Written by: Dr. Saba Noor
Posted on: March 30, 2023 | 
| 中文
Danish Taimoor as Chaand and Ayeza Khan as Tara in Chaand Tara
For the last few years, the post-iftar entrainment is not only confined to cricket tournaments and Eid shopping, but special television dramas for Ramadan have also been a regular feature. Suno Chanda, Chupke Chupke, Paristan and Hum Tum are amongst the few popular Ramadan dramas that set the bar high. Many interesting serials are being aired this Ramadan, including Chand Tara, Fairy Tale, Tere Aane Se and Heer da Hero, all with the potential to carry forward the legacy of Ramadan dramas.
Komal Meer and Shamim Hilaly in Tere Aana Se
Chand Tara, directed by Danish Nawaz and written by Saima Akram Chaudhry, has achieved immense fame in the last few days. It is a delight to watch a real-life couple, Ayeza Khan and Danish Taimoor, as an onscreen couple, who have impressed us with their performance in their respective roles. The profound love affair of Ayeza Khan (doctor Tara) and Danish Taimoor (Chaand, a jobless engineer) is probably going to face some obstacles as Dr. Raazia (Saba Faisal as Ayeza’s mother) has acted as a thorn in the couple’s love affair. Taara lives with her mother in a disciplined home, while Chaand lives in a happy joint family. The drama is replete with romance, comedy and sudden twists, which makes it an interesting watch. The Romeo Juliet love story is prone to the familial controversies as Dr. Razia has issues with Chand’s extended family, but Behroz Sabzwari (Tara’s father) is expected to bring a twist in the story. Young actors of the industry also feature in the drama, such as Ashir Wajahat as Hashi and Maha Hassan as Roomi, both as TikTok celebrities.
Saba Faisal, Ayeza Khan and Behroz Sabzwari in Chaand Tara
Fairy Tale, written by Sarah Majeed, directed by Ali Hassan and produced by Momina Duraid Productions, is a romantic-comedy drama being aired on Hum TV. Sehar Khan plays Umeed Pasha and Hamza Sohail plays Farjaad, the lead couple on the show, and the drama revolves around their love story. Apart from the lead actors, a number of supporting artists, including Ali Safina, Adnan Raza Mir, Hina Rizvi, Saleem Shaikh and Aina Khan, also feature in the drama. Seher Khan (Umeed Pasha) is living in a world of her own imaginations, who is looking forward to shortcuts to become a billionaire, and it’s where the name of the drama comes from. Ali Safina is playing the role of a host of a game show “Socho Pakistan”, which may be inspired by Fahad Mustafa’s Jeeto Pakistan. The confusing part is that the portrayal of the game show is either showing the negative impact of such game shows in making younger generations more materialistic, or is it an attempt to create a story with a different background, remains unclear. Viewers are certain that the story is soon going to revolve around the two main leads, Sehar Khan and Hamza Sohail, whose characters are polar opposite. Favorite character of the serial is the loving Aago Jaan (Hina Rizvi), who is probably suffering from Alzheimer’s (forgetfulness), making us recall Momo of Bulbuley. Fairy Tale is quite analogous to last year’s Ramadan serial Paristaan, as the main cast is shown to have numerous similarities with Aimen Saleem and Arsalan Naseer, the lead pair of Paristan.
Sehar Khan, Ali Safina and Hamza Sohail in Fairy Tale
Heer da Hero, yet another romantic comedy, aired on Geo TV is written by Amar Khan, directed by Saima Waseem, and produced by Abdullah Kadwani and Asadullah Qureshi. Anyone who has seen last year’s Chaudhry and sons, won’t find anything different in the ongoing drama because it has the same director, actors and is being shown on the same channel. It is disappointing to see Imran making almost no effort in changing his mannerisms and acting.
Imran Ashraf as Hero Butt and Amar Khan as Heer Jutt in Heer Da Hero
The story, however, is confined to the political battle between two Punjabi families, Butts and Jatts. Leading characters of the serial are Imran Ashraf (as Hero Butt), who isn’t much different from Billu Chaudhry of Chaudhry and sons, and Amar Khan as Heer Jatt, a tiktoker. The title, Heer Da Hero, indicates that the two lead characters, despite political differences between the two families shall end up getting married to each other. Let’s see how the story unfolds. Rahim Pardesi, a renowned Youtuber has made his debut into the drama industry for the first time as Heer’s cousin. The supporting cast includes Usman Peerzada, Afzal Khan Rambo, Waseem Abbas, Kashif Mehmood, Munazah Arif, Kinza Malik and Ahsan Afzal khan (Rambo’s son). Rambo’s character (Rasheed chachu), a bachelor in his 40s, is quite similar to Yasir Nawaz’s Taashi Maamu of Chaudhry and Sons.
Tere Aane Se is another Punjabi Ramadan comedy drama being airing on Geo TV. It has been directed by Zeeshan Ahmed, penned by Samra Bukhari, produced by Abdullah Kadwani and Asadullah Qureshi. Leading characters are Muneeb Butt as Mahir and Komal Meer as Rania. This drama is boring, as both the storyline and the performances are non-starters.
Hira Soomro, Inayat Khan and Komal Meer in Tere Aane Se
Geo TV’s dramas for the last few years have nearly identical plots. In fact, seems like the dramas (Tere Aane Se and Heer da Hero) are very similar but with different titles. Geo TV dramas not only remind one of the dramas of the previous Ramadan, but also have much in common with each other. These serials begin with their lead characters in conflict with each other, but end up falling in love and getting married by the last episodes. Moreover, the dialogues of the serial can be witty, even if not in Punjabi. It is unpleasant that a popular television channel keeps on depicting one particular language and culture. Though Geo TV started the trend of Ramadan serials, but seems like its failing to keep pace with serials being produced on other channels. Drama industry should give a chance to new directors, writers, producers and actors for otherwise it is becoming stale.
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