Drama Update -- August 2016

Good lord - how did we manage to neglect the blog so bad? My heartfelt apologies to everyone who has been so patient with us! Thank you for STILL stopping by - I promise there will be (by hook or by crook) a new post up this week! But for now, let me go ahead and post an incomplete-but-now-complete post that I started in June. (I know, I know - beghairti ki inteha. Tauba!) Of course since I did it in June, I had to do over any reviews I had changed since then...so the opinions are totally up to date.

Honestly, I didn't watch any dramas for a month (month and a half? Two months?) and then spent a week, right before Ramadan and well into Ramadan, binge watching them. And then I got caught up with summer vacations and travelling and spent the last week catching up, so I haven't completely caught up with some dramas that were on my to watch list. (Which is good because I just promised yall another post within the week so...)

A lot of the dramas I was watching came to an end -- Naraaz, Sehra Mein Safar, Abro, Tere Mere Beech, Bay Qasoor. The last four of those were all the good vs. evil type but for some reason while the dramas managed to deliver on the evil, they didn't manage to satisfy on evil getting a taste of their own medicine. So that was kind of a bummer. 

At any rate, here's the rest of what I missed and caught up on...

Aap Ke Liye

I kinda like this, so far. It's another one of those poor girl marries rich guy stories (which I'm a sucker for) and if you don't watch the OST, you can convince yourself that the drama will play out like an epic Barbara Sharif Bollywood movie - you know, where she gets married to the guy and then evil saas aur nandoon ki akal thikanay karti hei in the most hilarious way possible.
Highlight - The fact that the hero and heroine are years apart is a part of the story, so it doesn't gross you out as much as it should. Arij Fatima plays the smart mouthed/borderline annoying Washma effortlessly. It's a breath of fresh air to see Waseem Abbass playing a slimey old lech instead of the evil/worthless ghareeb lardkion ka baap.
Lowlight - The actress playing the younger sister, whose storyline no one (i.e. me) gives two cents about.

Dil Lagi

I know I said I wasn't too thrilled with this drama in the beginning, but it finally won me over (matlab, with only two episodes, one would hope so!). Anmol is blinded by misunderstandings and anger and she's gonna regret her hurtful actions. Mohid couldn't be more of a picture perfect Prince Charming if he tried, but Anmol manages to (kind of) bring him to a breaking point. Shit hits the fan, ladies and gentlemen, but luckily gets resolved instantaneously (speaking when you compare it in in drama time). I love how Anmol's mom, sister, mother-in-law and nand are all actually trying to help her and not appearing and disappearing from the screen as a bunch of the writer's after-thoughts. 

Highlight - Imran Ashraf is hilarious as Mohid's sidekick and the comic relief and his love story with Anmol's sister is sweet and cute. He's an absolute treat to watch.

Lowlight - Can. Not. Stand. Mehwish. Hayat. Ufffff... And quite frankly, I don't care how good of a reason Mohid had to slap Anmol, it's still abuse and it's still unacceptable. "I slapped her for her own good." Wow. *taalian*

Main Sitara 

This 60s based drama effortlessly took us to a time and place when Bollywood produced classics we still love today. It's easy to imagine the characters as a part of that era. Saba Qamar makes you fall in love with Surraya, and root for her when she grapples with becoming Sitara and staying loyal to the woman who helped her get there.
Highlights - Everyone in their role shines. The casting in this drama -- wah. Dil khush hogaya!

Lowlights - ....and then there's Meera Ji, which is the only weak link. Her stilted - and unconvincing - dialogue delivery are an epicfail.

Note: Season Two is currently airing, but I haven't watched any episodes yet :(

Man Mayal

Well guys, Ayesha Khan finally made her appearance and it gives me immense joy to say, "I told you so." The drama has officially derailed and left us wanting to ask a million questions - why has the evil naukar become the most loyal naukar? Why is Salauddin so blind to Jeena and her maneuvers? Why is she living in his house?! Why is Manu such a door mat? The only character that makes sense is Mikael who has, at least, stayed true to his character. 

Highlight - Nothing. (Personal highlight: I managed to abandon ship like 10 episodes ago...really, I feel for everyone still watching this crap.)

Lowlight - Jeena calling Salauddin her "cutie patootie." My ears, they burn. Ayesha Khan is horribly miscast as Jeena. And Hamza Ali Abbassi's affected deep voice - I guess he's trying to portray how solemn/deep/sangeedah Salauddin is - is distracting and dumb. 

Mein Kaisay Kahoon

Honestly, I didn't bother to keep up with this. It started out cute enough, but it dragged on and on and on and I didn't feel like wasting my life to catch up. But I heard it ended well...so...if you watched it, picture me giving you a high five ;)

Mera Yaar Mila De

This drama - regardless of its many many plot holes, is my favorite mistake. It's filmy, it's fun, it's easy to watch. It also reminds me more and more of Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, except the heroine and Ajay Devgan actually had the decency to get married before he dragged her to Europe to find her one true love. I was all in for Mushq giving Fahad the "tum nei mujhe pyar kar na sikhaya, laykin Dabboo nei mujhe pyar nibhana sikhaya" speech, which didn't happen #Sad. But still, this drama was fun and filmy and I loved it....Hmm...I feel like I repeated myself there....

Highlight - Towards the end Striker gets limited screen time, but Sundus Tariq makes up for it as the talkative and bubbly Iqra. 

Downside - The younger sister's evil sister-in-law and her husband who can't stand up for her. I don't know why they needed this side story at all. Why didn't Zeba just get her happy ending?

Tum Koun Piya

I love Ayeza Khan, I like Imran Abbas, and I'm into cliched dramas about evil mother-in-laws, so this drama ranks pretty high on my watch list. The story flows effortlessly and even though it's predictable, I find myself won over and looking forward to each episode.
Highlight - Hina Bayat is off-the-charts convincing as the evil mil with double standards. Yasir Shoro is also killing it as the baighairat and gold-digging brother-in-law.

Lowlight - Sumbul and Ramish's relationship is a bit of a weak link, if you ask me. Sumbul seems too much of a strong and smart girl to let Ramish get away with the stuff that he does. (I'm glad she left.) Ramish's mom's wardrobe continues to distract.

Udaari 

Let's just cut to the chase - if you can only watch ONE drama airing right now, make it this one. The story, the lessons, the casting (for the most part), the acting, there is not a single thing that detracts from the awesomeness this drama brings to our screens every week. Ahsan Khan is easily the man of the hour - he should win every award possible for his amazing portrayal of the snake Imtiaz.

Highlight: To take such a sensitive topic and present it so flawlessly...I'm impressed beyond words. Bravo Team Udaari!

Lowlight: Farhan Saeed, as the arrogant band vocalist turned lawyer, is probably the weakest link amongst the players of the drama. 

Zindagi Tujh Ko Jiya (aka 100 Din Ki Kahani)

I haven't caught up with this either. I probably will though...eventually. I do know that it ran for a total of 60 episodes...#OneDay

So there you have it folks, dramas I watched, dramas I enjoyed, dramas I am rooting for, and dramas that I dropped. On my list now are Besharam, Saya E Dewar Bhi Nahi, BeAib, and maybe Intezaar and Dhaani (which airs on Geo and I haven't watched a single drama from Geo that wasn't totally blog worthy). I keep going back and forth on Zara Yaad Kar, but I think maybe it's just too far in to catch up with now, so it might just continue to be a miss as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks again for all your support and the kind words you've left while we were on our short hiatus! Hopefully, we'll continue to post more regularly now.

Happy watching!