Daily Times

Ali Tahir, whom we all know not only owing to his literati predecessors like Imtiaz Ali Taj, Yasmin Tahir and Naeem Tahir but also due to his famous PTV sitcom ‘Teen Bata Teen’, is all set to bring his directorial work with a huge star cast.

To be launched either later this year or in the initial months of 2018, Bol has chosen some of the veteran writers and directors of the industry such as Saji Gul, Faseeh Bari Khan, Khalid Ahmed, Bee Gul, Kanwal Khoosat and many others. Ali Tahir being one of them, has been given a Faseeh Bari Khan serial to direct. It is titled as ‘Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellaayen’ and the most interesting fact regarding this project is that film actress Shabnam is coming from Bangladesh especially to perform in it.

This famous Bengali actress, without mentioning whom one cannot start a discourse on Lollywood left the film industry in 1990s, and is returning after many years to make her appearance in a drama serial. Popular actress Faryal Gohar is also making a comeback after about 15 years. She did a movie named ‘Tamanna’ in 2014 but as far as acting in dramas is concerned, Faryal Gohar was not seen after the hit Afreen Baig production, ‘Chandni Raatein’ written by Seema Ghazal. Apart from these actresses, Ali’s parents, Naeem Tahir and Yasmin Tahir, who form a graceful and a significant couple of the Pakistani industry, are also to act in ‘Mohni Mansion Ki Cinderellaayen’. Where Naeem has been making frequent appearances in dramas such as ‘Mann Mayal’, ‘Neelum Kinare’ and ‘Mohabbat Subha Ka Sitara Hai’, Yasminr has not acted since 2008, when she did a series by the name of ‘Taj Classics’ for Hum TV, based on the writings of her own father, Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj.

“Farah Tufail, Qavi Khan, Rabia Chaudhry and Saima Salim are also to act in this serial,” Ali said. “Whereas the style is concerned, it is a typical Faseeh Bari Khan play, presenting characters from the inner-walled city, this time, however, of Lahore, but whereas the theme is concerned, it’s a bit different. ‘Mohni Mansion Ki Cinderellaayen’ talks about incomplete personalities. It’s about people who lose endeared things and make memories their support to make through the rest of their life journey.”

Ali also tells that the serial will be depicting two time periods: 1990s, and the current era. Ali has previously directed a few works like ‘Rang’ and ‘Samjhota Express’, but this time, he has chosen a star-studded cast and it makes his upcoming directorial work a piece of dramatic art that can be looked forward to. People who have been acquainted with the golden era of Pakistan television will have a lot of surprises in the form of Gohar, Yasmin and Shabnam. Where these educated, veteran actors are making ‘Mohni Mansion Ki Cinderellaayen’ an object of curiosity, they will hopefully render it even more beautiful and worth waiting for through their mature performances.

Published in Daily Times, October 16^th 2017.