Aakhri Station (ARY) - Mikaal Zulfiqar, Sanam Saeed, Nimra Bucha - Page 2

Kashf Foundation has given us dramas like Udaari and Rehai, and now they are back with Akhri Station; a seven episode long mini series. The teaser didn't give much out, but I had heard it would address the issues of depression, drugs, HIV and forced prostitution in our society. These issues, though not much talked about, are very much real, and plague our society and it is time that they are brought out in the open. Accepting a problem and discussing it maturely is the first step in order to deal with it, and that is Akhri Station's main intent.

Written by the talented Amna Mufti and directed by Sarmad Khoosat, Akhri Station stars the likes Sanam Saeed, Amara Butt, Anam Goher, Farah Tufail, Eman Suleman, Malika Zafar and Nimra Bucha along with Mikaal Zulfiqar and Irfan Khoosat. Of course, with an amazing cast such as this, big names associated with the play, and the fact that it's produced by Kashf Foundation, the expectations are naturally high. Does it have the potential of becoming another Udaari? The answer: YES, yes and yes!

Trains and train stations are a story teller's favorite, since it can be incorporated in multiple ways in a story's narration be it crime, romance or drama. The mere fact that there will be strangers in a compartment, who will end up interacting and perhaps understanding each other is enough to intrigue the viewer. This was the reason I was engrossed in the drama from the first scene, where we see a woman (Sanam Saeed) buying tickets at the train station for Karachi and another woman (Eman Suleman) sitting on a bench at the same train station with her little daughter. The impact the first scene had on me was indescribable, it grabbed my attention, and kept me inquisitive from the get go.

The two women eventually get on the same train, and are seated with five other women, one of whom happens to be a transgender. It is in the train where Sanam Saeed introduces herself as Tahmeena and then notices the woman in her right with the little girl rubbing off her blue nail polish. In an attempt to make small talk, Tahmeena comments about the new trends in fashion and unique nail colors, to which the woman gives a half hearted, uninterested reply. Intuitively knowing something's not right, Tahmeena asks the woman the cause of her distraught state and from there we as viewers are transitioned into Yasmeen's story.

The transgender/ crossdresser initially sat across a group of women who blatantly ridiculed him, and demanded him to be removed from the women's compartment. The transgender even appealed, citing the fact that he won't be allowed in men's area, not to mention unsafe, to which they all turned a blind eye. He then found a spot in the same compartment where the other women of our story were seated. Is his story one of the narrations? We will see! I am also looking forward to the introduction of the other women in the train.

The episode was absolutely brilliant, the introduction of Yasmeen and the shift from the train to her story was something out of a beautiful novel, where the viewer becomes so absorbed in the character that it almost feels like you are living their life with them. The cinematography is beautiful, capturing the rustic details of a lower class neighborhood in Lahore, and giving attention to even the smallest details including the way the streets of Lahore are encapsulated and translated on screen. Also, Yasmeen's plight is narrated with a fervor that will strike your deepest core and shake your soul. Her husband is a gambler, alcoholic and a drug addict without a job, and often times resorts to selling his wife's jewelry and other valuables to gamble some more. Yasmeen is left to tend not only for herself but her in laws too, who are useless and are of no help.

Akhri Station starring Sanam Saeed, Nimra Bucha and others to air from 13th February

Eman Suleman is playing the character of Yasmeen, and the strength of personality with a vulnerability that she brings on screen is admirable. The single tear that spilled from her eyes the morning after her rape was powerful, and the intense look of fear and torment mixed with relief knowing her daughter is not hungry anymore broke my heart into a million pieces. I will not give out anymore of Yasmeen's story because I do not want to rob you of the aesthetic pleasure you will surely feel when you watch this episode. I want YOU to watch and find out for yourself exactly who Yasmeen is and why she is on the train with her daughter!