Written by: Hurmat Majid
Posted on: July 06, 2022 | 
| 中文
Saman Ansari as Mai Lali
Dushman is turning out to be more intriguing than viewers expected. Even though the teasers were quite interesting, seasoned viewers of our drama serials are aware that a PTV drama will rarely be able to match the quality of a private channel's drama. We were proved wrong though, as not only does the drama have great production quality, it has also managed to hook viewers with its storyline and characters.
The story begins with the viewer finding out that the feud between the two families started when a man from Malikgarh and a woman from Rajkot fell in love and decided to elope. As they were running away, Rajkot's guards capture the two, and while the girl's head is shaved and she is put in solitary confinement, they take away the boy’s eyesight and return him to Malikgarh. Seeing what has been done to one of their own, men from Malikgarh go and kill a couple of men from Rajkot's ruling family, starting the tradition of vendetta. This eventually results in only women being left to rule, as no man is left alive on either side. Contrary to Badshah Begum, which airs on Hum TV, in which women lead the clan, here we get the context why women rule Rajkot and Malikgarh.
Hassan Niazi and Sabeeka Imam as Waris and Sassi
From the beginning of the serial we get to see where and how the conflict started, and how it progressed to the point where only one male heir is left on either side. Moving on, we see Waris (Hassan Niazi) from Malikgarh fall for Sassi (Sabeeka Imam) from Rajkot, when they both end up at the same university. Finding the truth after they are completely smitten, the two decide to secretly get married until they could find a way to end the generational conflict.
As life would have it, one day Sassi and Waris are discovered by Sassi's mother, Mai Lali (Saman Ansari), who instantly kills Waris and sends him gift-wrapped to Malkaani (Nadia Afgan) and Waris's mom. We later find out that Sassi's pregnant with Waris's heir and seeking to keep her unborn child safe from her own mother’s wrath and vengeance, Sassi decides to seek asylum in Malikgarh, without letting anyone know her real identity.
Nadia Afgan as Malkaani
Waris has a sister called Sohny (Rose), who was studying law in London and has just returned after her brother’s death, obsessed with vengeance. After the 8th episode, viewers are anxious to see if the conflict between the two sides can be resolved through love, or will hatred persist. The drama has managed to create an entirely fictional land that is credible. Malkaani’s right-hand man is Ranjha (Nayyer Ejaz), and on the other side, there’s Billya (Ayub Khosa). Both these men are tired of the conflict, but helpless in the face of the orders that both the leaders give them respectively. Even at this point, where the story is developing, we know that these two men will prove vital in solving the conflict.
Sabeeka Imam as Sassi
The lovers who became the reason of the whole fiasco are still alive in the drama. While Malkani has kept the blind man (Mohsin Gillani) with some dignity, Mai Lali can be seen treating the woman (Naila Jaffry) poorly multiple times.
Naila Jaffri in Dushman
The performances are remarkable with Saman Ansari as the only exception. Her nasal voice and badly delivered dialogues take away from Mai Lali's otherwise sinister personality. It is good to see Hassan Niazi in a meatier role than usual. He is often seen as an elder brother to the hero, but here he’s the leading man and it is heartening to see him romance his wife in flashbacks.
Overall, Dushman is a great watch and is airing on PTV. It is expected that it will be a shorter serial and take up more than 25 episodes or less.
Hadi Bin Arshad as Zain
The production scale and quality are stellar, and Mont Blanc Productions has done as good a job as a much bigger company like MD Productions would do. The fact that this drama is running parallel to Badshah Begum is a threat to bigger production houses like MD and 7th Sky.
The drama is written by Ali Moeen, from whom we have started to expect good scripts after witnessing his work in Jo Bichar Gaye. While we understand that Ali Moeen's writings are either complete hits or misses, we see that this drama is certainly one of his better works. The show is directed by Abdullah Badini, who is making a bit of a comeback after 2017.
The verdict is that Dushman is totally worth watching, especially as an alternative to daily Saas Bahu sagas that run on our television screens.
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