Written by: Hurmat Majid
Posted on: April 21, 2021 | 
The Poster for 'Tana Bana'
The holy month of Ramadan is in full swing and while viewers focus on fasting, TV channels have taken it upon themselves to provide post-Iftar entertainment by any means possible. Game shows, extended live transmissions and of course the ever-popular ‘Ramazan dramas’ have once again returned to make the month enjoyable for the public.
Oftentimes, these dramas keep it lighthearted and romantic. Such a trend first started with the ‘Baraat’ series from Geo, and was then made popular once more by the 2018 and 19 seasons of the romance comedy, ‘Suno Chanda’. This year’s list includes three dramas from each major television channel, HUM TV, ARY Digital and GEO TV. All three dramas will be aired seven days a week, and will be wrapped up neatly by Eid-ul-Fitr.
The Poster for 'Dolly Ki Ayegi Baraat'
First is Hum TV’s ‘Tana Banaa’, written by Hassaan Imam, directed by Saife Hasan and produced under Momina Duraid Productions. The drama revolves around Zain (Danyal Zafar) and Zoya (Alizay Shah)’s struggle to keep their hopes and dreams alive, while adjusting to their family’s expectations about their new marital life.
Zoya has Zain sign a list of requirements before agreeing to marry him, which include her wish to complete her MBA before setting foot in the kitchen, and Zain praying five times a day with her. The twist is that Zain signs the agreement without actually reading it, and also fails to mention its existence to his family, who are confused by his sudden change of behavior.
This light-hearted commentary on the expectations society places on young, newly-married couples is quite entertaining. Secondly, it is refreshing to see the addition of an older supporting character who is a hopeless romantic and has chosen to live with his in-laws.
Alizeh Shah and Danyal-Zafar in 'Tana Bana'
There are of course flaws, like Javeria Abbasi’s over-the-top acting. But then she does get away with it, because her loud mannerisms conform to the conventional flamboyant mother-in-law character. However, she does have a kinder side to her, something that other weekly serials often fail to show. Other notable names in the cast include Komal Rizvi, Aamir Qureshi, Hassan Noman Qureshi and Ismat Zaidi.
The best bit about the drama is that it is concise and humorous. Every episode is 20 minutes with a five-minute recap. Not only does this make the episode easy to follow, but it is also enjoyable and straightforward. The net of relationships here is also less complicated to follow, as the drama depicts the lives and shenanigans of just one household.
The Cast of 'Chupke Chupke'
Moving on to ‘Chupke Chupke’, written by Saima Akram Chaudhry and directed by Danish Nawaz. This show becomes complicated too quickly for it to be enjoyable for post-iftar relaxation. The family dynamic is quite enmeshed, and 7 episodes in, viewers still aren’t sure which of the third generation’s children are real siblings and/or cousins. The story revolves around a dead man, Daar Ji, and his two households because of his two wives. The two widows (Asma Abbas and Uzma Beg) are entangled in a life-long rivalry, which carries on between their children.
Osman Khalid Butt and Ayeza Khan in 'Chupke Chupke'
While viewers are not quite sure of these family dynamics, they are certain that cousins Hadi Bhayya (Arsalan Naseer of ‘Comics by Arsalan’ fame) and Misha from the opposite sides of the family, are going to end up getting married to each other, and the same goes for Faadi Bhayya (Osman Khalid Butt) and Meenu (Ayeza Khan). The most hilarious aspect is that Khan does not look as young as her character appears to be, and this comes off as strange opposite Butt, who has once again managed to make zero effort to change his appearance or mannerisms for the role.
However, the above-mentioned problems do not bother viewers as much as how the show makes fun of men who live with their in-laws. Ali Safina’s character here is almost painful to watch. Unlike the romantic Shahid Phuppa from ‘Tana Bana’, Safina is shown to be totally under his wife’s control. Not only is this trope outdated and unbecoming, it is also uncomfortable to watch. The wife, played by Mira Sethi, is a controlling elder sister, who seems to hold the family together after their parent's death, but is actually very controlling and suffocating.
On the whole, this drama is a big miss, despite its star-studded cast and hype before airing.
Finally, we have ‘Ishq Jalebi’, another drama written by Saima Akram Chaudhry, but directed by Syed Wajahat Hassan. The one-hour-long episode airs everyday on Geo TV, and does not venture far from Chaudhry’s pattern of depicting household squabbles. It features a disgruntled patriarch with three or four children, who have their own sub-plots. The major plot of two young cousins pining for each other, weaves through the drama till it concludes with their happy marriage. Not only is the plot dull, but has also been done to death. One feels like watching the same drama, with characters of varying names and ethnicities, going through the same obstacles. It is disappointing to see a writer, who is held in such high esteem in the industry, resort to these outdated and predictable clichés.
The Cast of 'Ishq Jalebi'
‘Ishq Jalebi’ tells the story of Bella (Madiha Imam), who pines for her aunt’s son Basim (Wahaj Khan). Basim’s mother (Hina Bayat) and father (Noorul Hassan) run his maternal grandfather (Qavi Hassan’s)’s family mithai shop, which is where the title of the drama comes from. Two of the old man’s sons (Kashif Mehmood and Mehmood Aslam) went abroad, against his wishes, and cheated him out of property and land many years ago. Qavi Khan’s character continues to hold a grudge against his sons, who will return to Pakistan over the course of the serial.
Madiha Imam as Wahaj Khan as Basim in 'Ishq Jalebi'
Overall, the play is too tedious to enjoy. Also, there’s a lot of loud over-the-top acting, and Qavi Khan has once again been boxed into the role of the warm, informal, food loving grandfather. It is a shame that an actor of his range has been reduced to a stock role, with uninspired character traits and predictable dialogues.
The final verdict is that a succinct half an hour episode with a manageable amount of characters and a bit of cheeky fun is easily palatable, while viewers carry on their regular Ramadan activities. Anything with too many interlinked family characters is tiresome for the viewers, especially during Ramadan. That said, it’s always more pleasant to see quirky and warm comedies over endless episodes of women crying on screen.
There is hope that the light-hearted but well-written family comedy can make another comeback (think ‘Teen-Bata-Teen’, ‘Half-Set’ and ‘College Jeans’). But in order for them to succeed, their stories need to evolve just as those in our drama serials. The term ‘family drama’ implies that a drama is entertaining and relatable enough to watch and enjoy with the whole family.
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