, you might be looking for a good show to help pass the time.
So ranging from some iconic Pakistani dramas to a spooky murder mystery and even some captivating Korean dramas, we have carefully crafted a list of shows we know our followers will drain in a day!
1 Dolly Ki Ayegi Baraat
How can we forget the iconic Saima Chaudhry, the fashion designer from Faisalabad? The hilarious comedy drama may have aired in 2010, but years later fans still binge watch the iconic drama and its sequels every Ramzan. The series starts with Dolly’s wedding preparations and the cultural clashes between two families as relationships form, misunderstanding emerge and discrimination based on class are pointed out.
2 Akbari Asghari
This one is for the ‘Dastaan’ fans, if you couldn’t get enough of Sanam Baloch and Fawad Khan’s jorri in a tragedy, then get prepared to wheeze in this hilarious family drama. A modern adaptation of the popular Urdu novel ‘Meerat-ul-Aroos’, the story follows two sisters, Akbari and Asghari living in the US, and their parent’s plan to get them married to their cousins living in Pakistan. While Akbari is a wild child who is unafraid to be bold in front of her parents, Asghari tries to be a dutiful daughter but resents the idea of marrying her cousin, when she actually wants to marry Roger.
3 The Haunting of Hill House
Not a fan of light-hearted comedy? Do you need something dark and spooky to beat the work fatigue? Then this is the perfect series that blends in the works of popular Gothic writers like Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe and explores themes like trauma, mental health and love. The series drifts between the present and the past, following the lives of five siblings and the aftermath of a tragedy they suffered in a house they moved into for the summer of 92. Slowly, strange events begin occurring, leading to each family member begins doubting each other.
4 Abbott Elementary
Have memorized ‘The Office’ and ‘Friends’ and now need another feel-good comedy series that makes you giddy in the same way? This comedy drama has received rave reviews from audiences for its stellar writing and especially performances from the likes of Quinta Brunson. Set at a Philadelphia public school, it follows five teachers who are passionate about their job, despite the limited funding they receive from the district to provide supplies to their children.
5 Mr Queen
We obviously cannot form a list of good television shows without including Korean dramas, because literally every one has a comfort K-drama on their list. And this is the one we want our audience to look up, for a feel-good time travel rom-com involving gender bending and romance. When modern chef Na In-Woo accidentally falls from a building while trying to escape cops, he wakes up to realize he’s in the body of a woman, who is set to become the queen in the Joseon era.
6 Tomorrow
Need something dark and broody to really draw you in? Fans of heartthrobs Rowoon and Lee Soo-Hyuk would definitely want to include this show in their watch list. When an accident causes Choi Joon-Woong to go into a coma and turn into a half-spirit, he is enlisted in a team of Grim Reapers whose job is to counsel people struggling with suicidal thoughts. Brilliantly performed with a gripping script that engages with a dark topic with humour and gentleness, this is definitely a drama you should look up.
Celebrity couple of Danish Taimoor and Ayeza Khan appeared together on Ahsan Khan’s show.
On being asked by the host about Danish’s best on-screen pairing, the Meray Paas Tum Ho star stated that she liked her husband’s reel chemistry with Sanam Baloch with whom the Deewangi star has worked in multiple projects.
The duo garnered recognition for their romance in Geo’s drama, Chemistry.
She also added that after seeing him and Maya in an advertisement she was impressed by their reel pairing.
Danish mentioned that he really enjoyed working with former actor Sanam Chaudhry and praised her acting skills.
Actors Arez Ahmed and Hiba Bukhari are the latest ‘it’ couple of the tinsel town, as they confirm their relationship on Instagram. The Inteha-e-Ishq duo are set to marry in the coming weeks.
The Deewangi diva mentioned that she feels lucky.
Earlier she stated that the Wafa Bemol star is love for her.
Fellow celebrities Ali Abbas, Junaid Khan, Zainab Shabbir and Sanam Baloch congratulated them on the good news.
The duo have worked in multiple successful dramas.
Actor Haroon Shahid took to Instagram to reveal that his inbox is flooded with messages by fans, telling him that yet again his character has been dumped by the female protagonist. The fans referred to the latest episode of Mahira Khan starrer Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay.
Soon after the episode aired, the actor’s social media was bombarded with DMs and comments stating, “Again you didn’t get the girl”.
Haroon shared a fan-made video, saying: “Again you didn’t get the girl say mera inbox bhara hua hai. Jiss nay yeah video banaai hai, woh mera gham samajhta hai.”
A loyal fan even went on to make an emotional compilation of scenes from Haroon’s projects and titled it, ‘Justice for Haroon’s characters’.
The netizen listed dramas like Khaas (Sanam Baloch), Do Bol (Hira Mani), Muqaddar (Madiha Imam), Qayamat (Neelum Muneer), Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay (Mahira Khan), in which the character played by Haroon is never chosen by his love interest.
The Do Bol star tweeted that, “Someday I’m going to play such an evil role that I’ll kill everyone in the play (except) for the leading lady. I think that’s my best chance of ending up with the ‘girl’ in a drama!”
When you’re so used to accepting everything that’s happening to you that even when want to write ‘except’ you end up with ‘accept’ Maaro mujhay oh Maaro mujhay https://t.co/ZkyU9kEiX3
