Does anyone remember Samira Fazal? Yes, the mastermind who wrote Noor Pur ki Rani, Mera Saaein, Dastaan and tons more. Well, she’s back, with a brand new drama that after only 4 episodes is slowly creeping its way onto my list of favorites.

Firstly, I’m going to have to explain the story a little bit, because it’s very interesting and pretty different from most dramas.

So there are these 2 second cousins, Nazia (Syra Yousuf) and Shazia (Sanam Saeed), who are twins…but not twins. They were both born on the same day, but to different mothers. And, apparently, their destinies are intertwined. Everything that happens to the one happens to the other, and their fathers even died at the same time. They live with Nazia’s mother (Samina Peerzada), Shazia’s mother (Rubina Ashraf), and their phuppo (Sakina Sammo), whom they call their “Phuppo Ammi.”

Now here’s where things get interesting. In their family, when a child is born or an important event is about to happen, the family members always use astrology, or have istakharas done for it. So the mothers did just that, and found out that while Nazia is going to live a nice and happy life, Shazia is going to be in misery her whole life, because of Nazia. Shazia doesn’t believe in this, but Nazia does.

Shazia’s character is really  strong-willed. She isn’t afraid to mouth off to her mothers, and is a lot more adventurous than Nazia. She doesn’t seem to know when to stop talking, and you can just tell that she’s the type of girl who’s always getting into trouble.

Nazia, on the other hand, is really quiet and soft-spoken. Her mother is always telling her how to behave, and she follows everything her mother tells her to do. The two have a strange friendship, but it’s a strong one nevertheless.

Meanwhile, the 3 mothers all have problem of their own. Shazia’s mother is nice and amiable, is always keeping the peace between Phuppo Ammi and Nazia’s mother. These two fight a lot, and I suppose we’ll find out why soon.

Another interesting point: Nazia is very pretty, Shazia is much less pretty. And everyone knows it. Shazia doesn’t care, but everybody else seems to. But while Nazia has beauty, Shazia has money, and these differences are sure to play a big role in the future.

And then there’s this guy, Shehbaz (Adeel Hussain). Shazia talked Nazia into skipping college one day and going to watch a movie. Their mothers are very strict, make them wear burqas, and pretty much never let them leave the house. This is the first time they’re ever going to watch  a movie, and Nazia is really worried. However, she goes anyway, and they get into trouble with Shehbaz, the owner of the store. Long story short, they now owe him money. He comes to their college the next day to get it, talks to Nazia, and BOOM he likes her. Classic romance formula, nothing really out of the ordinary.

So Shehbaz likes Nazia, and he wants to meet her. He calls her and asks for him to meet her in a restaurant, and she says yes, thinking that he’s going to be asking when they’ll pay him his money back. However, when Nazia and Shazia skip college again and head over, he asks Nazia if she’ll marry him and if he should come with a rishta. She says yes, but then their Fatima Khala shows up, and the screen goes black. When it comes back into focus, Fatima Khala is dragging them into their house and tells their mothers her perception of what happened. Nazia’s mother beats her up, Shazia’s mother wants to kick her out of the house, and the whole thing is just chaotic.

I really don’t understand why these mothers are so crazy. They’re willing to kick their kids out of the house, and Nazia’s mother nearly killed her, just because…because what? Do they even know what happened? I hate this sort of mentality, in which what the parents think is always right. The kids don’t even get a chance to explain their situation.  As Shazia said, “Humari maaon ke dil nahin, sirf naak hain.”

Shehbaz and his sister Raafia come to ask for Nazia’s hand in marriage, and Nazia’s mother flips out. “Mithai ki dukaan?!” she screams, “Yeh din kaisey aya jab meri beti ke liye mithai waale ka rishta agaya?” Needless to say, Shehbaz and his sister are kicked out of the house.

So now Nazia isn’t allowed to go to college, and her mother is going to get her married with whichever rishta comes knocking. Shazia wants wants her to run away with Shehbaz, but Nazia doesn’t want to hurt her mother again, and says no. Nazia is soon engaged with some Fahad character, while Shehbaz goes around being crazy in love with Nazia.

And that’s where we are now. All in all, this drama seems pretty interesting. I was told by a friend of mine that Samira Fazal’s dramas are usually predictable, but I can honestly say that I have no idea what’s going to happen. I have assumptions of course, but there’s still a lot of variables to calculate in.

As far as acting goes, the three mothers are all doing a fabulous job, which is to be expected from such esteemed actresses. Adeel Hussain is doing a great job, but when we get to Nazia and Shazia, I have some reservations. Sanam Saeed is doing a pretty good job, although she slips up every now and then. Syra Yousuf on the other hand…well, she’s not  a very good actress. I didn’t think that she would be, to tell you the truth, as this is her first acting venture. It’s kind of sad that the main character of such a great serial is being played by such an inexperienced actress, but I suppose that she’ll have to do. With Nazia’s character, I think Syra Yousuf was the only person who could fit her physique. Firstly, she has to be super pretty. There’s tons of actresses that could fit that description, but then we move onto the second critique. She has to be very innocent looking, and around the 20-year old range. Here’s the part where any old actress won’t work. Keeping that in mind, I think that Syra Yousuf was the best choice for Nazia, acting skills or not.

This serial looks pretty promising, so we’ll see where it goes,

—Noorie