A tale of women of the twenty-first century, Daurr is an attempt towards showcasing the complexities of life that are encompassed around secrets, betrayal, insecurities, and a tinge of hope.
Green Entertainment’s drama “Daurr” reached its conclusion after a 10-episode run, evoking a range of emotions among its audience. Audience’s reaction was mixed following the release of the last episode, with some viewers expressing appreciation for the drama, and others lamenting its relatively swift ending.
Centered around the lives of four women, Daurr is a bold attempt by producers to make something different from the run-off-the-mill storylines and narrate the lives of ambitious women who have aspirations and goals. Daurr, is based on the Safina Danish Elahi novel Eye on the Prize and is directed by renowned filmmaker Wajahat Rauf and is adapted by Mohsin Ali.
Daurr Final Episode: A Rushed Conclusion and Unresolved Questions
First and foremost, let’s acknowledge the skillful direction of Wajahat Rauf. The drama’s first episode opens with a race and the last episode also concludes with a race involving the children, aptly justifying the drama’s title, Daurr. This circular narrative structure left us satisfied as it is beautifully interconnected with the storyline, making the title resonate with both literal and metaphorical significance.
The final episode rushed to tie up loose ends and bring closure to various plotlines. There is a lot to cover so bear with us. The episode kicks off with a distraught Umar attempting to take his own life, only to be saved by a friend who helps him grapple with the weight of his mistakes. As the story unfolds, each character is embroiled in their own emotional turmoil and pain, all against the backdrop of the children’s much-anticipated race.
The race eventually commences, with Amaan emerging as the victor, a moment that fills his parents with pride. Meanwhile, during the event, Laila confronts Umar, holding him responsible for the end of their relationship, unaware that Umar’s daughter overhears their conversation.
In a separate encounter, Shizray’s mother crosses paths with Minahil and expresses her gratitude for allowing her to adopt Asmara. This interaction makes us feel sympathy for the child who is left in a state of shock after learning about her adoption. Later, Shizray’s mother reveals to Shizray that Asmara is actually the daughter of her friend, a revelation that leaves Shizray profoundly surprised. In a touching and well-executed scene, Shizray reassures her daughter of her love and support.
Meanwhile, we also see Hina seeking redemption for her mistakes and her overly ambitious nature. We also see Shizray visiting Laila, who is in a state of grief after Umar left her. Shizray makes her ponder over her bad decisions and how she compromised her career for a man.
Lastly, we also see Minahil confessing to her husband that she gave her daughter for adoption at the age of eighteen. The scene felt far-fetched, where Minahil husband didn’t express any emotion of anger or grief and instead asked for Minahil’s forgiveness.
It won’t be wrong to say that the last episode didn’t do justice to the drama. The execution of emotional scenes and shocking twists which needed their own plot development and time to unravel were squeezed into one episode.
Where do we even begin?
After all the buildup, we never got to know the reason why Shizray’s mother decided to adopt Minahil’s daughter, and after all these years how come they never bumped into each other, despite Minahil and Shizray being good friends.
In addition, we could not help but feel sorry for the poor child who learned about her adoption in a school race, that too in such a casual manner. We wonder why the writer and director didn’t opt to execute such a sensitive scene after giving it more thought.
Lastly, while the makers showed that Laila suffered for her choice of having an affair with a married man, the drama redeemed Umar without him facing any consequences for his actions. To be fair, this was bad execution and left a bad taste in the audience’s mouth, seeing how despite the makers attempt to bring forward a story that portrayed strong women they still ended the show with a woman being blamed for the entire situation.
Daurr Makes a valiant attempt at addressing present-day issues
Regardless of the poor execution of the last episode, we cannot take away from the attempt of the entire team of Daurr for bringing us an out of the box story.
The drama has aptly portrayed the plight of women who are juggling to find the right balance between their personal and professional lives. Through Shizray, we see a story of a woman, who despite having a successful career, has her own battles to fight and a husband to deal with who is insecure with his wife’s success. On the other hand, we also see Minahil, who seems to have it all from the surface level, but her in-laws and husband’s lack of support for her career leaves a void in her life.
The drama also did a job well done in highlighting mental health issues and how society’s expectations and our attempts to meet them, leaves humans ungrateful at the end of the day. Through the story of Hina we see a dissatisfied woman, who in the attempt to have it all, doesn’t value the sincere people she has around her.
Moreover, the drama’s emphasis on children’s mental health was another highlight. For instance, they showed that Amaan was under a lot of pressure due to his father’s high expectations, which impacted Amaan’s mental health. It sent out a parenting lesson to not to force children to do things and let them pursue their interests, for instance despite Amaan’s interest in music his father pressurized him to play sports.
All of this was put together very seamlessly by Wajahat Rauf, who has once again proven his mantle with this project.
Daurr’s viewership dilemma:
It was disheartening to witness the drama’s poor viewership records, especially considering its progressive narrative. Such circumstances can undoubtedly serve as a discouragement for individuals striving to introduce captivating and forward-thinking storylines to the world of television.
Nevertheless, Daurr was a great attempt at bringing something new and it was certainly a collaborative effort of writer, director, and the whole cast who did justice to their roles.
The drama boosts a long list of an ensemble cast including Ushna Shah, Amna Ilyas, Zhaley Sarhadi, Omer Shehzad, Ahmed Hassan Shahvaar, Ali Khan, Noreen Gulwani, Fahad Ahmed, Fozia Mushtaq, Farah Nadeem, Sajid Shah, Sabahat Bukhari, Shareef Balooch, Annie Siddiqui, Naina Black, Masaab Misri, Zeeshan Khan, Bareezey, Mehak Khan, Sonia Bhatti, Fozia Aapa, Talha RJ, Imran Khan, Mehru Saqib, Bushra Nayyer, Ejaz Ali Khan, and Afshan Zafar.
The child actors who starred in this drama include Haleema Ali, Hania Ahmed, M. Shamil Khan, Eshaal Khan, Tanisha Shahmeem Akhtar, and Abdul Ahad .
