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Weekend is when all our channels try to grab maximum eyeballs i.e.: air the best they have. Geo offers EHPHEHPL on Fridays, that comes from one of the biggest production house, directed by one of the biggest director we have today, and stars some of the biggest names in the industry. Expectations were bound to be high. Let's review if EHPHEHPL lives up to the expectations.
Story: This is the story of Zain(Faisal Qureshi) who is seedha saadha, and belongs to a Shia family. He falls in love with Hijaab(Amina Sheikh), a sunni-who is already engaged to Najeeb(Faysal Qureshi)- situations arise that make Hijaab run away with Zain, and thus a roller coaster of twists begin.
The drama was promoted as something that shows the dark side of society, and also zooms on the Shia-Sunni clash. The drama really depicts the dark side, but unfortunately fails to highlight the Shia-Sunni clash. It is a clear case of wrong promotion, but no problem here. The drama has enough substance in it to keep you hooked. The twists in the narrative take you totally by surprise, and you end up getting hooked on to this masterpiece.
But, there is another problem. The drama leaves some unanswered questions. Why is Najeeb how he is is never answered properly. The murder story isn't resolved either, and why is Najeeb allowed to rule everyone is another question that instantly comes to the mind?
Technicalities: Directed by Babar Javed this one has his stamp all over it. The man extracts the best performance from the star cast, and the drama has a rich feel all through. My only problem is the "loudness"-why is everyone shouting?- it is justified at times, but after a point gets on your nerves.
Script by Aamna Mufti is beautiful. The dialogues delivered by the characters suit them to the T. Episodes are written beautifully, and the story moves at the right pace. The editing is perfect, and the OST is according to the topic, and has some beautiful and meaningful lyrics.
Characters:
Zain : He is a simple, educated man who falls in love with Hijaab. He's the momma's boy type, who totally listens to his mother.
Najeeb : Najeeb is totally different front Zain. He also loves Hijaab, but is unable to express it rightly. He is loud, and always hyper. He swears, fight, and gets into trouble. It is a beautifully crafted character-the kind you love to hate, but is fun to know more of.
Hijaab : She is an educated girl who is not happy with her life, and elopes with Zain ultimately falling in love with him. Hijaab is the bechaari daughter who has to face a lot, and suffer hardships in life. She is our usual bechaari daughter.
Neha : Hijaab's sister who blames Hijaab for all her problems. It is an exceptionally well written character, and has many layers to it. The troubles she has to go throught, and the outburst is justified, and beautifully presented.
Acting : Faysal Qureshi as Najeeb is amazing. He is bundle of a talent. He lives the character, and everything is perfect from body language to dialogue delivery. He is a talent to reckon with, equally good in all scenes. Fahad Mustufa plays his role sincerely, but is totally miscast. Someone else could've done the role better.
Amina Sheikh is getting type cast now. She has been playing the bechaari for a while now, and it is time to do something new. She is a great talent, and needs to explore more of it. Sana Askari is brilliant. The helpness, and hatred both are expressed well. She has really improved, and deserves acclaim. Fazal Ahmad(Taify) gets a very difficult role to play, and is splendid. He is a pleasure to watch on screen. This kid has the fire, and talent in him, and deserve all the praise in the world for doing this role to perfection. He matches Faysal Qureshi in every scene, and let me say it: he even overshadows him at times.
Sohail Asghar plays his part well. Fariha Jabeen gets a poor character, and fails to impress. Rest of the cast is good. This is one of few serials where even the character actors are good. Improvement!
Over All: One of the best serials of our time that offers entertainment in a different way . It has a story to tell, and is told in a very unique way that is addictive. Don't give this one a miss.
Rating :
This one was close to a ****, but the loudness and unanswered questions hamper it. | | |
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