Written by: Hareem Zafar
Posted on: December 26, 2018 | 
| 中文
Momina Duraid’s latest period drama, the much hyped ‘Aangan’ finally aired last Thursday on HUM TV, pacifying the desperately waiting fans. The television serial has been directed by ace director, Mohammed Ehteshamuddin, who has dramas such as Sadqay Tumhare (2014) and Udaari (2016) to his credit. The star-studded partition drama is based on Khadija Mastoor’s literary novel by the same name, published in 1962. It has been adapted for screen by Mustafa Afridi, who also wrote the TV drama Sang-e-Mar Mar (2016).
Ever since production began, the promos and teasers have been creating a lot of hype among the public, and when the serial was launched, fans couldn’t help but rave in delight. The stars of the drama seem to be Sajal Aly as Chammi, Ahad Raza Mir as Jamil, and Mawra Hocane as Aaliya. However, those who had been impatiently waiting to witness the chemistry between them were left disappointed, since this episode was all about the love story of Salma (Sonya Hussain) and Subhan (Ahsan Khan).
The first episode introduces us to a grand haveli inhabited by a wealthy Muslim family. The costumes, the makeup, the music and even the mannerisms of the characters transported you to another era. Salma is depicted as being hopelessly in love with the servant Subhan since childhood, and while he constantly turns down her advances, Salma is consumed by her obsession with him. Sonya Hussain comes across as romantic and passionate, while Ahsan Khan alternates between flirtatious and cautious. But it is Malkin (Zaib Rehman), Salma’s mother, who outshines everyone else in this episode. Zaib Rehman effectively delivers the role of a strong, empowered lady of the house - a harsh woman toughened by the pain she has endured in her life. Her husband, Abba Mian (Abid Ali) is a selfish man taken up completely by his relationships with his two mistresses, while Malkin bears the burden of running the household and taking care of their lands. The audience gets a taste of both her unflinching cruelty, when she catches Salma holding Subhan’s hand, and her longing for love and attention, when she starts talking to her son’s photograph during the course of the episode.
The promo of the next episode hints that Salma will run away with Subhan. Her dialogue, “Agar araam ya anjaam ki parwah hoti tou haveli chor kar na aati,” made popular due to multiple promos has a dramatic ring to it, and we can’t wait to see what becomes of her. Of course, everyone is also hopeful that we’ll get to see something of the romance between Chammi and Jamil or Jamil and Aaliya. Minor characters, such as Madiha Rizvi as Choti Bahu and Omair Rana as her husband, have their own intriguing storylines and hopefully we will get to see more of them as the story progresses.
The partition of the subcontinent was one of most brutal upheavals of our history, smeared with the sacrifices of thousands of families. But the biggest sacrifices were made by the women of that era, and Aangan intends to shed light on how the women suffered and silently bore the burden of it all. The drama is off to a promising start. With visually aesthetic shots of the Haveli, classical music as background score, powerful dialogue delivery and masterful acting skills, the first episode was quite engaging and the attention to detail was commendable.
Audiences have been drawing comparisons between Aangan and the epic period drama, Dastaan (2010), which was based on the novel Bano by Razia Butt, and also focused on Partition as a subject. However, Aangan is coming across as much darker so far. So was the first episode worth the hype? I would say yes! Next episode airs tomorrow, so make sure you catch it!
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