Hala Syed, Author at DRAMA PAKISTANI®

Hala Syed

Pakistani Cinema

Mera Lyari Is Actually About How Girls Survive Misogyny

Sometimes Pakistani films are slotted into one of two lanes: the raucous crowd pleaser or the grim award...

Opinions

Men Age Into Legends. Women Age Into Punchlines

Ageism and misogyny do not announce themselves as villains. They arrive smiling, joking, framed as banter. This...

Opinions

The Mother: A devastating family drama about being unseen

There are no villains in Usama Khan’s “The Mother”, only a slow suffocating absence. Absence of attention,...

ARY

Was 2025 the Year Pakistani Dramas Stopped Hating Women?

The most radical thing Pakistani dramas did in 2025 was stop blaming women. For decades, Pakistani dramas...

Pakistani Cinema

How Neelofar Romanticises Male Self-Absorption

It took me a while to muster the energy to watch Neelofar, and even longer to write about it because,...

Opinions

Kuttay (Rated 18+): Theatre That Bites Back

I thought of walking out of Kuttay: The Ones Who Don’t Bite at several points, a few people actually...

Hum TV

The Many Contrasts of Jama Taqseem

All love stories need contrasts to keep them interesting. Hum TV’s Jama Taqseem, written by Sarwat...

Pakistani Cinema

Intezar Farmaiye: Being Pakistani is a spectator sport (short film)

Intezar Farmaiye is a funny, painfully accurate time loop of Pakistani living rooms through the years....

ARY

Untangling deception in Shikwa

Shikwa is almost over, but it still doesn’t make sense. While some Pakistani dramas like Parwarish...

ARY Opinions

Ranking the Most Loving (and Most Harmful) Parents in Parwarish

Parwarish is most relatable portrayal of Pakistani family dynamics on TV today, eschewing melodrama and...

Opinions Pakistani Cinema

A Rom-Com Addict’s Review of Love Guru

If you love romantic comedies, you’ll spot the references in Love Guru instantly — from Hitch to Kuch...

Opinions

The Urgency of Responsible Storytelling in Pakistani Television

Television in Pakistan rarely pushes back. Most dramas reinforce the same message: don’t question authority,...

Hollywood

Must Listen: Mrs. Bibi Turns the ‘Aunty’ Trope Inside Out

While screens dominate our lives and visual content floods every feed, audio remains an intimate, raw,...

Book Review

Zareen’s Pakistani Kitchen Captures What Home Means

I read Zareen’s Pakistani Kitchen: Recipes from a Well-Fed Childhood cover to cover—not just as a cookbook...

Sitaron Se Agay scores here for choosing a distinctive sport and narrative

Express TV

Pakistan’s First Squash Drama: Does Sitaron Se Agay Score or Miss?

In a television landscape dominated by family sagas and romance, Sitaron Se Agay immediately stands out...

ARY

Why I stopped watching Bharam: 4 shows about sisterhood to watch instead

In a world where wearing jeans is a criminal act and virtue is measured in soft resigned sighs, the...

Hollywood Opinions

Watching Wicked in Pakistan: When Fantasy is more Real than Reality

Wicked: Part One (2024) may seem like an escapist fantasy but the film’s themes— fascist governments,...

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