New Shows, Old Shows, I'm a Slacker!

I haven't written in over a month.  There are a lot of reasons for that, including Ramadan, Eid, ridiculously hot temperatures, vacations...but these are all just excuses.  The real reason?  We boil it down to the usual: lack of interest.  Of all the shows I'm watching, only 3-4 are actually interesting.  Here's a warm-up post for my foray back into writing.

Laaj

Big budget shows are always anticipated.  But this one has a less-than-popular cast and seems to move on a tried and tested path.  After watching the first episode, I was reminded of Ullu Baraaye Farokht Nahin, a beautiful show dealing with similar circumstances.  The first episode was interesting, so let's see how this plays out.  I did not like the blatant copy of a scene from "Parineeta" though (the Bollywood movie).  Originality, people, originality.

Naimat

I wonder what the thought process is when an actor like Sunita Marshall signs a show like this?  Is it "Oh I just did this exact same show less than a year ago called Agar Ho Sakay To?"  It's hard for me to wrap my head around why she's doing the same show twice within the same year (or.....at all?).  It's also strange to see Zahid Ahmed playing father to an 8 year old.  As currently one of the most popular tv actors, it's great to see how experimental he is and to see him trying out new things - but I think this role is a little unnatural with his "son" looking more like his little brother.  The storyline itself?  Sad, heartbreaking and comes complete with that annoying unnecessary vamp.  Struggling with a sick kid is hard enough that they had to throw in a woman stealing away Sunita's husband.  Anyway, I'm not loving this one as such.

Tum Meri Ho

At one point, I praised this show.  Please let me eat my words.  This is a terrible show with illogical situations played out by two men too old for this.  Faisal Qureshi and Aijaz Aslam are two dignified men working in a most undignified show as, essentially, men in their late 20s. Seriously?  That aside, why a married man with a doting wife would be so quick to believe his young wife is cheating on him, I don't know.  In what world does an EDUCATED man divorce his wife before even confronting her?  In what world does a mother in law turn SO evil that she turns against her daughter in law for no reason whatsoever, other than her taking care of her invalid son?  And in what world does a family not realize how truly messed up their son is that he not only is plotting to steal his brother's wife, but also attempted to have said brother killed?  Nonsense!!!

Dil E Beqaraar

Oh my goodness, why Hareem Farooqi took the worst, most annoying role humanly possible, I don't know.  This show is "Judaai" (again, the Bollywood movie) on steroids.  Mansha Pasha's Sara is now married to Junaid Khan's Mudassir and his first wife is Farida (Hareem).  Farida ran away from home and married Mudassir against their warring family's wishes.  Mudassir took a job in Dubai and started taking in the Bucks.  Over the years and two children later, Farida has evolved into a greedy, dollar signs for eyes fool. So she convinces Mudassir to marry Sara for money. Sara is aware of this, do Sara and Mudassir are honest with each other (Sara was also previously married). Until now. Apparently Sara has ANOTHER ex husband she's hiding the truth about and Farida is hell bent to expose her.

Such a silly premise for drama. Why can't Sara just be honest?  Especially when being blackmailed!  Ridiculous. And Farida as a character is the worst. She's just a bad person.  

Why I've spent so many paragraphs talking about this show is besides me. Hahaha. Not recommended, but it's a train wreck I can't stop watching.

Main Kaisay Kahoon came to an end. Main Kaisay Kahoon was a nice show, though it did lose the plot big time in the middle with the broken engagement.  It did manage to redeem itself and show that marriage is not a happily ever after.  If recommend it for some decent binge watching on a boring day.

Mera Yaar Mila De also came to an end.  Boring, terrible nonsense overall.  They tried to turn it into a Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (what is WITH copying Bollywood?!) sort of show with the ending, except that Faisal's character himself was responsible for the entire MESS!  It was not sweet or endearing.  Faisal is lucky we have Naraaz in our memories, otherwise he has not been smart with shows lately.

There's a large handful of new shows I've started.  I'll comment on those next! Until then, happy watching!  

Besharam

First of all, Ramadan Mubarak!  It's a busy time and I hope the month is off to a great start for everyone.  My reviews may be significantly shorter this month due to lack of time, so please forgive me.

"Besharam" is a show that I've heard very little buzz about, but is one of the more interesting/exciting shows on television right now.  That being said, I have some mixed opinions towards the show itself.

On one hand, the story is innovative, something we haven't really seen on Pakistani television before.  It's the story of the relationship between a budding politician and a supermodel with different ideas, different baggage and different family backgrounds.  This alone, along with the casting of Saba Qamar and Zahid Ahmed, makes this show worth watching.

On the other hand, the editing goes into awkward moments (namely that terrible sequence between Zahid Ahmed's fighting scene and Saba's ramp walk) where the music doesn't even match up with what's happening.  Camera work tends to be shoddy and some of Saba Qamar's outfits are downright garish - cut to episode 5 with the TV Nikkah sequence .....why a top-notch model would wear that outfit, that makeup and that hairstyle on TV is completely beyond me.

Coming back to that TV Nikkah sequence - that's probably my biggest problem with the show currently.  The sequence where Zahid Ahmed's character proposes to Saba Qamar is possibly one of the most frustratingly unnatural scenes in recent times.  My mind simply could not process why he would take that step or why Saba's character reacted so foolishly and with such a lack of grace while on TV.  Yes, I understand that she was in a bad place and her emotional "place" was very weak, causing her to have that blowout....but that still does not explain why she would accept Zahid's proposal.  The deal  - a marriage in exchange for an apology - actually made little to zero sense and I found myself rolling my eyes and holding back laughter at the same time.  

Despite that, the show boasts of a great cast, a highly innovative storyline and two very talented lead actors.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the show progresses and what direction it moves in, though I'm hoping it stays a love story at heart.  So far, I'd recommend this one.

Happy watching! 

Bayqasoor comes to an end - Thank Goodness!

I can't put into words how awful this show was. It is taking a lot of energy to even drop a few lines about it.  

Samina Peerzada is a phenomenal actress, but she could not save a story of complete nonsense, a story that was so illogical, a story where one character is only more brain dead and sacrificing than the next.

What purpose there is behind one sister, Hira, sacrificing to save the marriage of her stepsister, Seher, who has ALWAYS treated Hira like dirt? By the way, Seher is married to Hira's father, who is ALSO married to Seher's Phupo.  Yes. Senseless and disgusting.

Hira's sacrificing not only never made sense, but was a source of extreme pain for her mother and stepfather.  She hurt her loved ones to save someone who did NOT love her.  It was tedious.  

In the end, even Samina Peerzada's character imbibes Hira's sacrificial lamb bhoot and starts sacrificing herself.  It's one bakra being zibaahed after the other.  Ridiculous.

In the end, we got some kind of unrealistic happy ending with brainless Hira getting her happily ever after and Phupo going crazy.....what?  Yes that's what happens to vamps on dramas.  You know, as opposed to real life where they just move on to the next opportunity.  But no, we must show that Phupo GOT HERS, however unrealistic.  Also, the writers conveniently forgot her son? Hmm.

That's all the breath I have to waste on this show. 

I also fast-forwarded through the last episode of Tum Mere Kia Ho.  I actually don't have anything to say about this show other than this:  I fast-forwarded through each episode of this show, didn't even watch the last 5 episodes preceding the finale, and I now remember why I don't watch any shows aired on PTV.   Steer clear!

I do hope everyone is watching the handful of quality shows on air right now. Happy watching!