Tag: Umera Ahmed

  • In a world full of Aswads, be a Safwan, ‘HKKST’ got the hero wrong

    In a world full of Aswads, be a Safwan, ‘HKKST’ got the hero wrong

    As of late, Sunday nights seem to be incomplete without a dose of drama and emotion courtesy Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay (HKKST). The drama has captivated audiences becoming perhaps one of the most discussed dramas of the year – scroll through any social media platform and you are bound to see at least a few posts on it. Besides bringing together a string of phenomenal actors including Mahira Khan, Kubra Khan, Usman Mukhtar, Huma Nawab, Ali Tahir, Laila Wasti and Zainab Qayyum among others, the drama’s script has been penned by the legendary Umera Ahmed with Farooq Rind behind the camera and Nina Kashif and Momina Duraid on the producers’ seat – in short, a dream team.

    Read More – ‘You didn’t get the girl’: Haroon Shahid reveals latest messages by fans

    Ten episodes of the drama have aired so far, and we are fully immersed into the story. The creators fortunately did not spend too many episodes setting the stage and killed one of the leads and sent another to jail in just the ninth episode leaving shocked audiences with the question: was Mashal’s death a suicide or accidental?

    For the unacquainted, HKKST revolves around three cousins Mehreen (Mahira Khan), Mashal (Kubra Khan) and Aswad (Usman Mukhtar). Mehreen, despite her troubled childhood, is a star child always on top of everything, getting good grades and engaging in extracurriculars. Mashal, on the other hand, is an average student and is pushed by her mother Shagufta (Zainab Qayyum) to become more like Mehreen. As a result, the two cousins grow up hating each other and their rivalry intensifies when Mashal decides that she wants to marry Aswad, whose mother Saleha wants him to marry Mehreen. Eventually after a whole lot of drama, Aswad and Mehreen get engaged and are set to marry when Mashal mysteriously dies and Mehreen is accused of killing her. The creators have not yet revealed whether Mashal died by suicide or if she was killed.

    The latest episode sees Mehreen still behind bars in her kaala jora though interestingly her hair is fresh as ever. Initially, no one from her family comes to visit her yet, including her mother (Laila Wasti), Khala and fiancé. The first person to come to Mehreen’s rescue is Safwan (Haroon Shahid) who not only arranged a lawyer but also helped Mehreen secure bail. Meanwhile, Aswad later turns up only to berate Mehreen and tell her that their engagement is off. It is understandable to an extent, that Aswad is also battling a turmoil of emotions, there is still no reason for him to be so insufferable towards Mehreen.

    Episode ten did not move so much in terms of the story but there were a series of emotionally charged scenes which did make you shed a tear or two including the one of Safwan and Mehreen, Saleha Khala and Mehreen and Shagufta remembering her late daughter. Safwan and Mehreen’s scene was perhaps the most endearing of the three and all I want to say at this point is that in a world full of Aswads, be a Safwan. “Main tum say poochnay aaya hoon keh main kya kar sakta hoon?” was without a doubt the highlight of the entire episode. Sigh! The background music has been beautifully weaved into the scenes adding more depth to them.

    Moreso, they have been beautifully enacted by the lead and supporting cast who have given phenomenal performances from day one – whether it was Kubra as the slightly psychotic Mashal or Mahira as Mehreen, each actor has brought forward their A-game making the drama such a treat to watch. A huge shoutout to Usman, who has wonderfully portrayed Aswad making everyone, and their mother hate him.

    Read More – Mahira, Usman and Kubra shine in the character posters of ‘Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay’

    Meanwhile, what is missing from the drama is basic logic. I understand that at the end of the day HKKST is a drama, and everything is fictious, but is it too much to ask for from the creators to sprinkle in a bit of realism? Considering that Mehreen has been jailed for murder, there seems to be no court involved or even a charge sheet. Investigation into the incident seems to be limited to the police officer (Khalid Malik) either listening to Mehreen repeatedly say “Mainay Mashal ko nahi maara (I did not kill Mashal)” or eavesdropping on her conversations with those who visit her in prison. Mehreen’s uncle (Mamu) is pushing him to hang his niece for killing his daughter without any a shroud of evidence. The legal system is completely absent, and all characters appear to be doing everything at their own discretion. The one person who exactly knows what went down is Shabo and we all now have to wait for her to spill the truth. Till then, it’s going to be a whole lotta drama and rona dhona.

  • Wahaj-Zara, Zahid-Sarwat pair up to headline forthcoming web series

    Wahaj-Zara, Zahid-Sarwat pair up to headline forthcoming web series

    Actors Zara Noor Abbas and Wahaj Ali will be seen together in an upcoming web series written by Umera Ahmed.

    Directed and produced by Haseeb Hassan, the ensemble star cast also includes Hina Bayat, Javed Sheikh, Yasra Rizvi and Dur e Fishan in pivotal roles.

    While talking to a local news outlet, the Fitoor star confirmed the web series and said, “You are going to see me romancing Zara Noor Abbas in this one and it’s something really nice.” Moreover, Wahaj expressed his gratitude for the chance to work with the acclaimed writer Umera Ahmad and famed director Haseeb Hassan.

    Another promising digital project is currently in the making.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Mehreen-jabbar-208x300-1.jpg

    Ace director Mehreen Jabbar is back with an exciting new project headlined by Zahid Ahmed and Sarwat Gilani as the leads for her new web series.

    Sarwat and Mehreen took to Instagram to share few BTS shots from the shoot where we can spot the actors.

    The script has been penned by Rida Bilal of Khudgarz fame.

  • Netizens demand a ban on Ahad and Sajal starrer Dhoop Ki Deewar

    Netizens demand a ban on Ahad and Sajal starrer Dhoop Ki Deewar

    The Zee5’s original Pakistani web series Dhoop Ki Deewar featuring Sajal Aly and Ahad Raza Mir sparked a controversy on social media as #BanDhoopKiDeewar trended on twitter.

    The trailer of the series has been released on Youtube and after watching it, Pakistanis think that the story of the project is against the Two-Nation Theory presented by the founders of the country. The Kashmir angle has also aggravated the backlash.

    The story of the web series revolves around Pakistan-India tensions at the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir. Sajal appears as Sara from Pakistan and Ahad as Vishal from India, both lost their fathers during firing at the LOC. Later on, the characters share their grief through social media leading to their friendship which came as a surprise for their families.

    Here’s how Pakistanis reacted to this story:

    https://twitter.com/Arslan_Sadiq/status/1405848030050390018?s=20
    https://twitter.com/dawoodawan99/status/1405840897749700611?s=20
    https://twitter.com/MuzaffarAruba/status/1405834522600509448?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Rashid2k21/status/1405831242126352385?s=20
    https://twitter.com/UmeHareemLhr/status/1405845032800821255?s=20

    https://twitter.com/abdullah_gps/status/1405865098250489860?s=20

    While defending all the criticism, the writer of the web series, Umera Ahmed came up with a clarification on her digital media accounts.

    Zee5’s Dhoop Ki Deewar will be premiering on June 25.

  • Indian channel Zee TV to re-run ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’

    Indian channel Zee TV to re-run ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’

    Indian channel Zee TV has recently announced to re-run Pakistan’s mega-hit drama serial ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai.’

    The drama was aired earlier on Zee–Zindagi, a channel launched by Zee TV for Pakistani, Turkish, and Indian serials. The show had to be pulled down due to the sociopolitical turmoil between the two neighboring countries, which worsened when a ban was imposed on Pakistani celebrities to work in India.

    The channel took to social media to break the news. The drama will be aired from 5th June at 12:00pm for two consecutive hours on weekends.

    Read More: Sadaf Fawad reveals Fawad Khan’s hidden talent

    The drama serial directed by Sultana Siddiqui and written by Umera Ahmed was aired back in 2012 on Hum TV. This Fawad Khan-Sanam Saeed starrer is amongst the biggest television blockbuster of the last decade. It was also added to Netflix for transnational streaming in December 2015 with the current 4-star rating.

  • ‘Eik Jhoothi Love Story’ hits all the right spots with its heartwarming and sweet story

    ‘Eik Jhoothi Love Story’ hits all the right spots with its heartwarming and sweet story

    As someone who has grown up on romcoms, I’ve often yearned for a story that I can relate to. Hollywood and Bollywood romcoms are dreamy but often unrelatable and something that you cannot envision happening in Pakistan, given the cultural differences. But with Eik Jhoothi Love Story (EJLS), I feel there is finally a romantic, feel-good and quirky show that I can connect with.

    Written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Mehreen Jabbar, EJLS tells the story of Salma (Madiha Imam) and Sohail (Bilal Abbas Khan), who live in the same mohalla in Karachi. Salma is the youngest in four siblings with a very overbearing mother Nusrat Jahan (Beo Zafar) who is only in the pursuit of finding behtar say behtar rishtas for her children. In this quest, she has spent years parading her daughters – Shabana (Kiran Haq) and Shazia (Mariam Saleem) – in front of rishta aunties and prospective in-laws but not finding the ‘ideal’ match.

    On the other hand, Sohail (Bilal Abbas Khan) is the only son of his parents. His father passed away when he was very young, leaving him with the responsibility of an entire household. Sohail wanted to study further but because of family obligations, he was unable to so now he runs a computer repair shop. His mother (Hina Khawaja Bayat) dotes on him, while he shares a very loving relationship with his younger sister Sobia (Srha Asghar).

    To escape their middle-class existence, Salma and Sohail make fake profiles on Facebook. While Salma impersonates her best friend’s cousin Natalia (Kinza Razzak), Sohail makes a profile using his childhood friend Nofil’s (Ahmad Zeb) name. Nofil and Natalia belong to rich, upper-class households and Nofil is settled in America. Salma and Sohail using their fake profile become friends online and begin interacting with each other. Over the course of their messages, they fall in love. However as fate would have it, real-life Natalia and Nofil also get married. Salma and Sohail are heartbroken with this and agree to their parent’s suggestion of getting married to each other. To find out what happens next, you need to watch the series but be prepared to feel a myriad of emotions from fuzziness and warmth to sadness.

    Nofil and Natalia

    Umera has done a phenomenal job with the script and Mehreen brought it to life perfectly. While the series in its essence in a love story, it touches upon many themes, highlighting society’s obsession with finding the ‘ideal’ life partner, who by the way is not someone you connect with, but someone who checks all the right boxes. The series also playfully criticises the different customs we’ve made – like the younger sister cannot marry till the older siblings are married or the brother cannot marry till he has fulfilled his responsibility of marrying his sisters or the simple fact that shaadi is not the end goal. Life is more than that. EJLS is a beautiful reflection of society which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. I have to add here that there were certain angles about online romance which I did find unconvincing but I let it go considering how very binge-able the series is. You end up watching several episodes in one go because the pace is so good. The initial episodes are fairly short between 25 and 35 minutes, while the later ones are slightly longer – but even then you don’t want them to end. They are so gripping. Really hoping that Mehreen and Umera are considering a season two for the series.

    Onto the performances – for me the star of the show was Madiha. She was brilliant as the simple Salma, the Choti of the house who everyone treats as a doormat. Her expressions, body language and dialogue delivery were on-point. Bilal, on the other hand, is a seasoned actor and has given a plethora of mind-blowing performances – with EJLS he just proved how versatile he is.

    The rest of the cast was also brilliant. Mehreen, while speaking to The Current, had shared that she had hand-picked the cast according to the characters and her choices couldn’t have been more on-point. My favourite character has to be Shazia – Salma’s fiesty and outgoing elder sister. Shazia had some of the best dialogues in the show and Mariam played her to perfection – absolutely loved her performance.

    Shazia

    One of the highlights of the show is definitely the OST Meherma. It complements the mood and feel of the show so well and adds to the overall experience. I haven’t come across many Pakistanis shows with such a fitting OST.

    The beauty of Eik Jhoothi Love Story lies in its simplicity – from the wardrobe to the sets, everything was so well-suited to the plot and theme of the show.

    Apart from being highly-relatable, EJLS is a fun, easy watch and something you can watch with the entire fam. Who knows they might stop pestering you to get married after watching this.

    EJLS has 18 episodes and is currently streaming on Zee5.

    Watch the video review on the series below: