The way things are going I am almost afraid to say how much I like Dayar e Dil . Every time a new serial comes out from Hum Tv, I think hooray here we go , the good stuff is coming ! Sadly I and so many drama fans have been so disappointed that it’s hard not to be cynical . However I will be brave , stick my neck out and say …. come on out guys it looks good. Dayar E Dil is thank goodness no Ahista Ahista . It has Farhat Ishtiaq’s fabulous story to back it up and her much more honed and fine tuned script writing skills are showing ! Finally we see Haseeb Hassan, the director of Nanhi again as he weaves so many characters in and out of the narrative without losing the viewer for an instant. The whole episode and hopefully the entire serial has been beautifully shot , the DOp Zaib Rao has done an amazing job giving the small screen , cinematic depth and making full use of the breathtaking , raw beauty of Baltistan.

The director has made  a fast paced , well edited beginning to this inter generational story . The DeD team seems to have chosen a linear route rather than the flashbacks described in the novel. Now here is my one (rolls eyes ) inevitable complaint : Why not show that thrilling /cryptic beginning ? please  credit the audience with some intelligence . as it is we got a voice over and a fuzzy image in lieu of Osman Khalid Butt who plays Wali and then a quick zip into the past as we are introduced to Suhaib . Ali Rahman is all kinds of cute as he rolls around trying to be on time to pick up his father’s friend’s daughter and bossy Eshita Sayed .  The action picks up from there as we learn about the rest of the family . Agha Jan is Suhaib and Behroz father . He has betrothed his eldest son to his brother’s daughter Arjumand since her birth . Arjumand is quite happy waiting for Behroz and,girl who wouldn’t be ? Mikaal has lost buckets of weight and looks as if he is back in his twenties . With the background score and Mikaal in such good shape It almost feels like I am watching Durr e Shehwar again . Mikaal is playing a similarly arrogant and brusque character (la belle dame sans merci all over again) .

Rebellion is in the air because Behroz has fallen in love with Roohi , A girl from Lahore where he is presumably studying ? Roohi is played by Sanam Saeed , who as usual has the best screen chemistry with Mikaal . I am a little apprehensive about Sanam as Roohi …… Lower middle class girl , with a grudge against her condescending , rich in laws …sound familiar ? Hmm I really hope not . I think Sanam needs to pick more versatile roles , she is a very talented actress and has an incredibly powerful screen presence. She certainly looks beautiful and this role seems a lot softer so fingers crossed  . the equally beautiful Hareem Faruqi plays the woman wronged by Behroz and his Roohi ..i.e Arjumand the official but Unwanted Fiance and she does an excellent job . here is another versatile actress to watch out for if only she can keep away from Dusri Bivi type roles and too much red lipstick ..

The story looks pretty predictable from the promos , but just like Humsafar it’s all in the execution and the acting , both of which seem to be top notch for now. Momina Duraid seems to have spent a lot of time , money and effort on this and It looks like it is about to pay off . Now why show it on Tuesday and not Friday ? Well…. From what I can glean, no one one wants to compete with the kings of greed and crazy materialism that now rule the weekends , I am keeping my fingers crossed that this serial will help return dramas to their throne on a Friday night .

Ok one more complaint : wouldn’t it have been nice if Haseeb Hassan had sat down and said ” right , we are going to shoot the drama now , could everyone speak Urdu or could everyone get a Pushto accent ” who knows what happened there , perhaps everyone else’s Pushto accent wasn’t as cute as Ali Rahman’s, and they all gave up ?

I always forget to mention the Ost , which is haunting and melodious , just right for this story.

so overall a great start , just wish I could have seen Wali .

written By Sadaf

Sorry guys I think I called Behroz  Bayzaad . My bad .. have corrected it ..maybe I am tone deaf or something but this happens a lot with me .. will try to do better :)