By Maliha Rehman
You enter Jhok Sarkar’s world and wonder if you’ve stepped into an Amitabh Bachchan Bollywood movie from the ‘80’s – the ones that used to be mega-hits.
Airing on HUM TV Network and produced by MD Productions, there’s a tragic love story in Jhok Sarkar, and then, a lecherous villain, his equally sleazy son, a house teeming with women embroiled in political war play and an entire village population of subjugated peasants. There are damsels in distress and an honest policeman who will eventually save them all. Five episodes in, the drama is a fine example of the kind of storytelling that can rule TV without relying on typical, regressive tropes.
Asif Raza Mir is the village Jhok Siyal’s ‘Peeran’, smiling malevolently as he presides over the quailing peasants of the locality, passing decrees with the omnipotence of a ruling king. He has two wives in his home – the first, much older one, played by Sakina Samo, has given him his heir; the second, Faiza Gillani, is younger. And then, he brings in a third, Noori, played by fledgling actress Maham Shahid – a much younger girl who was caught while fleeing with her lover and who took his fancy when she was brought to his court.
Entering Peeran’s dominion is ASP Arsalan – Farhan Saeed – an honest, straitlaced young policeman, who is intent on setting things right. He doesn’t get scared off by bullets or feel intimidated when he is told about the far-reaching power of Peeran. He’s your quintessential righteous hero who is brave and committed to following the law.
We’ve also been offered a few initial glimpses of Sassi, the drama’s female lead, played by Hiba Bukhari. Sassi is distressed by the fate that has befallen her friend, Noori. She is intent on freeing Noori from Peeran’s shackles but while visiting Noori, she has caught the eye of Peeran’s son, who will now probably try to trap her in some way. One is relying on ASP Arsalan to save Saasi and then, of course, fall in love with her.
It’s all very interesting although the story is not an unfamiliar one. There have been dramas – and movies – in the past based on a village villain set straight by a do-gooder policeman. It is the way in which the story is told, though, which makes this drama a must-watch. Director Saife Hassan and writer Hashim Nadeem don’t drag out scenes. They pack in the punches with action and dialogues that often deliver on shock value. The story’s right out of a movie and they seem to be enjoying playing it out for the TV landscape.
Farhan Saeed has impressively slipped into the skin of the moustachieod, serious ASP. His policeman’s uniform is fitted and crisp and Farhan walks with his shoulders set straight, his gait measured, his face impassive and stern as he sets out making things right in his police station and Jhok Siyal. It must be appreciated here that Farhan’s last role on TV was the colossally popular drama Mere Humsafar, where he played the romantic hero to the hilt, even being lauded as ‘TV’s most romantic’. Given TV’s inclination for bandwagoning, I am sure that Farhan was offered many similar roles afterwards. It is appreciable that instead of letting himself get pigeonholed into repetitive roles – and earning quite a bit from them – Farhan paused for just a bit and came back on TV a few months later, completely transformed as the valiant policeman – also singing the drama’s title track beautifully!
Hiba Bukhari’s character is yet to take center stage in the drama although she is very likely to impress, the way she always tends to do. The young Maham Shahid shows a lot of potential, enacting the hopeless, melancholic Noori. And then, drawing the eye, giving you the jitters, is the remarkable Asif Raza Mir as the Machiavellian Peeran. Peeran is evil to the core and Asif Raza Mir makes him believably so – not just delivering the dialogues but emoting them through his eyes and his body language. It’s so good to see this veteran actor working in a local production again, after a long time.
It’s a different kind of drama, an entertaining, action-packed one. So far, Jhok Sarkar is very evidently not relying on a cookie-cutter ‘hit’ formula. Nor is it relying on a script that sermonizes about morality in an effort to be ‘different’ or appear to be ‘woke’.
It’s just a great drama. A riveting story. Something to look forward to every week.
What do you think?