Back in the good old days of PTV, I was a HUGE fan of Zulfikar Sheikh and his dramas shot in Scotland. It used to be a big deal back then for a drama to be shot outside Pakistan. I remember so well us giggly girlies in the van discussing how Haseena Moin actually went to Scotland (gasp!), stayed there for months (another gasp!), studied the lives of people living there and THEN wrote a drama (dramatic sigh!). Yes, really, I was very much a drama buff back in tenth grade (read, 1999). All this was prior to the airing of Des Pardes. Then came Aansoo, and then came The Castle Aik Umeed in 2001.
I remember being totally bowled over by the sets and the ancient castle in which the drama was shot. Add to that a star cast and Haseena Moin’s script and you had a masterpiece.
The story, too, at that time, seemed more original than what was on air. A rich businessman (played by Talat Hussain) loses his son and daughter-in-law in a tragic accident. His lawyer (Shagufta Ejaz) tracks down his relatives and invites them over because a new will has to be made. And so they all arrive. Asma Anwar, Bilal Ahmed, Tasmina Sheikh, Rehan Sheikh, Humayun Saeed, Nayyer Ejaz, Samina Ahmed and Shakeel play the various relatives who are in total awe of the castle and its inhabitants.
The best part about this serial was that it was tragic, yet funny. You wanted to empathize with the father who was missing his son and the mother (Samina Ahmed) who was anguished by her mentally disturbed son, played brilliantly by Rehan Sheikh (his favourite phrase was: “Main bara ho gaya hoon”). Yet, you wanted to laugh out loud at the antics of Nayyer Ejaz and Humayun Saeed, both fortune-hunters who hear about some diamonds hidden in the castle and set out on a quest to find them.
Of course, you can easily overlook the fact that Asma, Bilal and Tasmina cannot act to save their lives, though they tried hard to put up a decent performance. Another fact over which my classmates and I laughed ourselves silly were the names of the characters – Chanel, Armani, etc. Of course, Sumeet, Arsil and Fayez were more tolerable names.
The OST of the drama rocked with Waqar Ali and Uzma Shah.
Overall, it was a great drama! All those who get a chance now, DO watch it on YouTube. All the episodes are available.
Written by HA
