Mujhe Jeene Do - Episodes 1, 2 and 3

Some names are simply synonymous with quality and when you see those names associated with a production, you are immediately enticed to view that show.  A few of those names are Salman Shahid, Nadia Jamil, Sarmad Khoosat, Mehreen Raheel and, recently even Hania Amir and Gohar Rasheed (I'll forgive him for Mann Mayal).  And when all these names combine to star in one drama, expectations are high.  Add Angeline Malik to the mix as director and I'll simply say the quality of that production is guaranteed to be something special.

Three episodes in, I will say that the show does not disappoint.  Each and every one of these actors (minus Hania, who has yet to appear - for obvious reasons) has a strong role to play and are given ample screen time.

The show follows the story of Saira (played by Emaan Sher, later to be Hania) from the age of eight to eighteen and how her life evolves in those years due to the decisions of others.  Child marriage is the basic story, interwoven with characters dealing with lack of education, poverty, marriage difficulties and health.

             

I can't pin-point one character/actor that I'm impressed with right now.  Sarmad Khoosat is such a great artist that I tend to watch anything he acts and/or directs.  Furthermore, his chemistry with Mehreen Raheel is great, making the husband-wife relationship feel real (which, of course, adds to the anger of the viewer towards their problems).

Gohar Rasheed's acting as a young widower is heartbreaking, while Salman Shahid's act as the patriarch of the family is strong and intimidating.  Nadia Jamil is such an actress that when she takes on a role (which is RARE), you realize how much you've missed her and what a natural she is.  Her role is of adviser and overseer to the majority of the characters in the show (as their doctor), playing the voice of reason.  Little Emaan Sher is no great actress, but is sweet enough as Saira and does as well as one can expect.

Overall, the show is off to an amazing start, depicting extreme, but very realistic situations.  With Baaghi and now Mujhe Jeene Do, quality-wise, Urdu 1 is leading miles ahead of all of the other drama channels.  Excited to see how the show progresses!

Yeh Raha Dil Comes to An End, Daldal Begins and Teri Raza Makes Me Want to Give Suhana a Good Shake!

Shows ends, shows begin and some shows have characters that really get under your skin.  This week, we have all three!

Yeh Raha Dil came to an end this week, bringing a really sweet drama with really beautiful characters to an end.  In any other scenario, I would've hated the show, simply because of how they treated Hassan.  However, the character of Hassan was written in such a sweet way that even his reaction of "London jaa ke gori nahin mili, to?!" was incredibly endearing and you just wished him well.  On the other end, we finally see Nida find her conscience and become a good person.  We see Hayaa and Zaki finally unite and everything ends happily ever after.  Except.....despite having a smile on my face at the end, I wanted to see MORE.  In a show where parents were such an integral part of the storyline, I wanted to see their reactions to a Zaki-Hayaa union.  I wanted to see Hayaa & Nida's parents struggle with the idea that one daughter's fiance is now marrying their other daughter.  I wanted to see the wedding (at least a glimpse).  Regardless, despite my emotional ups and downs with this show and my disdain at how certain characters behaved, I will say that this show was a step above the rest and was different from most shows out there.  They attempted to deliver something "fresh" and I appreciate that.  If you haven't seen this show, I'd recommend it if you have a couple of lazy days and want to watch something fairly frustration-free, a little silly and not too heavy.

Dandal

As far as frustration-free goes, "Dandal" does not fall into that category.  After two episodes, we have seen two episodes full of trouble-making sisters-in-law, rich-poor love stories, saas-bahu drama in the works, greedy "love," and every other type of twist that would make you want to bang your head against a wall.

That being said, the cast is good-looking, talented and consists of a great ensemble of both young and old actors.  While the story looks predictable as of right now, we are only two episodes in and I imagine there's a lot more to come.  I DO wish Zahid's character made a little more sense and didn't flip-flop as much as he's been doing.  One moment, he's furious with his brother for skipping school and the next, he's encouraging him to skip school, because "maine kya haasil kiya hai parhai kar ke?".  I expect a little more consistency.  Armeena is pretty "whatever" as of right now, but I guess her acting skills will have to come into play a little later on.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this show plays out.

Teri Raza

I am so frustrated by Suhana's behavior, to put it simply.  Unfortunately here, the writing is a little sloppy.  Rameez is shown as a flirt, someone who didn't even bother to tell his parents about Suhana.  Yet in the present, we see him so angry, so heartbroken - why?  Initially, I thought it was just a matter of ego, being rejected, but now it seems like we're actually supposed to believe that he loved her?  Suhana called Rameez's parents and spoke to her father, who told her that he never bothered talking to them about her, that he's a flirt, that he has many girlfriends and that he's "nalaik."  His own father told her that about him.  He fell out of touch with her for so long and never bothered to see what happened until she was already engaged.  He always hung around girls, flirting, smoking, etc.  The istikhara for Imtiaz came out positive, so Suhana agreed to marry Imtiaz.  Suddenly, all Suhana remembers is that the istikhara was positive, so she agreed to marry Imtiaz.  Why doesn't she remember everything else?  That's one complaint that I have.

Acting wise, the show is so good.  I can understand human emotions, but this show is actually frustrating to watch, because Suhana has the greatest husband in front of her and she's choosing to ruin her marriage over someone who doesn't even care.  It's such a REALISTIC depiction of human emotions (and human stupidity), which is why it's actually great, but at the same time, it's so frustrating to watch a character ruin their life.

Alright, that's it for now!  Until next time, happy watching!