OK, I must admit that my initial excitement about Durre-Shehwar received a rather huge blow when I saw the promos this morning. Until yesterday, I was totally excited about:
1) The original script of Umera Ahmed (I remembered Daam and my level of expectations went up several notches)
2) Direction by Haissam Hussain (Even after Akbari Asghari and Kuch Pyar Ka Pagalpan, I make sure I at least give one chance to this award-winning director’s drama serial)
3) Return of Sanam Baloch and Mikaal as the lead pair – I am loving them as Kiran and Shimraiz currently in KPKP and I cannot wait to see them do a more serious role and utilize an excellent on-screen chemistry they share)
4) Return of Nadia Jamil – her last two or three plays (with the exception of Meri Jaan) had her in too similar a role – a “victm” stuck in an unhappy marriage out of which she eventually breaks free and finds new love. For the first time, she is playing opposite Nauman Ejaz, another seasoned actor, who has unfortunately done too many over-the-top villain roles after Mera Saeen which is a total waste of his talent.
5) A mixture of new faces and veteran personalities: Samina Peerzada, Qavi Khan, Saba Faisal, Sajjal Ali and Affan Waheed – there is also quite a long list of actors/actresses who will be making their debut.
Anyway, so after all the hype and all the marketing, when the promos finally went on air, I felt like the winds have been knocked out of my sails. Granted we do not really know the story or the plot line (THANK YOU, Six Sigma and MD Productions), I felt the promos should have shown more – for lack of a better word – MEAT in the story. All we see is a seemingly docile Durre-Shehwaar whose marriage is being arranged to a rather-sinister looking Mikaal.
The next two promos show – should I cry at this – a typical saas-bahu clash with Saba Faisal telling off Durre-Shehwaar for various reasons. We also see the grownup versions of Durre-Shehwaar and her husband – fighting over something related to their daughter. Another promo shows the track of Nadia Jamil and Nauman Ejaz – it looks interesting, but I DO hope Nauman Ejaz has not done the two-timing-lover role AGAIN! Something tells me Nadia Jamil is going to play a character that is diametrically opposed to the one being played by Sanam.
For some reason though, the drama serial is, at least upon first look, rather typical Umera Ahmed with black and white characters we have seen in so many past dramas – a seemingly religious mother-in-law who tries to put down her daughter-in-law in every way possible (a cross between the mom-in-law in Uraan and Meri Zaat Zara-e-Benishan), a docile daughter-in-law and so on. I do hope I am proved to be wrong, but if drama serials hope to keep viewers’ interest intact, they need to do away with these stereotypical characters and request Umera Ahmed to write something different. Characters of the same kind who prop up in every drama serial do very little to engage the audience or send across any positive image. And can we PLEASE not portray religious hypocrisy – it has been done to death already!
In general, I am planning to follow this serial; I have decided I will not give up on it after a few promos – BUT I do hope Durre-Shehwaar will not prove to be another Aiman who renders all the sacrifices and puts up with everything meted out to her.
Oh, and this drama serial is a joint production between Six Sigma and MD Productions – at best, this means a minimum of production-related glitches. Er, or not!
Written by Drama Buff ([email protected])
