Daily Times

Mawra Hocane has already done enough to prove her talent in the last few years; she has managed to outdo herself with dramas like ‘Sammi’ ‘Aangan’ and ‘Daasi’, therefore her latest offering ‘Sabaat’ comes with a lot of expectations.

Appearing to be a story of classism, power, love and loss the drama serial seems to be unique in story and presentation.

It’s a multi starrer that includes debutant Ameer Gilani, Usman Mukhtar, Sarah Khan, Seemi Raheel and Moazzam Ali Khan among others. It is directed by Shehzad Kashmiri and is a Momina Duraid production, which always brings expectations along with it. So did the play meet our expectations? Let’s discuss.

Right away, the viewers are introduced to Miraal Fareed a self centered spoiled girl from a rich family. She is materialistic and thinks that money can buy her anything in the world. In one scene, she offers her maid the double amount of salary to work for her. Her father who at some point in life was deprived and couldn’t fulfill his wishes doesn’t want his children to face those situations. His undue leverage towards her has made her stubborn

Right away, the viewers are introduced to Miraal Fareed a self centered spoiled girl from a rich family. She is materialistic and thinks that money can buy her anything in the world. In one scene, she offers her maid the double amount of salary to work for her. Her father who at some point in life was deprived and couldn’t fulfill his wishes doesn’t want his children to face those situations. His undue leverage towards her has made her stubborn. Then enters, Anaya Mirza (Mawra Hocane) a confident, free spirited girl who firmly holds on to her morals. She has a clear distinction between right and wrong. She lives in her close knit middle class family with her parents (Mohammed Ahmed and Seemi Raheel). Her simple gestures in life make her happy. Hassan (Ameer Gilani) is Miraal’s younger brother who studies in the same university with Anaya. He is living a life of material comfort and finds himself apart from the crowd. His surroundings and a natural keen mind ensure he has always been popular and perfect at what he does. Not to forget, he is as ignorant as her sister. In one sequence, he loses out to Anaya in a competition which results in a major outburst. He not only misbehaves with her but destroys her engineering model too, and is later shown the mirror by Anaya.

What’s refreshingly different about this show is the way it expertly captures the problems relevant to different levels of society tossed with some real issues. No sides are taken, no judgments passed. The protagonist here doesn’t have to be heroic. Characters can be grey. They can make bad choices, act childish or be mature. The characters are flawed and believable. Situations are relatable. Fighting through life in the quest to figure out what one wants, discovering happiness and companionship on the way, is same for all of us. In varying degrees at various stages of our life we have each gone through moments of defeat that eventually precede some gratifying and satisfying interlude. Sabaat superbly manages to capture all this and more. But for a first episode, it’s a great start!

The writer is a freelance journalist. He can be reached at ozairmajeed00@gmail.com