Generally speaking, I am not a fan of soaps, I detest the very thought of never-ending sagas, but after watching the first episode of this latest offering from director Asim Ali and MD Productions, I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. Nikhar Gaye Gulab Sare, so far, does not have the look and feel of a soap, rather the overall ambience is closer to that of a mega-serial. There seems to a clear-cut story which has gotten off to a promising start. In fact, the opening looked so much more appealing than the first episodes of the regular serials that have begun in the last week or so. This one I hope to follow, keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed that it will not make a sudden U-turn somewhere along the way and disappoint.
This is the story of a landed family in rural Punjab, with Sangeeta playing the family matriarch. Shamoon Abbasi plays the menacing feudal scion; his roving eye never misses a pretty girl. He is engaged to his first cousin Mawra, who is a finishing up her training as a doctor. Unlike her fiancé, this girl is an idealist, who wants to use her medical training help the people in her village, so she regularly visits the family haveli in her ancestral village and runs free clinics while she’s there. Imran Aslam plays the family driver, Sikander, who seems to be infatuated with Mawra. The rest of her family’s in the city, and Hassan Niazi is playing her brother.
Running parallel is the story of a girl who was apparently locked up and abused for ages. Finding an opportune moment she murders her captor and flees with her child. With nowhere to go, she boards a train, bracing herself for the challenges that face her at the unknown destination. The precaps show that the train will unfortunately never complete the journey. Where this girl ends up, and what is her back story, is something I’m looking forward to seeing more of tomorrow.
Directed by Asim Ali, and written by Nadia Akhtar, this serial has many big names in the cast, including Sangeeta, Faisal Rehman, Shamoon Abbasi, Sabreen Hisbani, Rashid Mahmood, Imran Aslam,Hassan Niazi, Shazia Afghan, and Mawra, among others.
I like the way the story is being told, crisply and efficiently. There were no long sequences and the two tracks melded well – great job by Asim Ali. The actors were all good. I enjoyed seeing Mawra play a toned down character. Shamoon is playing yet another bad guy role here, and it will be interesting to see how he can make this one different from his other outings. I am a fan of Imran Aslam’s, particularly after Sanjha, so I am looking forward to seeing how Sikander shapes up.
As first episodes go, particularly for soaps, this was a very well-done opening chapter, and my interest is piqued. I hope that Nikhar Gaye Gulab Sare continues to build on this initial momentum and not lose steam somewhere along the line.
Written by SZ~ [email protected]
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