Election 2013

Pakistani celebrities are getting more and more involved in activities outside of just acting, modelling, and singing. We see them taking part in Shaukat Khanam Hospital events, Earth Day activities (which I find hilarious!), etc. Here in this video, we see them promoting Pakistanis to vote for change. Here are some thoughts that popped into my head while watching the video:

Sanam Saeed: uhh…overexcited much?
Shehzad Sheikh: Looks distressed. Much more than any of the other celebrities.
Mehreen Raheel: Is it just me or does it look like she is wearing a chef’s jacket? It actually looks good on her.
Daniyal Raheel: Seems genuine. Shabbash!
Shehzad Sheikh again: Sub say zada parayshaan yehi lag raha hai.
Aamina Sheikh: She speaks so well!
Seemi Raheel: Why not include this lady’s husband as well? Have the entire Raheel kumba in the video.
Nouman Ejaz: Epic!
Afzal Khan (Rambo): The light going off was a good touch!
Shehreyar Munawar: Angrazi munda. Change!

Jokes aside, this was a pretty solid video. Good going guys!

 

Workout Dramas

I recently joined the gym again and the hardest thing is to pass the time while working out! I want to workout for at least 40 minutes each day. I decided that watching Pakistani dramas is the best way to kill time. Since I have significantly cut down on watching dramas, I am having trouble finding decent dramas to watch. I need something to watch every day of the week but so far I am only happy with my choices for Thursdays and Fridays.

I am finding myself watching the most bakwaas stuff out of desperation! Sometimes the dramas are so bad that I find myself staring at the exercise machine and the ‘time elapsed’ monitor more.

Here’s what I watch/watched:

Monday- I regretfully watched Happily Married this week. It was a pain to watch…

Tuesday- Difficult day to find a drama. I watched Adhoori Aurat yesterday (very ‘meh’ sorta drama).

Wednesday- Uhhh..trying out Ullu Baraaye Farokt Nahin today

Thursday- Silvatein (fun drama to watch with lots of twists)

Friday- Zindagi Gulzar Hai (time flies when I watch this)

Saturday- Dil E Muztar (decent enough to pass time)

Sunday- Mere Harjai (watched one episode and wanted to kill myself after)

I desperately need help finding something good to watch Monday-Wednesday & Sunday. I haven’t given Rehaii a try yet because it seems too depressing but I may give it a try. Anything is better than a sitcom!

Happily Married

I am the last person on this planet to watch sitcoms but somehow I ended up watching the first episode of Happily Married. There was one scene from this episode that I particularly enjoyed: the one with the maulvi sahab.

The maulvi sahab was quite the character. He started off with scolding the couple for being clueless about the requirement of witnesses for a nikkah. It didn’t help much that Mikaal knew the whole saat pharay thing and the mantar but not much about his own religion. The maulvi sahab then brought up Turkish dramas, declined to do the nikkah without payment, mentioned angry, young man and finished off by saying “Ja Simran Ja, jee lay apni zindagi”.

Enjoy!

Love Triangles

We have all been watching the promos for Dil-E-Muztar on Hum Tv, which will be starting next weekend. There is a striking similarity between the promotional pictures of Dil-E-Muztar and those belonging to 90% of other urdu dramas. These promotional pictures, right from the get go, establish a love triangle. 

Take a look for yourself:

I am not saying that stories based on love triangles aren’t good. But one can only bear so much of these stories before getting bored of the same old, same old. It’s almost always two girls fighting and scheming to get one guy. Writers, lets bring some variety in our stories. And no, I don’t want to see love rectangles, pentagons or octagons. 

 

 

Ice Cream

This weekend I made homemade strawberry ice cream in our new fancy shamncy blender. Not only did the ice cream turn out delicious but it reminded me of Khirad from Humsafar. Remember the scene from episode 6 where Khirad orders strawberry ice cream? After taking a bite, she noticed the mint leaf garnish and seemed quite baffled by it. I found that to be très adorable!

Here is my version of strawberry ice cream which I also garnished with a mint leaf to bring back Humsafar memories:

Khirad’s reaction:

I feel like Humsafar is becoming one of those serials that we will keep referring back to from time to time for one for reason or another. Whether it is used as a benchmark when talking about other serials, or when discussing how much Mahira Khan has grown as an actress or how Ashar was the most charming man on the planet, Humsafar remains very much alive in all of us.

I’ll end with the clip from this scene. Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday: Ainak Wala Jin

Who grew up watching this show in Pakistan in their bachpan? I know I sure did. My sister and I used to love Ainak Wala Jin! Written by the late Abdul Hameed and directed by Hafeez Tahir, Ainak Wala Jin was produced and broadcasted by PTV in 1993.  Nastoor Jin, Bil Batori, and Zakoota Jin were common names at our house. It was a such a great concept and I have to say the special effects were pretty good for that age and time.

How adorable are Imran and Moattar? Child actors in our puranay dramay used to act so well. I found it hilarious that Nastoor Jin’s weird appearance was explained by saying that he was from Africa (LOL!).

Who remembers Bil Batori and her “Bil batori, naasa chauri, aadhi meethi, aadhi kori. I am sorry, I am sorry.” My sister and I often find ourselves saying this dialogue. Another dialogue we commonly remember is “Ullu ullu hello ullu ullu hello.  Assi chaar so bees, assi nou do giyara“.

Someone bring back the good old days!

P.S. I am Ainak Wali Nadia incase anyone was interested to know. Most days, however, I am Contact Lens Wali Nadia.

Marina Khan’s House

Remember my post Tanhaiyan Naye Silsilay Wala Ghar? Well it turns out that it was indeed Marina Khan’s house that was used in TNS. Check out this video:

I was browsing the TNS thread on GupShup forum and a user marinakhan was answering questions about the serial. So I thought I might as well ask my question about the house too. Many thanks to the user for posting this link to help me out. It feels so good to have this mystery solved.

Link to original video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_qCfwZvW-o

Throwback Thursday: Wujood-e-Laraib

Throwback Thursday posts will feature dramas which I have enjoyed in the past. You can expect to see classic dramas featured here as well as dramas from just a few years ago. First one up is Wujood-E-Laraib, which happens to be one my favourite serials.

Directed by Sakina Samo and written by Umera Ahmed, this drama aired in 2004 on Indus Tv and won awards for best writer and best serial.

The story was about a carefree and bubbly Washma (Faiza Hasan), a very caring and loving Haadi (Faisal Qureshi), the rebellious Saadi (Fahad Mustafa) and an ignorant Mohib (Adnan Siddiqui) and focused on the topic of Qisas (retaliation/eye for an eye). In my opinion, Washma and Haadi were such a cute and compatible couple.

I found an excerpt from a blog which I thought highlighted the story quite well:

“Her play ‘Wujood-e-laraib’ which was directed by Sakina Samo canvassed the experiences of three individuals portraying the rebellious nature of a girl with the Creator when she is hit by a catastrophe, a person who understands the laws of nature after having gone through the biggest tragedy of his life, and a person who purifies his soul after committing major sins in his life.”

Soure: http://aisharahat.blogspot.ca/2009/01/writer-in-veil.html

The cast included Faiza Hasan, Faisal Qureshi, Fahad Mustafa, Adnan Siddiqui, (late) Shafi Mohammad, and Sakina Samo.

Fahad Mustafa and Faiza Hassan both looked quite jawan in this serial. Adnan Siddiqui looks pretty much the same still. I enjoyed watching a pre-anorexic Faisal Qureshi although he was only in a few episodes.

Did anyone else watch this drama?

Tanhaiyan Naye Silsilay Wala Ghar

From the first episode of Tanhiyaan Naye Silsilay I had a crazy suspicion in my mind about the house in which the drama is recorded. This suspicion has continued to increase each week and I finally thought I should blog about it. “So what’s your silly suspicion, Nadia?” you may ask. I have a feeling that the house shown is Marina Khan’s actual house. Ok, ok I know it sounds crazy but hey…it’s me!

I have this vague memory of seeing MK’s house in a TV show, morning show, or a magazine a long, long time ago and this house reminds me of it. I have a few pieces of evidence that may support my presumption.

Firstly, MK directed the serial so it’s very likely that the house used could be hers. Given that this was supposedly a low budget serial, it is very likely that MK chose to use her own house. Would she really have influence over these things? An interesting thing is that Zarak, the name of Shehreyar Munawar’s character, is actually the name of MKs brother. So I am assuming that this serial is close to MK’s heart and she incorporated some personal things into it.

The thing that gave rise to my suspicion was something that I saw just a few minutes into the first episode. In the kitchen, there is a  ”meow” sign on the wall and a cat lurking around on the kitchen floor. MK has mentioned in many talk shows that she has cats. Also, her production company is called Fat Cat Productions/Animal House Productions.

In this picture, you can see the “meow” sign on the wall and Chandni holding the cat.

The next thing was seeing an iMac in MK’s room. I have yet to see a drama in which you see a nice, fancy desktop computer being shown. Our dramas may show laptops and cell phones but never desktops. The iMac even had a personalized background with Zara’s picture. All I am saying is that it’s veryyyy likely that this computer may belong to MK.

Marina Khan with an iMac.

In episode 11, there was a scene in the kitchen where Serena is trying Bibi’s chutney. MK grabbed a stool, sat down and started chatting. Next, she grabbed a spoon from a rack behind her. The way she just turned and grabbed it showed that MK knew exactly where things were. There was just something about her level of comfort with which she reached behind her and grabbed the utensil. It’s not just this one scene but MK seems very comfortable around the house in general. Call me crazy but that’s how I see it.

Marina Khan handing Serena a spoon.

Some minor things which make me think that this house is actually lived in by people (not necessarily MK) and not just one of those generic houses used in every other drama are the sheer level of detail in each room, the uniqueness of the house, and the overall homeyness of the house. It’s not the biggest house we have seen in dramas, but it’s well decorated and cozy.

The tastefully decorated living room.

Notice the amount of detail in that room. From the stripped cushions to the decoration pieces on the table to the objects on the shelf, it seems unlikely that this much effort was made to make a random house/set look nice.  Usually when we see living rooms in generic houses, you see some artwork on the walls, and blah-looking drapery and couches. Each room in the house also has a homey feeling. Just check out Farhan Uncle’s room. You can’t help but notice the well organized books on his shelf which are interrupted tastefully by picture frames. Details, details!

Farhan Uncle in Tanhiyaan Naye Silsilay.

The room in which Serena and Zenia are staying in is outside of the main house which is quite unique. We usually see servant quarters separated from the house but never really proper rooms. It just shows that the house was designed with interest and only someone who intends on living there would show that much interest.

Serena & Zenia’s room.

I tried emailing MK’s production company to see if they could tell me whether this house belonged to MK or not but they didn’t reply. I wish someone could tell me! It’s just one of those things that bothers you and doesn’t let you sleep at night (that’s an exaggeration).

Random post, I know. For all I know I am dead wrong.

2012: The Year of Sisters (Part 2)

How else has the focus been on sisters in the year 2012? There seemed to be a trend in our dramas showing households with many daughters. Where there are lots of daughters, there are all sorts of issues between the sisters. There are usually a few studious sisters, a few evil ones, a few who get to married to abusive husbands, a few who are employed by horrible men etc.

Zonii from drama serial Aks.

During this holiday break, I started watching the drama serial Aks on ARY due to sheer boredom. I had an idea about the storyline and thought it would be somewhat interesting. After watching 16 episodes in 2 days, I was holding my head in disbelief and disgust. I texted my sister and said “I want to shoot Zonii! Argh!” because I really, truly wanted to. Zonii (a very convincing Aiza Khan), Zohra (Zhalay Sarhadi), and Sania (half sister of Zonii and Zohra) are sisters who belong to a middle class family that is struggling to make ends meet.  Without getting into their complicated family, the main premise is that Zonii is jealous of Zohra and hates her half sister Sania. Zonii is book smart and pretty but also very greedy, jealous and self-centered. She makes extensive plans to acquire wealth, ruin her sister’s marriage, set herself up with a rich guy while at the same time being the most badtameez daughter of 2012. What baffles me is how her family lets her get away with her crazy schemes while they all sit there helpless.

I realized that Aks wasn’t the only drama in 2012 that showed sister rivalries. So I sat down and brainstormed a list of dramas that aired in 2012 that had laraka sisters:

Hum Tv: Madiha Maliha, Bari Apa, Yahan Pyar Nahin Hai, Maat, Zard Mausum

ARY Digital: Aks, Aitraaf, Meri Behan Meri Devarani

I don’t watch Geo that much so I am not that familiar with their dramas. It seems that maybe Hum Tv has been leading the way in promoting this storyline.

So where did it all start? Maat, which ended in February 2012, showcased the Aimen/Saman rivalry where Saman went through great lengths to ruin her innocent and shareef sister Aimen’s ghar. Since Maat was somewhat a hit with the viewers, more dramas came about with similar kahaniyan.

I have no objections if one or two dramas are based on this topic because these kinds of rivalries do exist in real life. However, when dramas with such stories become a fad and are being watched by the masses, then I worry. If the same story is showed over and over again, it doesn’t take long before these ideas get instilled into the minds of people and they come to accept/rationalize jealousy. I wouldn’t be surprised if sisters start getting jealous over trivial things. Your sister got a nicer suit than you for Eid? NAHINNNN! YOU SHOULD PLOT TO RUIN HER LIFE NOW! Mwahahaha. 

I noticed a trend in these kharab behan, achi behan kind of dramas. There seems to be a simple formula to make a cookie-cutter drama about sisters:

A) The Story

- Insert gareeb parents

- Insert minimum of three daughters

- Make sure at least one of the sisters is evil (this is key!)

- Insert misunderstandings

- Insert fewer guys than there are sisters

- Insert a love triangle

B) The Casting

Role of Sisters: Aiza Khan, Mawra Hocane, Urwa Hocane, Jana Malik, Sajal Ali, Saba Qamar, Zhalay Sarhadi

Role of Potential Bachelors: Sami Khan, Ahsan Khan, Hasan Ahmed, Danish Taimur, Fahad Mustafa, Mohib Mirza

Role of Mother: Saba Faisal, Saba Hameed, Naila Jafri, Qaiser Naqvi, Laila Zuberi

Role of Father: Waseem Abbas, Firdous Jamal, Shehreyar Zaidi, Shaood Alvi

Please note: The actors and actresses listed above all do exceptional work and by mentioning their names I am by no means demeaning their work.

C) Hire a director and a writer (I will not give examples).

And voila! You will have a semi-good drama ready with a decent following. If the actors/directors make an appearance on a morning show, then they can gain more viewers.

I wish that in 2013 we see more dramas where the relationship of sisters is shown in a positive light and they are not shown to be khatarnaak. Let’s hope we see more of the Serena/Zenia and Haniya/Yamina kind of nurturing and caring sisters in the new year, inshallah!