Tum Koun Piya - Episode 1

So finally, woh din aa he gaya jiss ka humein (what just me? Ok then, mujhe) itni shidatoon se intezaar tha...TUM KOUN PIYA FINALLY BEGAN AIRING!!

Ahem. Right. Now that that's out of my system...Let's talk drama. 

Tum Koun Piya has begun with all the cliches of a desi drama love story - the ghareeb but sughar and beautiful lardki, the khaali jaaib but izzatdaar lardkion ka baap, the unbelievably ameer and class defying lardka, the daulat ka garoor kar nei wala ikhlautay betay ka baap...I mean seriously. Nothing new here. 

There's also a separate story of Zarnaab and his chakkar with the khala ki beti and his all knowing chalaak maa jiss ke jeetay ji un dono ki shadi kabhi nahi hogi. 

Needless to say, these two families - Erma and Zarnaab's - are about to meet in ways yet to be seen.

With all this predictability, I guess the main question is, am I recommending or not recommending this drama? Hmmm...honestly, the first episode manages to keep my attention and I'm looking forward to watching more Ayeza...and of course, Imran Abbas isn't too hard on the eyes either. #FanGirl

I am happy to announce, however, that I haven't let my love of Ayeza blind me to any delicious bits in the drama. Here are the best parts I saved just to share with you all.

Erma and Ramish's first encounter...

Ghareeb baap that must've gotten Henry VIII's bed from the Queen of England for his service to the crown...

Yeh aankhoon ki ghustakian...Imran Abbas looks like he wants to kidnap and defile her, not make her the love of his life. And Ayeza Khan makes these weird glaring/sleep walking faces in return. #ActingFail #WheresTheLove

Depending on how the drama goes, I may or may not do a regular piece on it. But, as always, we'll be sure to keep you all posted on how we are feeling about the drama in our Drama Rating box (located on the right of the web page...not displayed on the mobile version, sorry).

Until next time - happy watching!

Drama Update -- March 2016

Wow a month goes by fast! I feel like we just did an update...ah well, four weeks is plenty for a drama to pick up or pack up. It's fun to go back and see how the dramas are still fairing one month later. So, without further ado, let's see how we're still feeling about the dramas that we are following...

Abro

I still don't know why I love this drama. I wish I could just watch it in one go. The drama makers have managed to make us go from hating Abro to sympathizing with her - and that's quite an accomplishment. I just can't wait to see where this drama is headed. In a perfect world, Abro and Ali should do something to totally redeem themselves to the parents (so his mom, Zubaida can die of shame for her horrendous treatment of Abro) and Fauzia should turn out to be a total churail and make Zubaida rue the day she married Abid to her. *fingers crossed*

Highlight - Ali has been an amazing rock of a husband to Abro, standing by her even when his mom has crossed all boundaries of rationality (and humanity). 

Lowlight - Zubaida's treatment of Abro is a bit OTT nasty. Also her hairstyle is a huge eyesore and distraction. 

Bay Qasoor

Why are we (I) still watching this crap? This drama is completely insane. Escape if you can!

Highlight - Aiman Khan's pretty to look at. Yep. That's the best I could think of. #pathetic

Lowlight - Who can forgive their husband and step-father after the complete nastiness they've pulled like Sadaf and Hira are doing in this drama? Also, why does this business tycoon keep marrying these bimbos? 

Dil Lagi

I thought about doing a dedicated review for Dil Lagi, but with only two episodes aired, I found there is not much to say. Mehwish Hayat's character is unnecessarily confrontational and of course our hero - the ghunda with morals - falls head over heels for her, because duh. Ghunda ghundi se pyar nahi karayga tu kiss se karay ga?

Highlight - Humayun Saeed ki onscreen kashish is undeniable and it gives us the fuzzy-feelies to see him onscreen again. 

Lowlight - Honestly, I find the unrealistic-ness of this drama a little off putting. The drama doesn't have a filmy feel to it, so the OTT character antics are not as forgiveable as they are with Mera Yaar Mila De (see below).

Gul E Rana

Ahhh. The drama we love to hate. I can't believe how many friends I have that are loving this drama (and hating our reviews lol). However, I stand by our reviews: this drama has too many holes and too little wins. In fact, it has no wins if you ask me. Please see the detailed post on the episode 15 update for further dissing of this masterpeice.  

Highlight - Only three episodes left...by next months update, this drama will be over. #Yay

Lowlight - Three episodes still left and Adeel shows no signs of reforming. This basically means he's going to reform at the very last second, making his already much-hated character even more hateable and if the drama makers really get crazy, then Rana will forgive him too - making us hate ourselves for watching this rubbish till the very end. 

Man Mayal

In spite of all the stars and pretty filmatography of this drama, I don't really see what the hype is all about. The story is progressing and the characters are all convincing enough, so I'll stick around to see where the drama is going. 

Highlight - Watching Talat Hussain in the drama was a real treat - in a limited appearance he is powerful and will leave you heart broken.  Also, I'm glad Mikael didn't turn out to be some psychopath - he's just a spoiled brat, partying it up on his parents tab.

Lowlight - This sinking feeling that Ayesha Khan is going to make an appearance any episode now... 

Mana Ka Gharana

I want to like this drama, promise. But it just seems to be going on and on and on with no destination in sight. Kissi tarhaan Mana ki shadi nahi ho pa rahi. Mana's mom is a total witch and I'll never forgive her for the horrible way she's treated and used Khizzer. 

Highlight - Maalik and Zarri's nonexistent but existent love story is endearing. 

Lowlight - Gul Bahar and Saleha are single handedly winning the churail competition. Also disappointing is how Ghalib and Maalik dont think twice about Khizzer's sudden personality change. 

Mein Kaisay Kahoon

This easy-going drama has turned into a never ending custody battle for a Montessori child and his non-existent jaidad. What a shame, the characters were so cute and the drama began with so much promise. 

Highlight - Right now the only reason why I'm watching it is because the story is tad bit different and because I only drop dramas midway under extreme circumstances (ex: Tumhare Siwa and Chup Raho).

Lowlight - The soteli Nani that appears and disappears as she wills. Rohail's mom that has got to be the worst fake-just-returned-to-Pakistan-from-overseas character ever. 

Mera Yaar Mila De

This drama is so filmy, so colorful, so entertaining, that I've decided to forgive its many flaws and just go with it. Faisal Quraishi is just too clean looking to pass as the mohallay ka gunda with a conscience. But, again, he's just so fun - especially with his loveable side kick, Striker - that it's entertaining to watch. 

Highlight - Sajjal Ali is absolutely stunning (Enrique must've sung, "Love to see you cry" with her in mind), Striker and Dadi are totally winning best supporting roles in this drama. 

Downside - Mehru Jee, for inexplicable reasons. Who the hell parades around Lines Area in Karachi dolled up like that?  

Naraaz

If you haven't seen our detailed post, feel free to visit it for the details on why this drama is derailing. This different storyline was a winner in our books, until the drama makers decided to push it into territory where it is unrecoverable from. 

Highlight - The child actor playing Aazar wows completely. 

Lowlight - Fareeha is dead, and Azlan's brilliant idea is to let his best friend adopt Aazar because he has better medical coverage. Or some stupid reason like that. Worst parent ever. 

Sehra Mein Safar

Iqra has rejected Ayaz and married the shady - and slimy - Shehreyaar. I must say, Emmad Irfani has come a long way from his monotone acting in Aasmano Pe Likha. If you have some time to spare, this drama is entertaining enough - even if it is slightly predictable. 

Highlight - Iqra's parents are in a two way tie (with Fareeha's parents from Naraaz) for the best parents ever award. Also, I'm totally in love with the OST.

Lowlight - Iqra's stupidity over monetary issues with her husband are just ridiculous. If she hands over her jewelry and committee money to him, she quite frankly deserves all the tears of regret she's going to cry when she finds out what a fraud her husband is.

Tere Mere Beech

Sanam Chaudhry is honestly carrying this entire drama on her fragile shoulders - and quite frankly, I don't know how much further she'll be able to carry it. It feels like we're just watching the blame Hareem game on repeat for the past few episodes and I really hope the drama will pick up the pace soon. Noor Hassan - as Nadia's rich but wishy washy husband Ali - is totally wasted in this drama. 

Highlight - Hina Bayat's sudden appearance, as unconvincing as it may be, is a breath of fresh air. Hopefully, Phuppo can now go back to her gaon and stay there. For the rest of the drama. 

Lowlight - Nadia and Sadia's constant berating and blaming of Hareem for everything is annoying and unjustified - especially since her jhat-phat marrying Fahad was all Nadia's fault to begin with. 

Zindagi Tujh Ko Jiya (aka 100 Din Ki Kahani)

As pointed out by many of our readers (thank you!), this drama has returned to our screens under a new but not-as-catchy name. Since I've seen the first 20 something episodes, I haven't been watching it, but will probably pick it up again once the unaired episodes begin.

Highlights: An easy watch with enough twists and turns to keep you coming back. 

Lowlights: You really want to wring Safia's neck. 

That concludes the drama update for the dramas we're watching. Some people have asked me about Pakeeza and honestly, it looks like an abusive husband story and down right depressing. I'm going to let some more episodes air and get some feedback before I consider watching it. There's a period drama Saba Qamar is doing that is supposed to air on TV One that I'm looking forward to. Along with the over-promoted Tum Koun Piya with Ayeza Khan. 

Please do comment below with any other dramas you're watching...we're always looking for good recommendations!

Gul E Rana - Episode 15

I woke up this morning to this good news...Seriously - 4th last episode? It's like a countdown to bidding this nonsense good bye.

Anyway, it managed to convince me to go and watch the last two episodes I hadn't bothered watching and isi khushi mein, let me present below the highlights of the latest installment of Gul E Rana...

The weird storyline of Asher Bhai continues. We now have confirmation, thanks to his sister, that he romantically-loves Rana (isn't it strange how confusing love is in Pakostani dramas? Love love, Bhai Wala love, romantic love, platonic love...), but even though he loves her - AND HE'S DYING OF CANCER, he's getting married to someone else. If I really cared, I'd try to understand the logic behind this. But since I don't, I'll just continue to harp about it. 

This wonderful censor moment by the makers of this masterpeice. I totally don't know which airlines this is. *eyeroll*

The moment we find out that mommy can't go to Murre because unki wahaan tabiat kharab ho jati hei because of the lack of oxygen. No. For reals. The writers left out all kinds of details in this drama, but decided to tell us why mommy dearest can't go to take care of McDouchey.

Speaking of the devil...we don't know what's wrong with him, except he has a cast on his arm and foot and he's a bigger baby than ever. Just look at that sick face. I hope he's not holding his breath for an Oscar or something for his performance. Sheesh. 

After everything she's been through, and after everything Taya Abu has learned, once more Rana is being guilted into do this family a favor. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, Taya Abu has extracted more than his fair share from Rana for providing a roof over her family's head. 

And poor Rana runs back to Murree in clothes that engulf her petite frame. Did the drama makers even bother to hire a wardrobe personnel for this drama? Humph. If you want to see Sajal Ali at her best, watch Mera Yaar Mila De.

It's annoying how characters appear and disappear at random in this drama. If Adeel is back, you'd think the leechy Maria and phuppi would come back and start making demands - but nope. That storyline ended without a bang and now no one cares about Adeel and his lies to Maria. 

I feel like the episode could have revolved much better around Adeel and his accident, but we were spared hospital and operation room shots (lucky us. They'd probably have a podiatrist operating on his brain.). Also, the naukar told Taya Abu about Adeel's harkatein last episode when he went to drag Maria home, but they left out half of it because in this episode they repeated everything. Again. And Taya Abu reacted like he heard it the first time. Again. And then he asked Rana to come to take care of Adeel because she's his kanooni wife. Did her nikahnama have a clause that said must perform all nursing duties if needed? If they're so filthy rich, why don't they just hire a nurse? Or helicopter him back to Karachi? But no, making Rana come back to Murree just makes so much more sense. 

From the looks of the next episode promo, it doesn't seem like Adeel is a reformed man after his accident and we have more stupid arguments to look forward to. Really guys, are we waiting for the last 15 minutes of the last episode for Adeel to have a change of heart?

Naraaz -- Outloud musings

Naraaz continues to be on our drama watch-list, but after the death of Fareeha, I keep asking myself, what is the point of this drama?

It's like someone decided to take it as a challenge and change the roti-dhoti, mazloom aurath storyline to the rota-dhota, mazloom mard story. How much more messed up can Azlan's life get? He loses his fortune, his property, his house. He finally gets a job and makes some money on an investment, only to lose his one true love. 

And now, for reasons that I must've snoozed though (ooops), he's giving his child to his best friend to raise. What?! WHY? What happened about Fareeha extracting a promise from Aisha on her deathbed? Why can't Fareeha's parents take care of Aazar? Azlan has come a long way, but he still hasn't understood that it doesn't matter what you can buy for a child, it's about loving the child. Honestly, Fareeha's death was in vain. 

You would expect he would go through the hard times and slowly reacquire everything he has lost. But yahaan tu sub kuch burra se maha burra hota ja raha hei. And even if he manages to rebuild his empire and bring Aazar back home, he can never get back Fareeha - so what's the point? 

Am I supposed to be looking forward to him getting his life back and then Aisha stepping in for Fareeha - because let me tell you now, I didn't like her when she secretly loved Azlan and Fareeha was alive and I don't like her now, even when Fareeha is dead. Poori dunya aik dhung kay rishtay ko ro rahi hei and here our drama makers continue to met out a 2:1 heroine to hero ratio. Like a guy doesn't care, yeh nahi tu dosari. #WTF

Anyway, I'll continue to watch Naraaz - for now. But one wrong step, and it'll be adios amigo from me! Who's with me?