I've been missing in action, as usual. This time, honestly, I've been missing because dramas simply aren't that interesting at present. A lot of dramas have ended in the past several months and I haven't documented my thoughts on them AT ALL. I wanted to take a quick moment to just talk about my overall feelings about a large chunk of dramas. There are a HUGE number of these, so I will be dividing this post into 2-3 parts! So let's just dive right into it.
Teri Raza: Great story, great concept, but too much time was spent on the turmoil of divorce and not enough time was spent on the reconstructing of Suhana & Imtiaz's relationship. Suhana had a bad time in her (love) marriage to Rameez, but she still hurt Imtiaz badly. Taking care of his mother wouldn't be the automatic path to forgiveness. A lot more should have been shown. Nice show, great acting, but inconsistent writing.
Mujhe Jeene Do: This was a highly underrated, very well-written show with great, complex characters. There was no black & white, each character had different shades to them. Highly recommended.
Alif Allah Aur Insaan: So quite honestly, the show started off brilliantly, completely lost steam once they introduced the new characters (the arts college students) but then managed to pick up again in the last 5-6 episodes, only to end on a brilliant note again. The show wasn't magical from beginning to end, but when it was great, it was really great. Recommended.
Tou Dil Ka Kya Hua: Too many characters, too many love angles, too many confused emotions. This show definitely highlighted the angst associated with bad relationships and made me feel a certain kind of sorrow for the characters......but something about the relationship-switching also made me feel a certain kind of icky. I consider myself very open-minded, but this show was a bit much for me. Great cast, great actors, really good story, but the 2nd half of the show just took a turn for the "unbelievable, this is too much" realm.
O Rangreza: Beautiful dialogues, zany one-liners, the show screamed poetry in motion. With a female lead that challenged all gender roles, we knew straight away that Sassi would find herself in trouble. However, what started off as a gripping show slowly trickled into something else.....Sassi's confidence and reluctance to be the "typical girl" led to her downfall. Why? Was that something that was necessary to show? Why was the Qasim-Aamna "love story" shoved down our throats with Aamna begging Qasim to love her despite marrying him for a specific reason and knowing he loved Sassi? It came off as irritating, pitiful and forced. In the end, I didn't care for the show, nor can I say that I enjoyed it overall.
Daldal: Incredible. This show depicted a very grim, but "real" side to immigrant life. The grass is not always greener on the other side, especially without legal status and the ability to acquire a professional job. This show not only gave a grim visual of the struggles of illegal immigrants, but also showed what their loved ones go through on the other side. Powerful, heart-wrenching and a story that deserved to be told, I highly recommend Daldal to anyone who hasn't seen it.
Aisi Hai Tanhai: There was a very strong, positive message associated with this drama, as well as a great OST. The greatest drawback of this drama was the lead character Pakeeza's attitude towards Hamza. Hamza was also an innocent in the situation and he lived equally horrible consequences because of the situation, though entirely different. For Pakeeza to behave as though he was "the enemy" was indigestible. I also really hated the outcome of Hamza's character. That being said, I appreciate that this story was told and that ARY puts such stories on air. This was a good drama, but it was not perfect.
Khudgarz: What a brilliant concept, a hard-hitting story and some really beautifully written characters. But the end treatment of Jibran & Amina's characters really was uncalled for, unnecessary and didn't sit well with me. The ending also left little room for redemption for Sami's character. I was left wondering......who won here? Did anyone win? Did anything get resolved? Why wasn't Jibran & Amina's child raised in Jibran's home? It just felt incomplete. Great show touching upon some necessary themes, but again like Aisi Hai Tanhai.....it could have been better.
Laal Ishq: Brilliant. Heart wrenching. A depiction of what happens when hatred is taken too far. When a sequel to Landa Bazaar was first announced, I was skeptical as to how good it would be. Well....it wasn't good. It was great. Highly recommended - and if you haven't seen Landa Bazaar, you may be confused for a few episodes, but it's not really necessary to go back and watch the first. Laal Ishq is SOLID.
Darr Si Jaati Hai Sila: This is another drama that blew me away this year. Dark, unsettling, irritating in how the members of this household played games with one another. But this is a story that was 100% necessary to tell and was told in a way that really resonated with the viewer. Acting, writing and emotions were well depicted. Hard-hitting and definitely not "light viewing," but this one is a must-watch.
De Ijaazat: I expected more, because Zarnish Khan usually associates herself with good dramas. But honestly, this show irritated me more than anything. I found little enjoyment in watching it and used it more as a "white noise" show while working. Skip this one.
Alright guys, that's it for this post! As you can see, I'm very far behind on the amount of shows that have ended since I last wrote. Watch this space for the next blog on endings. Until next time, happy watching!
Teri Raza: Great story, great concept, but too much time was spent on the turmoil of divorce and not enough time was spent on the reconstructing of Suhana & Imtiaz's relationship. Suhana had a bad time in her (love) marriage to Rameez, but she still hurt Imtiaz badly. Taking care of his mother wouldn't be the automatic path to forgiveness. A lot more should have been shown. Nice show, great acting, but inconsistent writing.
Mujhe Jeene Do: This was a highly underrated, very well-written show with great, complex characters. There was no black & white, each character had different shades to them. Highly recommended.
Alif Allah Aur Insaan: So quite honestly, the show started off brilliantly, completely lost steam once they introduced the new characters (the arts college students) but then managed to pick up again in the last 5-6 episodes, only to end on a brilliant note again. The show wasn't magical from beginning to end, but when it was great, it was really great. Recommended.
Tou Dil Ka Kya Hua: Too many characters, too many love angles, too many confused emotions. This show definitely highlighted the angst associated with bad relationships and made me feel a certain kind of sorrow for the characters......but something about the relationship-switching also made me feel a certain kind of icky. I consider myself very open-minded, but this show was a bit much for me. Great cast, great actors, really good story, but the 2nd half of the show just took a turn for the "unbelievable, this is too much" realm.
O Rangreza: Beautiful dialogues, zany one-liners, the show screamed poetry in motion. With a female lead that challenged all gender roles, we knew straight away that Sassi would find herself in trouble. However, what started off as a gripping show slowly trickled into something else.....Sassi's confidence and reluctance to be the "typical girl" led to her downfall. Why? Was that something that was necessary to show? Why was the Qasim-Aamna "love story" shoved down our throats with Aamna begging Qasim to love her despite marrying him for a specific reason and knowing he loved Sassi? It came off as irritating, pitiful and forced. In the end, I didn't care for the show, nor can I say that I enjoyed it overall.
Daldal: Incredible. This show depicted a very grim, but "real" side to immigrant life. The grass is not always greener on the other side, especially without legal status and the ability to acquire a professional job. This show not only gave a grim visual of the struggles of illegal immigrants, but also showed what their loved ones go through on the other side. Powerful, heart-wrenching and a story that deserved to be told, I highly recommend Daldal to anyone who hasn't seen it.
Aisi Hai Tanhai: There was a very strong, positive message associated with this drama, as well as a great OST. The greatest drawback of this drama was the lead character Pakeeza's attitude towards Hamza. Hamza was also an innocent in the situation and he lived equally horrible consequences because of the situation, though entirely different. For Pakeeza to behave as though he was "the enemy" was indigestible. I also really hated the outcome of Hamza's character. That being said, I appreciate that this story was told and that ARY puts such stories on air. This was a good drama, but it was not perfect.
Khudgarz: What a brilliant concept, a hard-hitting story and some really beautifully written characters. But the end treatment of Jibran & Amina's characters really was uncalled for, unnecessary and didn't sit well with me. The ending also left little room for redemption for Sami's character. I was left wondering......who won here? Did anyone win? Did anything get resolved? Why wasn't Jibran & Amina's child raised in Jibran's home? It just felt incomplete. Great show touching upon some necessary themes, but again like Aisi Hai Tanhai.....it could have been better.
Laal Ishq: Brilliant. Heart wrenching. A depiction of what happens when hatred is taken too far. When a sequel to Landa Bazaar was first announced, I was skeptical as to how good it would be. Well....it wasn't good. It was great. Highly recommended - and if you haven't seen Landa Bazaar, you may be confused for a few episodes, but it's not really necessary to go back and watch the first. Laal Ishq is SOLID.
Darr Si Jaati Hai Sila: This is another drama that blew me away this year. Dark, unsettling, irritating in how the members of this household played games with one another. But this is a story that was 100% necessary to tell and was told in a way that really resonated with the viewer. Acting, writing and emotions were well depicted. Hard-hitting and definitely not "light viewing," but this one is a must-watch.
De Ijaazat: I expected more, because Zarnish Khan usually associates herself with good dramas. But honestly, this show irritated me more than anything. I found little enjoyment in watching it and used it more as a "white noise" show while working. Skip this one.
Alright guys, that's it for this post! As you can see, I'm very far behind on the amount of shows that have ended since I last wrote. Watch this space for the next blog on endings. Until next time, happy watching!
