Laa - Episode 1 Thoughts

For myself personally, when I see Momina Duraid's name attached to a show, expectations immediately are formed.  Add to that Sarmad Sehbai's name as writer and expectations are sky high.  I'm still trying to forgive Farooq Rind as a director after Rishtey Kuch Adhooray Se, but putting that bias aside, let's see how Laa makes out after first impressions!

As the drama begins, we're presented with a series of "flashbacks," none of which necessarily make sense entirely, but serve to make us aware that "Laa" is not simply a love story.  In these flashbacks, we do see a man of the name Naimat Khan who loses his daughter Aaminah due to some feudal dispute (from what I could understand).

As the show progresses, we meet Daniyal and Naina, who are family friends.  Naina belongs to a Syed family from Karachi, while Daniyal belongs to a Malik family from Lahore.  They are family friends and Naina's family is in Lahore to find a good rishta for Naina - strictly a Syed boy.  

Some awkward sequences follow, including Naina & Daniyal's meeting, where Naina bullies Daniyal into carrying her luggage upstairs.  This scene could have been rather humorous had Sadia Khan been a better actress.  We're also treated to an awkward scene where Daniyal's friends are checking Naina out as she cluelessly wonders where sounds of shouting are coming from.  I think what makes this all really uncomfortable is simply that Mekaal and Sadia do not look young enough for the roles they are playing.  I assume there's a leap involved in the storyline that will rectify this situation.  Haha.  

There are some cute scenes between Daniyal and Naina where they discuss their dreams for the future.  There's also a humorous scene where Naina chases off her "good Syed suitor" by publicly smoking sheesha.  

The most intriguing scene in this episode was the one where Naimat Khan approaches Daniyal and asks to speak with him, alluding to the fact that Daniyal may not be a Malik after all.

Little else is revealed in the episode, as the focus is placed on light-hearted moments between Naina & Daniyal, along with Daniyal and his (slightly annoying) friends.

Acting-wise, Mekaal is doing an OK job.  There isn't much to brag about, but not too much to complain about either (barring his age).  I'm sure it will improve as the story progresses.

Sadia Khan's acting leaves a lot to be desired.  Overacting would be an understatement:  While Sadia may have been a popular choice previously, in this day, there are actresses like Aiza Khan, Sohai Ali Abro, Maya Khan, etc. that immediately come to mind and would have been able to pull off this character more naturally.  That aside, she is strikingly pretty.  We'll have to wait and watch.

The supporting cast is all good, of course.

I'm curious as to what part Sabreen Hisbani will be playing, as she's one of my favorites!  The episode has taken the drama to a good start so far.  I'm looking forward to see how this one unravels.

Happy watching!

*  Disclaimer:  All images and pictures are not my own and are taken from a magic tool called Google.