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ama Taqseem, starring Talha Chahour and Mawra Hocane, is a serial drama that started airing this week. Written by Sarwat Nazir and directed by Ali Hassan, the play is off to a promising start.
The plotline revolves around two university students, befittingly named Qais, played by Talha, and Laila, portrayed by Mawra. Voila, they fall in love with each other.
The first episode opens with the lead pair sitting at a table, discussing their future plans. Laila, confesses to Qais that she likes someone and wants to marry him. Upon hearing that, the boy gets flustered. After enjoying Qais’s discomfiture for a bit, she takes him by surprise when she proposes to him.
The viewer is then introduced to Qais’s household, where more than a dozen people live under the same roof. His father, played by veteran actor Javed Sheikh, heads the family hosiery business. His two elder sons assist him. It is a very conventional household. Men are the breadwinners and women the homemakers.
Both Qais’s sisters-in-law are housewives. The elder one, Nighat, is interested in Qais marrying her sister and proposes the same to her mother-in-law. She is better off economically and lords it over the younger one, often taking advantage of her. There is no love lost between the two. One has two daughters; the other a boy and a girl.
The dynamics of a joint family household have been captured perfectly in the first episode. This sets the tone for the rest of the play. Joint families are fairly common in this part of the world, especially where the father and sons are in the same business.
Laila, on the other hand, has had a different upbringing; her father is a retired army officer and her mother a professor. She is an only child and the apple of her father’s eye. Her father is played by Deepak Parwani. Tazeen Hussain plays her mother and, as usual, impresses with her refined acting and cultured demeanour. One is reminded of her father, Talat Hussain, one of the greatest actors of his time. Tazeen is carrying his legacy forward and has great screen presence.
Talha and Mawra act well and share good on-screen chemistry. The supporting cast is proficient and helps in propelling the narrative. The play is reminiscent of Mannat Murad, which aired on Geos and also revolved around the adjustment problems faced by a couple because the wife and the husband came from different kinds of households.
The play is off to an interesting start. The best thing is that it does not drag. A joint family system has been brilliantly contrasted with a nuclear family set-up. It will be interesting to see how the story unfolds.
The play is off to a promising start and moves at a brisk pace. Talha looks good and acts extremely naturally. Mawra also looks charming and acts well, making this fresh pairing something to watch out for. Kudos to the writer for penning a fine script with engaging dialogues that keep the viewers engrossed.
The direction, screenplay and script are excellent and the dialogues extremely relatable. The joint family household is reminiscent of most of the households in this country so the story is relatable. The viewers who live in a joint family can identify with the dynamics portrayed in this play even though Qais’s family is living together as a unit, not out of economic necessity as is the case for many people, but on account of their grandparent’s wishes.
The contrast with Mawra’s family is portrayed beautifully. Her mother is a strong, self-assured, independent woman. Her interests include social work and she is all for women empowerment. She wants her daughter to go abroad and pursue a master’s but Laila wants to settle down. She disapproves of her daughter’s choice, when she expresses a wish to marry Qais and tries to talk ‘sense’ into her. However, Laila is insistent and her father gives in.
The play is off to an interesting start. The best thing is that it does not drag. A joint family system has been brilliantly contrasted with a nuclear family set-up. It will be interesting to see how the story unfolds.
How will Laila cope once the honeymoon period is over? She is portrayed as a headstrong girl, used to having her way - unlike other women in Qais’s household. How will she adjust in a joint family with more than a dozen members, something she has never experienced before?
As the story unfolds, let’s wait to see how it pans out and if the lead pair will be able to overcome the challenges that come with adjusting in a joint family household. Tune in on Wednesday and Thursday to find out.
The writer is an educationist and can be reached at gaiteearahotmail.com