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!

Preet Na Kariyo Koi - Reasons To Watch

10 reasons why I am watching Preet Na Kariyo Koi...

1 - Ahsan Khan playing something other than a love sick puppy. No googoo eyes at the heroine. No button down shirts/polo shirts with jeans and black shoes -- please see exhibit A. 

2 - Hira Salman playing a girl with spunk but not completely overboard. She's smart and she's expressive, but it's not just her dialogues. It's her expressions too. Bravo. She sure has come a long way, if you ask me. 

3 - A stellar, perfectly assembled and styled cast. This brings me to...

4 - Ilyas (played by Hassan Noman). This guy has stolen my heart. I want him to be my cousin. My BFF cousin. He's that fun, seedha, dependable, sincere dude that you know is going to get his heart of gold broken by Goshi, but there's nothing you can do to stop it. Let's just hope Goshi doesn't ask him to prove his love for her with his life. 

5 - The drama is beautifully shot. The background, the wardrobes, the angles. 

6 - The background score and OST - you will find yourself humming it to yourself. 

7 - The story. I know. It's a(nother) love story. But there's politics involved. A conservative and all-seeing father involved. A wildcard entry of Maryam involved. Ghunda-pun involved. Indirect dialogue that requires thought. And here's what is NOT involved: dosari biwi, Bushra Ansari, jhat shadi and pat talaaqain, Zahid Ahmed, Zahid Ahmed with aik secret and/or platonic aur aik not-secret and/or not-platonic biwi, Waseem Abbas, Faisal Qureshi, Faisal Qureshi with do (teen, chaar) biwian...I mean seriously. Hope springs eternal for this drama. 

Conclusion: I say, let's give our boy (Ahsan) a chance to redeem himself after so many flops and watch Preet Na Kariyo...or for my sake, just watch it for Ilyas. :)

Tumhare Siwa - Episode 2

Episode 2 in a nutshell...

Samra's made up disease can only be operated on by foreign doctors. It is also expected to be ex-pen-sive. Way beyond the means of the flight attendent, Arsal. 

Oh, and she only has two months to live. 

Rania comes to Samra's house in bathroom chappals. 

These two have nothing to do but talk about but her bhai and bhabhi. *Yawn*

...uhh oh-kay....

The company representative starts to lay the foundation of the absurd direction this drama is about to head in...

Samra has an 'episode.' Since we don't know whats wrong with her, we can't poke any fun as to why she's being treated with an oxygen mask for a splitting headache...

Strike 2. Who CARES if Aazar can get a loan? I mean, bank walay abandon any semblance of sense and harp on and on about how Arsal isn't qualified for the loan but Aazar is. 

Strike 3. This company bigwig doesn't even bothering implying. He just outright says the only way you can get the money is if you marry her. #WTF

...over her dead nand's body...

The team could've made some effort to actualy make her look sick. 

Go ahead. Say it Rania. #DosariBiwiNonsense

This has to be the most ridiculous scenario the writer could've created. There is just so much wrong with this, but I will save it for the episode where everyone actually agrees to it. Because you know that's what's going to happen...

Tumhare Siwa - Episode 1

Like a good boy, Hum TV has provided yet another winner *cough cough*.

Let's just go ahead and judge this book by its cover, because with this cover you know some awesome-sauce blogging opportunity has presented itself on a silver platter to us. Two names people: Ayesha Khan and Ahsan Khan. Let the (blog) good times begin...

Check out the brooooo-mance. Woot woot! The second I saw these opening scenes, in my mind this started playing *insert the extremely addictive Party All Night (by Yo Yo Honey Singh) chorus and an image of me doing a touch down dance*. I mean, just look at these stills - those red glasses, jogging in designer polo shirts...#BloggerHeaven

Oh Mansha. I had put you on my 'like' list after your awesomeness in Mera Naam Hai Yousuf and then you decided to do this. Really. It's a shame (for you, Mansha) because this drama is obviously going to be a blogfest of screenshots and memes. 

Uffffo - overacting ki overacting. RIP any dreams Ayesha Khan might've had of being an actress in Bollywood. 

Here are the two happy couples: Aazar married to Rania and Arsal married to Samra. Aazar and Rania have a son Dani and Arsal and Samra have a daughter Neni. 

This is Tania, Aazar's sister that looks ten years older than him but calls him bhaiyya, her husband Babar, who hates being treated like second class citizens by his brother-in-law and his wife, and their son, aka Numair, aka spawn of the devil. 

Aazar has a birthday 'party' with these two lovely couples. Hum TV must have no faith in the intelligence of its viewers because this whole situation is created where a fight between the kids turns into a show down between the adults. Aazar's sister and family doesn't get along with his wife and hates his best friends. We got it. No need to spell it out. 

The scene where it becomes obvious that Rania wears the pants in this relationship. 

The scene where you realize Noor Hasan is too young to play a dad. #CastingIssue

...ummmm ok. Aisa lag ra hei poori zindagi yeh drama chalayga for this madam to get her inteqaam. God forbid. 

Some concerns raised in Episode 1:

Sharing information with someone who claims, "Mein behnoon jaisi hoon?" Really? How does that seem leggit at all?

Wow. Fire that hired help pronto. 

Samra must be the seedhi saadhi one. Rania is obviously the taiz and modern one - the no-dupatta is like the biggest give away. But, if Arsal and Aazar are chuddi buddies and both are pilots...wait. Hold that thought. Maybe Aazar is a pilot and Arsal is cabin crew...?

Subha janay say pehlay tu bari pictures li ja rahi theen is bujhi bujhi shakal ki...

#TrueStory

Oh! Oh! Pick me! Pick me! I know the answer!! It's because her best friend is dying of a unnamed, incurable, terminal disease!! Do I get a Scooby snack?

Honestly - you want to feel for Samra who is about to die of god knows what, but all I could think about was that after women crying incessantly in dramas of susraali zulm, we now have women crying  incessantly of terminal illness. And N thinks we have no more originality left. Pffft. 

I enjoyed this drama SO much it only took me two weeks to watch the first episode. Ha! My spidey-sense is all tingly and I can tell this will be a complete waste of my time - but I feel Ahsen Khan deficient, so I'll stick to it like a bitter pill. Plus, it's like Hum TV gave me a personal challenge about mocking dramas and their medical inaccuracies. They gave Samra an unnamed disease - which I'm assuming is to give them license to give her whatever symptoms they please. 

Challenge accepted, Hum TV. Challenge accepted. 

Zid - Final Episode

Honestly, I only decided to waste 40 minutes of my life watching this episode so I could provide all of us (who God knows why watched this drama) with closure. 

The episode starts with - ONCE AGAIN - Omar telling Saman that Zee has to go. Now. What a pansy. If Saman hasn't kicked Zee out in all this time, what makes him think she'll do it now?

Zee emotionally blackmails Saman. For reals. Saman says Zee doesn't have to go anywhere because this is Zee's house too. 

Next thing you know, Zee is giving herself a makeover and me (the viewer) is still trying to figure out WHY Saman has declared this is Zee's house too and WHY isn't she kicking Zee out of the house when it's obvious she is making moves on Omar? 

Omar comes home to find Zee is STILL in his house #SurpriseSurprise. 

Zee in one scene and then the next. I think all that drug abuse has killed off any brain cells she might've had.

Zee continues to blabber on about having no place to go and some bakwas about having no shanakth. Hello - you left him. You divorced him. You made a choice. Maybe this is supposed to be a great insight-into-Zee scene, but all her yelling and screeching made me like her even less. Where the heck is Saman?

And Omar, as usual, has nothing wise to contribute to the argument. He's still crying like a little girl. #CryMeARiver

Really? Really? NOW you beleive??

Me: Will this torture ever end?

More unbeatable logic from Zee. 

I must've missed something - cos next thing you know Saman, who has practically done everything she probably shouldn't have so far in this drama, all of a sudden has an epiphany and FINALLY kicks Zee out! Unfortunately, I'm still confused: is Saman offended that Zee made moves on Omar because she cares about him OR because Saman is having a if-I-can't-have-him-no-one-can moment?

Wait. Wait. This scene should've been a declaration that Saman finally found warm-fuzzy feelings for Omar and she kicked Zee out to save her marriage. Instead, Zee tu chali gaee, laykin these two fools are still fighting. 

Zee sends Saman a final love letter and Saman has a flashback about Zee telling her she wants Omar back. And Saman STILL didn't beleive Omar? 

And then this - did Saman ever develop feelings for Omar? Who knows. Before she could complete a sentence, Omar was handing her divorce papers. What a waste. 

And in the end, Saman walks around in the rain and takes Rukhi's name a few times. Just to remind us ke is dramay mein koi Rukhi bhi thi. 

The only positive thing about this drama, was it manages to end within 20 episodes. Nothing else made sense. Saman faces situation after situation which kept teaching her to accept her situation and try to adjust with Omar and she got evidence after evidence that Omar was such a great guy BUT she just continued to walk down the path of self-destruction. Hence, making all the extra characters and sideline stories unnecessary and unimportant. 

I thought this drama had great potential - two people with 'pasts,' Saman starting out with her defiance...but that defiance just turned into ass-ism and the drama went down hill and never recovered. Of all the things you could do with your precious time, watching this drama should not be one of them. 

Until next time...