Geo TV’s drama ‘Mohabbat Dagh Ki Soorat’ aired last night. The play is written by Saira Raza, directed by Zeeshan Ahmed and produced by Abdullah Kadwani & Asad Qureshi. The cast of the show includes Sami Khan, Neelum Muneer, Syed Jibran, Sunita Marshal, Tipu Sharif, Kinza Malik, Kamran Jeelani, Sukaina, and Rashid Farooqi.
Story
The story of this play unfolds the unfortunate life of Shijrat, played by Neelum Muneer, who is a hard-working and competent college girl. Devastated by her father’s death, Shijrat along with her mother Mohsina, played by Kinza Malik, leave their home in order to live with their maternal uncle, played by Rashid Farooqi.
The drama is set in the backdrop of her uncle’s house. Shijrat’s uncle and his wife, being a courteous couple, warm-heartedly welcome dejected Shijrat and Mohsina. Her uncle has two sons and two daughters. Afaaq, played by Syed Jibran, is the eldest son. He is rude and insolent. Afaaq is married to a naive and genial woman named Saba, played by Sunita Marshal.
Shijrat’s uncle’s daughter, Maazia, is her age and very compassionate towards her. The first episode introduces Maazia’s fiancée Khalid. His character seems to have various shades, as he’s shown to be impatient and impulsive.
Sinaan Alyas, played by Sami Khan, is Shijrat’s institute friend. The first episode does not introduce and unfold much of his character. They portray that Sinaan has gotten into an accident and is temporarily crippled.
Nonetheless, the opening episode of the show did not reveal much of the story. This episode was basically focused on the suffering of Shijrat and her struggle to adapt to the new changed life. The story has certain loopholes.
What particularly looked odd was Shijrat is shown as a college girl, who attends an institute as well. However, she tells her cousin Afaaq that she goes to an academy after college. The actual building shown as Shijrat’s institute is Nazeer Hussain University (NHU) Karachi. The writer could have simply shown Shijrat and Sinan as university students.
Performances
Performances of all the characters are moderate. However, neither of the performances are show-stealing. Neelam Muneer and Kinza Malik’s scenes are emotional but the performances could have been more heart-tugging. Sami Khan has a limited screen presence in the first episode, therefore his performance as Sinaan cannot be critically evaluated.
Syed Jibran convincingly plays the role of an impertinent man. However, he has played multiple negative roles in the past, hence his performance doesn’t seem different. Sunita Marshal’s character appears to have a limited acting margin as her role merely has a mono-shade of naivety.
Aarez Ahmed’s performance as Khalid is worth praising. Although he only has one scene in the first episode yet he showcases multiple shades of his character and a sense of intrigue developed in the audience to discover more about his role.
Direction
The direction of ‘Mohabbat Dagh Ki Soorat’ is neither completely astounding nor extremely indecorous. The underlying emotional backdrop of the play provides a substantial expense for an extremely poignant execution and direction of the story. Though the execution of this play could have been more emotive. Succeeding episodes may witness a more gripping direction.
Conclusion
The first episode of this play does not set forth a clutching start. This project evidently lacks in standing out from the rest of the present time dramas. Nonetheless, the success of the story and the advent of other characters may spice up the story and make this project worth watching.
