I’ve been following this soap since it began and I am happy to report that my initial enthusiasm is still intact. I continue to enjoy the crisp story-telling and there are more than enough twists and tangles to keep me interested – great job by director Asim Ali, writer Nadia Akhtar, and the cast and crew of NGGS.
The story, as it has unfolded till now, revolves around the happenings in Malik family, headed by the matriarch Sangeeta; living with her in the ancestral haveli are her older son Malik Ayaz, her grandson Durab, and her granddaughter-in-law Saima. Saima’s husband is MIA so far. Also living in the village, is Sikander, who is a member of this clan as well, but in the tried and true tradition of feudal family politics has been raised by a family maid. Adding more masala is Malik Anwar’s family, who live in the city. Their daughter Sheheryal, an idealistic doctor, is engaged to her lecherous first cousin Durab. Given the long list of shortcomings in Durab’s character it is no surprise that Sheheryal’s brothers, Sahir and Saud are against this match.
Running parallel is the story of Zarlala, a runaway girl whose past remains a mystery. Wali, the child with her, is clearly not her son – but then who/where are his parents? Who/what is she running from? Murky as her past may be, her present is certainly intriguing. She has managed to arouse the interest of both, her degenerate boss Durab, and Sheheryal’s older brother, the upstanding Sahir. This incipient rivalry promises to evolve and build up to a showdown between the already antagonistic cousins. Add to this Sheheryal’s budding attraction to Sikander and we have the makings of a family feud of gigantic proportions – looking forward to the fireworks.
So far everything has been melding well. The story seems to be on track, direction, camerawork, and editing, all technical facilities, have been top-notch. Among the actors, Mawra and Imran Aslam are the pick of the lot. Sabreen Hisbani is delightful as the abandoned wife who has way too much time on her hands and is now bent on making life difficult for Sikander. Director Asim Ali is doing well moonlighting as the baddie sidekick. Shamoon Abbasi is spot on as the villainous Durab. The biggest disappointment to date has to be Sana Ismail as Zarlala. Given that the story revolves around her, she has failed to make an impression. The perfectly made up face, no matter what the situation, coupled with her lack of expressions, make it hard for me to buy into Zarlala’s damsel-in-distress story.
Overall, Nikhar Gaye Gulab Sare has been impressive so far. Having seen quite a few of the newer serials, I stand by my earlier assessment that this is way better than so many of the primetime dramas currently on air. Given that it has an ambience more akin to that of a mega-project, I am perplexed as to why this is not a serial with the standard 37-39 minute episodes. In this present format, where episodes are around 17/18 minutes, the cutoffs seem rather arbitrary and forced. Another thing I am unable to fathom is that given that this story is inspired by/adapted from Shazia Chaudhry’s novel of the same name, why is she/her novel not being credited. I have checked the “official” FB page and the Hum TV network channel, but I don’t see it mentioned anywhere. Nadia Akhtar has done a great job with the adaptation, but it would be good to have the “inspiration” acknowledged. It is entirely possible that it is indeed mentioned in the end credits, but since even the HUM TV YouTube channel cuts off the end credits it is hard to know. Perhaps someone could clarify this issue, and also ensure that in the future complete episodes, along with all the end-credits, get uploaded on the official channel.
Written by SZ~ [email protected]
Follow me on Twitter: SZ_DramaPakistani (@sz_dp)
