4 + 2 Top Pakistani Dramas of 2020 you might want on your recommended (and watched) list!
The struggle was very much real
It was a cold December night in a faraway village of Sindh and the year was 2016. Ten (or more) heads could be seen competing with each other to witness the suspense that was unravelling on the 15-inch laptop screen.
“Pyaar hona marz hai itna huai hai ye mujhe, dard ko bhi dard hai ITNA huai hai ye mujhe,”
crooned Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and the ten (or more) hearts attached to the heads pumped in agreement. It wasn’t an easy feat to catch the latest episode of Sang e Mar Mar in that village. The plan was made a day ahead. One of the cousins bribed her brother to get hold of the Zong internet device. Thankfully, my boss hadn’t allow me to take off from work so my laptop had come along. Tea was made on a wood-fired clay oven as the wind howled and threatened to snatch away the shawl tightly wound around the face of the chai-maker.
Hours of prep went into watching a 40-minute show.
Why?
Because Sange e Mar Mar deserved it. The director, the writer, the actors, the producers, the editor, and the singer – every single one of them was on one page and they told us a story we haven’t still forgotten.
In 2020, it is colder than it was in 2016. I sit comfortably in my room in Karachi and the shows are only a click away. The similarity is, that I still have that 15-inch laptop on me. The difference is that I don’t have any Pakistani shows to watch.
I tell this story not because I feel particularly nostalgic. I tell you this because it was difficult to come up with a list of Top Pakistani dramas people enjoyed in 2020. Blame it on the pandemic or the producers; the fact is Pakistani dramas were only good in parts and almost none will be recalled fondly four years down the lane.
Sorry for being a Bitter Bushra, but I’ve done my research.
In order to keep things democratic I asked people what their “top Pakistani shows for 2020” were? I like to believe I was able to create a universe that vaguely represents the Pakistani drama-watching audience. Most of my friends gave disappointing replies such as, “We don’t watch Pakistani shows anymore; they’re depressing.” My family struggled too and the average response was, “I watched a few, but I can’t call them “top” shows.”
That’s when my relatives came to the rescue and gave relatively definitive answers. Combining the data from these slightly unamused, indecisive, and uninterested lot, which belongs to different demographics, we now have a list of dramas that people watched in 2020. You can call them “top shows” because at least they intrigued people enough to be watched.
Disclaimer: Sabaat isn’t here because only one person mentioned it, which doesn’t make sense to me, because even if it seemed like an amalgamation of Zindagi Gulzar Hai and Humsafar at times, it held its own beautifully. Anaya and Miraal will go down in history as the best performances of Mawra Hocane and Sarah Khan respectively.
Moving on.
Alif…bas!
This was literally the conversation between me and my sister. I messaged her to tell me her top shows and she said, “Alif” and I replied, “Bas?”.
Either they have already seen it or they wish to watch it; You won’t hear a single person complain against this spiritual journey conceived by Umera Ahmed, executed brilliantly by Haseeb Hassan, and lived by Hamza Ali Abbasi, Sajal Ali, Kubra Khan, Ahsan Khan, Pehlaj Hassan, Saleem Meraj, Lubna Aslam, Hadi Bin Arshad, and Manzar Sehbai.
It is important to mention each and every one of Alif’s lead actors here because when you watch Alif you don’t go, “Wow, they’re acting so well”. You feel the helplessness of Momina when she’s begging for money to take her brother’s dead body home. Abdul Ala’s arrogance hits you with the same force as it hits Qalb e Momin. You feel as betrayed as Husn e Jahan when Taha puts all his guilt on her and flees.
Alif is not simply a show, it’s a journey
Albeit a slow-paced one, but that didn’t bother many. Most of us had read the book so it was natural for us to keep thinking in terms of “when will this happen, when will that happen”. The only thing that did bother me (even in the book) was the abrupt nature of Momin and Momina’s romance. In the novel, at least we had a scene where they meet (not exactly) in a plane before Momin comes up with the idea of a film called Alif. In the show, we see Momin is all woo-ed up a little too quickly and similarly, Momina reciprocates a bit too quickly. There should’ve been a few meaningful scenes that lead up to that.
People argue that Alif wasn’t a romantic show, hence, lack of focus on the two M’s love story. I’d like to disagree. I perceived it as a story where two individuals act as catalysts for each other’s spiritual journey, and that bond I feel wasn’t shown effectively. That is probably the reason why people might not be talking about Alif in years to come. It might fade away and nothing will make me sadder if that happens.
Ehd e Wafa is your fresh piece of content this year!
The ISPR production may be a propaganda show for many, but the truth is: it was a crowd-pleaser. People watched it despite it being dubbed ‘sasta ABC’, which cannot be true because look at those handsome lads at the helm of the four diverse stories – Ahmed Ali Akbar, Ahad Raza Mir, Osman Khalid Butt, and Wahaj Ali. Please go ask MD Productions and the ISPR how many bucks went into roping the beautiful boys.
Apart from the beauty in the form of male leads, Ehd e Wafa also delivered some beautiful messages (even if they were sponsored by the ISPR), moments, and finds. Adnan Samad Khan is one such find. Gulzar’s presence would instantly light up the screen and his soulful song in the last episode teared up even the strongest of people. I am talking about myself and my six sisters.
One thing worth noticing is that Ehd e Wafa was more of a hit amongst the younger audience and mothers. Mothers want their sons to be like Saad and Sheheryar and the younger lot aspires to be as perfect as the leads – barring Shahzain – of Ehd e Wafa. So, if you’re in your thirties (like me) and think Ehd e wafa didn’t quite hit the spot, then honey, let’s face it, it wasn’t for us.
I still remember walking in on my mother as she was gushing over the surprise birthday Saad throws for Dua. If she could, she wouldn’t mind adopting Saad and his Dua.
The biggest pro was the theme – a coming of age tale of four boys. How often do you see that in a Pakistani show? Another plus was the endearing romance between Saad and Dua, Shazain and Rani, and of course our masoomana couple: Sherry and Masooma. Unfortunately, Shariq and his lady love (Hajra Yamin) didn’t have much of an arc. The biggest plus, for me, was that they didn’t show the female supporting characters (I won’t call them leads) as doormats.
The major con was that they didn’t add nuances to Saad’s character or story, leaving Mir with nothing to play with except for screen space. Apart from that one major mistake, he does nothing wrong. He’s the perfect son, perfect brother, perfect colleague (he prevents divorces from happening for heaven’s sake) and the perfect husband. Do privileged people actually lead uninteresting lives?
Nevertheless, everyone acted impeccably and Saif e Hasan directed it to perfection. Ahmed Ali, my personal favourite reinforced that if given the margin to perform he can squeeze those tears out of you and Osman Khalid Butt came as a pleasant surprise too. In Diyar-e-Dil he was out of his comfort zone and it showed. In Aunn Zara, he was in his comfort zone, and again, it showed. In Ehd e Wafa, he proved any zone can be his comfort zone.
Interestingly, the most common feedback which came forth was, “Kaash thora kam cringe hota”; and that’s a pointer for Mustafa Afridi to ponder over.
Pyaar Ke Sadqay made everyone go sadqay!
Honestly, I was expecting this Farooq Rind and Zanjabeel Asim Shah partnership to top the charts. Surprisingly, people around me are still unaware of Bilal Abbas Khan and Yumna Zaidi’s onscreen charm. But those who are aware, deemed PKS the top show of 2020. The only reason it isn’t at the top is that a lot of people didn’t mention it.
Since I also only Insta-watched Abdullah and Mehjabeen’s cute romance, I can’t talk in detail about the storytelling itself. What I do know is that it was a predictable story of unconventional characters. Zaidi nailed the quirky character as she always does and Abbasi was a bit too convincing as bonga Abdullah. The stammer, which he kept consistent, was a feat on its own. Then there was the fact that Abbasi executed a different brand of bongapan – Abdullah wasn’t anything like Qasim – which strengthens his place (yet again) in this struggling industry.
Another person that deserves a special mention is Srha Asghar for playing the strong, younger sister’s role so impeccably. Zanjabeel wrote an inspiring female character and I think we must applaud that.
Yeh Dil Mera wins the different concept of the year award!
YDM was watched by most of the people I spoke with; some left it in the middle, and others completed it and enjoyed it (in parts).
We say our writers don’t try their hand at different stories. Farhat Ishtiaq did with Yeh Dil Mera. And you know what happened? People called it a copy of Baazigar and some Turkish show which I haven’t seen, but is there a need? All Turkish shows have a brooding male, who is insanely rich, and his entire personality takes a 180 degree turn when he meets the headstrong female lead, who is poor (and possibly a liar), and their meeting either takes place in an office or a college.
That’s the plot for 90% dizis out there. They should experiment, yes. But are they failing to capture views? No. Pakistanis are watching it with much more interest than they watched Yeh Dil Mera. Why?
Because:
- We want our Pakistani dramas to be either Tanhaiyyan/Dhoop Kinarey or simply stop existing.
- We tend to fall for couples and their chemistries instead of stories.
But most importantly:
- We have suddenly become poor storytellers.
Yeh Dil Mera was a good story but it seemed the storyteller had a bad cough. He coughed through some important scenes, leaving the audience baffled and bitter. You can read the rant of my broken heart here: I Might Be In A Toxic Relationship With Yeh Dil Mera
YDM was my personal favourite in 2020. I gave my heart and soul to it and all it gave me was amazing performances sprinkled between disjointed and repetitive scenes.
I remember messaging the director, Aeshun Talish, and the writer, Farhat Ishtiaque, after the last episode because I planned to review the last episode and wanted to understand what went wrong. The review was never written, but they did clarify that it wasn’t the actors’ fault that there were continuity issues as is the popular belief.
“I feel people are upset about the ending that’s why they’re saying such things. They [Sajal and Ahad] were available and with me through and through,” said Talish. “People need to understand that it is not an open ending. Aina, who has been lied to for such a long time will obviously take some time to start believing Amaan again. Woh dono Darya Baagh mein hi hain bus ek kamre mein nahi hain. They’re together. And as far as those people are concerned who left YDM in the middle, well that can be because they either don’t enjoy this type of storytelling or they’re used to binge-watching shows. In YDM silence spoke louder than dialogues and maybe people failed to understand that.”
And in case you’re wondering if YDM had an alternate ending, Ishtiaq confirmed that she was very clear about this end since the very beginning. “Even when I started writing this story, Aina and Amaan’s fate was clear in my mind. No matter how justified Amaan’s reasons of taking revenge from Mir Farooq were, but in the process he used an innocent girl. Aina was betrayed by the two people she loved most – her father and her husband.”
Despite some loopholes, YDM did capture the audiences’ interest. People talked about it, even if it was to moan and groan about, “when will it end uff?” There is no denying that Ahad Raza Mir’s performance saved a sinking ship with equally power-packed support from Sajal Ali and Adnan Siddique – whenever the latter two were given the chance that is.
Mir came out as the star of the show, not simply because he delivered the dialogues perfectly or made sure he knew when to whisper and when to growl. He did all that with perfection, but what makes him the strongest contender for the best actor award are his non-verbal cues. His eyes spoke more than his words did. His body language conveyed the pain even if he didn’t spell it out. The anger and frustration would ooze out from every fibre of his body and reach the audience sitting on the other side of the screen. Mir has cemented, and elevated, his place in the industry with this performance, especially since Amaan was a far cry from our Mr. Perfect, Saad from Ehd e Wafa.
On the other hand, Sajal Ali held her ground, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much ground to hold. Some (very few) viewers felt she went a bit OTT, but guys, have you ever had a meltdown? I have and I am as loud and manic as her, and my father hasn’t even killed my mother and lied to me all my life, and my lying husband doesn’t even exist yet. Oh, and I also haven’t witnessed my mother’s murder. Yeah, so apologies to people who wish Aina to be subtle and understated. I am all for subtlety, but not at the cost of being unreal.
Ek Jhooti Love Story and Churails get an honorary mention…
Because they kept the Pakistani drama industries honor intact in 2020. Looking at these two Zee and M Content productions one can say that all is not lost…yet. If given the resources and freedom, our storytellers can still spellbind the audience. Churails and Ek Jhooti Love Story catered to two utterly different audiences, but interestingly enough, both spoke about women empowerment. EJLS spoke about it in a more domesticated way while Churails was more unapologetic and, hence, ruffled a few feathers.
Read: Churails – What Do Women Want?…Explained By A Man
And read: To Love ‘Ek Jhooti Love Story’ Or Not, I Can’t Decide That For You.
If it were up to me, I’d scoot them right to the top. Unfortunately, a large audience has not seen these gems because they cannot access the web series. Most of them don’t know how and others are still caught up in their anti-India stance.
Please read this piece to understand why you should be supporting these web series: Oh Zee, yet again?
Do Churails and EJLS have THAT Pakistani drama charm? No
Something’s still amiss and that makes me wonder whether it’s time for us to move on as an audience. Because that’s what I’m personally struggling with. I keep on comparing current dramas with dramas that I’ve enjoyed in the recent past like Yakeen Ka Safar, Dillagi, Aun Zara, Diyar-e-Dil, and Zindagi Gulzar Hai, and when they don’t live up to their standards, I’m quick to disapprove of them.
Why look back when you can look forward? Not in the direction of Jalan. Nope. But why not in the direction of Churails and EJLS?
Here is a message for makers: Please tell us a story which we can enjoy fully, without having to ignore a few things here and a few things there. That’s all we ask for.
What about sabaat
YEH DIL MERA