As promised multiple times over, here is finally a short review of Des Pardes.
I was in senior school when this play went on air, and I still remember the hype surrounding it. As I wrote in my review of “The Castle” rumours were rife that the writer, Haseena Moin, actually went to Scotland, lived there for some time, and then wrote the serial, based on the many true stories she learned. In this day and age, when unfortunately, we do have writers writing about things of which they have little or no idea, Haseena Moin’s script was full of real, believable characters and a multiple, equally strong story lines.
There is a golf player, played by Nadia Khan, who is on her way to Scotland for a tournament. She also wishes to meet her mother’s estranged family.
Then there is the psychologist, played by Tasmina Sheikh, the businessman and his son (Talat Hussain and Zulfikar Sheikh) and Nabeel – to date, I have not been able to figure out Nabeel’s role in the drama. He basically dwelt on the past and then he teamed up with Nadia Khan as she got on a quest to figure out the mystery of the locket given to her by her mother.
Another story was of the smuggler played by Hassam Qazi who marries a village girl Taaji only to desert her at the airport once he has cleared his luggage from customs. Taaji ends up in a doctor’s house (played brilliantly by Qazi Wajid) whose assistant (Sami Sani) finds her at the airport and brings her home.
And finally, there is the Dada ji, who was my favourite character in the serial. He is the Dadi ji of the whole village, and I for one, was glad to note his grandson was able to return to him and meet him!
The story line was brilliant; there were enough tracks to keep you totally engaged throughout. All the characters were believable, and a range of emotions was put across brilliantly by Dada ji, Talat Hussain, Qazi Wajid, Nabeel, Nadia Khan and the actress who played Taaji. There was a glitch though especially in form of the “ghost” story behind the locket which I felt was totally unnecessary. Tasmina and Zulfikar Sheikh cannot act to save their lives but put up a fairly decent performance. The ending was very predictable but overall, it was worth watching and definitely much better than a lot of contemporary drama serials.
The excellent OST was by Uzma Shah!
Those who have the time and the inclination should definitely give this drama a try!
Written by Drama Buff ([email protected])
