Green Entertainment launched this Monday, and the channel has been debuting new weekly shows every day. One of these shows is Daurr which debuted its first episode on Wednesday. After the initial posting delays, Daurr was up on Friday morning and vowed viewers with its captivating storyline.

Already out of the gate, the channel’s shows seem to be showcasing new and compelling stories which audiences have been craving for. These stories come as a breath of fresh air with the tired set-ups of only love stories and domestic politics being the focal point of most of our shows.

While the reviews for the first episodes of Kabli Pulao, Shanaas and Jindo are already up, let’s discuss how Daurr’s debut fares amongst this line up.

The Story

Daurr, which is based on the Safina Danish Elahi novel Eye on the Prize, sets up quite the story in its first episode. While the novel focuses more on our lead women Shezray, Hina and Manahil trying to balance their professional and personal lives, the show also has a sharp focus on ambition and ambitious women.

Just from the opening we are presented with a very literal metaphor of kids getting set to run on a racing track, “race” being the title of the show. A montage is played of all our characters, some in a state of distress while others in the state of total calm as a narrator speaks about the challenges that come with ambition in the race of life.

This opening montage was probably the most gripping part of the episode because it immediately hooks the viewer and shows them what’s to come in the coming episodes.

Three Different Storylines

The episode sets up three storylines with our trio of characters. Ushna Shah plays Shezray, a businesswoman who is the head of her company and seems to be at the top of her game at work. She, however, struggles with her husband who is played by Omer Shahzad who seems to have an inferiority complex being a subordinate to his wife at work.

Hina is played by Amna Ilyas, who is an ambitious middle-class woman. She is a homemaker and owns a salon. A class-conscious woman, she strives for the absolute best for her family and her daughter much to her husband’s dismay, who’s played by Shahvaar Ali Khan.

Zhalay Sarhadi plays Manahil, a mentally troubled housewife. The cause for this mental anguish has only been teased in the form of a dream so far where she is seen having a heated argument with Ahmad Hassan, who plays her husband.

The threads tying all these stories together are Laila, Amaan and Zara. Laila, played by Noreen M Gulwani, is Hina’s sister who works at Shezray’s office and is seen having an affair with her husband. This is bound to be the cause for drama in the coming episodes.

Amaan is Manahil’s son and Zara is Hina’s daughter and they both are now class fellows at school. The two families are surely to meet each other through their kids.

Daurr is Directed by Wajahat Rauf

Directed by renowned director Wajahat Rauf of Karachi Se Lahore and Chhalawa fame, the show is shot quite well. Mohsin Ali adapts the novel for the screenplay here and he last worked with Rauf on his film Parde Mein Rehne Do.

You will see the shades of the importance given to social issues and character-driven storytelling of Parde Mein Rehne Do here as well. This might be a new calling card for Rauf and company after producing several hit popcorn films.

Overall, this first episode was quite well. Seeing women be so unapologetically ambitious, and that not just being over a man like we usually see, was a welcoming change of pace. Manahil discussing her mental health with a professional and being prescribed medication was also an important scene for a country where mental health is still seen as a taboo.

There also seems to be a story arc being set up of parents putting too much pressure on their kids and how it affects them. Amaan gets body shamed twice in this episode while his mathematical skills and interest in learning music are also showcased.

We also get a scene of him being mocked for wanting to take musical lessons and his father telling him to follow the norm and opt for sports instead. This subplot may lead to some very important conversations about parenting. These themes might also be reflected with the other two women’s daughters.

Late Online Upload of Daurr

The only major complaint to be made about the show is not even about the show itself. The show aired on Wednesday, but the episode wasn’t made available on YouTube until late last night.

The show is extremely strong with some great performances across the board, and it does not deserve to be mired by this issue. We can’t wait to see how these characters’ stories unfold in the coming weeks.