First of all let’s get this Soap business out of the way. What happens when everyone’s expectations are low and you start a project with no particular fanfare but through dint of sheer hard work and pure talent you surpass every limit set on you by the medium? A well produced, highly addictive serial like NGGS, that’s what.

I was hooked by the first episode, here was that typical dreadful family one finds in Soap operas with deep characters flaws of greed, jealousy, cowardice and arrogance with only one way to go; down. But, happy surprise, the characters who actually had any scope for betterment developed, matured and improved themselves. My greatest complaint with Soaps and why I never, as a rule watch Indian dramas, is that unlike actual people the imitation humans on screen never learn anything. They keep landing in the same mess they were in five episodes ago.

The strongest part of any play, serial or Soap is the characterizations. I have to say full credit goes to the excellent Nadia Akhtar who wrote the adaptation from a novel by Shazia Chaudhry She kept a steady hand on each personality allowing some to develop; like Sekander who goes from shareef aadmi made of custard to hard man made of steel.Ready to take on all comers for his rights and duties,without losing his essential humanity . I have to confess to being a fan of Imraan Aslam ,he is one of the best young actors around and was amazing as Sekander.For others like my own favourite Duraab, there was no redemption .According to the Hare checklist one of the quickest ways to recognize a psychopath is there inability to feel true empathy with anyone. Duraab certainly qualifies,played brilliantly by Shamoon Abbasi.His hobby is rape ,murder is just a means to an end and as to relationships ,I think he enjoyed his bottle of alcohol a lot as he was often in its company. Even Wadi Malkani ,Sangeeta, managed to learn and grow as a person but not her son (duraab’s father) he was left wondering the village calling the name of his dead son.An apt ending for a man who believed himself invincible simply because he had been born into a certain family. At the risk , naye certainty of repeating ,myself I must mention my other favorite, Saud. Oh Saud you are just a perfect parody of all the obsessed lover types we see dancing across our screens in various dramas. A rich , spoiled,immature young man determined to marry the girl he has set his mind on. The abduction scene was one of the best unintentional scenes of comedy I have witnessed in a long time. I watched open mouthed as Saud told his potential victim to wait a minute before he went to his care to take out what was obviously chloroform. Oh and his victim, the uber feminist Mehreena stood patiently waiting outside her car.On a more serious note how awful, if anything like this were to happen in real life it would be the worst form of sexual harassment and it really should not be glamorized . Saud’s reaction to Mehreena’s rejection and betrayal was sad but the cynical Punjabi Nand in me had a not so quiet laugh ..Zan Mureed , got what you deserved. However instead of collapsing he actually lifts himself up and acts like a Man starting the process to cut off this now toxic relationship.

Whatever Faysal the actor playing Sahir is drinking/eating to make him eternally youthful, could I have some? In another drama he is playing a father and here a young man in his early thirties. Not once did he look out of place.He did a great job of anchoring all the othe rmore extreme characters , a decent, moderate  person from beginning to end, how was he related to the Maliks again?

The female characters in NGGS proved, each one of them had true Malik blood running in their veins. Mehreena, who hates Men and manipulates the foolish Saud. Who could forget Saima Bhabi , what an amazing performance! A sad twisted woman who never rises above her circumstances but spirals further in to evil with every piece of bad luck life throws at her. I was torn between sympathy for her sad lonely marriage to a man who left days after their wedding only to return as a physically broken man years late;, and disgust at what she was willing to do to obtain Sekander .Her death was inevitable, because in feudal societies Men’s failings are easily overlooked but any line of so called honor crossed by a woman is rarely forgiven. Not one of these women was allowed to be a victim; each took whatever the plot line threw at her and threw it right back. Even Miss Goody Two shoes who marries the ever so slightly crazy Duraab to please her parents, not once was she overcome with any feeling of loyalty to him or badnaami ka dar when he tries to blackmail her family.The only quibble I have with her character is her seeming lack of grief after it looks like Sekander,whom she loves might have died .maybe that was due to time constraints.The weakest link was the Zarlala character, she has the courage to stab a man in the stomach but for most of every episode she is a sad dependent sort of character constantly looking for support.

The whole story was 73 episodes and that helped a lot because any longer and my mind would have wandered. I hear of soaps going on for hundred or more episodes and my heart fills with pity for the makers and the viewers .It as if both sides have accepted defeat and are just carrying on for the sake of appearances rather than any real engagement. The director, Asim Ali has to be commended for running a tight ship, no long unending scenes, no lectures or long monologues. Each episode was meaningful and moved the story along .I must put in a word of praise for whoever did the promos, they were good enough to tantalize but didn’t give away the hair raising plot twists which kept me glued.One element which often let’s Soap’s down are the production values, how many times have we seen one room or house repeated in drama after drama with little or no change? Well not this time, it was first class all the way. Something we have come to expect from this production house. Every set and outdoor shooting was visualized with imagination, yet not for a moment did it distract from the story the finale was highly satisfying , all the story lines were resolved with an easy touch, thankfully nothing too contrived. Just a few open ended assumptions. During the climactic (NON) divorce scene I told my cynical Punjabi side to sit quietly in a corner no one deserved a girl like Mehreena more than a guy like Saud..

So let me say Adieu and Fare thee well to the Maliks.. Thanks for some good times!!!

 Written by Sadaf~