By Maliha Rehman
From a vantage point, when one looked at the Ramzan drama lineup about a month ago, ‘Fairytale’ on Hum TV Network could have had been expected to be hit and miss.
After all, it didn’t feature the motley crew of actors that have now become Ramzan drama favorites. Similarly, it wasn’t directed by one of the usual directors associated with Ramzan dramas or written by one of the usual writers.
Instead, it starred two young actors as its main leads who hadn’t yet been associated with comedy: Sehar Khan who had so far proven her mettle with heavy duty emotional drama storylines and Hamza Sohail who had only worked in a handful of projects to date although unarguably he had great screen presence and acting potential. Two newcomers played second leads; Adnan Raza Mir, brother of Ahad Raza Mir and son of Asif Raza Mir, and the very pretty Aena Khan. The drama’s director Ali Hassan had also directed Paristan, another Ramzan drama, just a year ago and it hadn’t fared very well in the competitive Ramzan drama innings.
And so, yes, before Fairytale aired, one wasn’t sure what to expect from it.
But when it did air, it drew you in. The female lead, Sehar Khan’s garrulous, hilarious Umeed Pasha was a breath of fresh air. She was silly and made perpetual blunders and went about concocting massive lies and throwing the hero into the swimming pool. The male lead, Hamza Sohail’s stolid Farjad was the classic grumpy hero, looking great in a series of sober suits, slowly getting charmed by Umeed and her colorful, ever-exciting life. Ali Safina, in a strong supporting role, played the cocky but good at heart superstar with his heart on his sleeve.
The rest of the ensemble moved the story along quite well, as it veered from one crazy situation to the other.
What truly helped, though, was that even though Fairytale, like all Ramzan dramas, navigated the eccentricities of a happy-go-lucky family, this family didn’t seem entirely like one that you had seen in another drama, perhaps last year. There was no unnecessary entry of a naughty child in the house or of a tomboyish cousin. There were no neighbors making mischief. This story was a new one and therefore, it seemed less forced.
The script by Saira Majeed was a strong one, peppered with memorable situations and silly one-liners that I will from hereon think of as classic ‘Umeed Pasha’ quotes. For instance, at one point Umeed twists the Urdu phrase ‘naiki kar darya mein daal’ (‘Do a good deed and throw it into the river’) and gives it a very Karachi touch: ‘naiki kar SeaView mein daal’. There’s her obsession with ‘chaye’ and how, in the final episode, our hero tells her that instead of promising her the moon and the stars, he would make tea for her every day. There was the endearing episode by episode transitioning of Umeed and Farjad’s relationship, from perpetually fighting to finally falling in love.
It was a sweet story. A riveting one, directed intelligently by Ali Hassan. Sehar Khan and Hamza Sohail are immensely talented; the former exemplifying that there is so much more to her acting talents than merely playing the crying woman who is, albeit, a big hit and the latter proving that while he may have had played some very serious roles in the past, he also has a flair for comedy. In a TV landscape littered with heros and heroines who are slightly more mature in age, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the much younger Hamza Sohail and Sehar Khan have very bright futures ahead of them. The Internet agrees – Fairytale wrapped up about a week ago and fans are still Tweeting about it and making memes.
How could Fairytale have had been better? There were some scenes that could have had been eliminated where the family gets embroiled in repetitive discussions. This could not be done, perhaps, because it is necessary for Ramzan dramas to stretch on for 30 episodes. Also, the drama would have had only benefitted had a stronger parallel story been dedicated to Ali Safina. An exceptional performer with a flair for comedy, Ali Safina invariably shines on screen and adds strength to a drama’s narrative.
But these are minor cribs. This year’s Ramzan drama season was, as always, a very competitive one and Fairytale was in a race for ratings with a number of star-studded contenders. These others plays also had their strong points and their fans. There was an audience that gravitated towards other dramas that featured Punjabi humor, laugh-out-loud comedy and favorite veterans in lead roles.
But then there was the audience for Fairytale, which grew week by week. The romance, the humor, the freshness of seeing two very talented leads getting paired together for the first time and clicking so well was addictive.
I hear that a sequel to Fairytale possibly in the works. That would be wonderful. As fairytales go, Umeed and Farjad have had their ‘happily ever after’ right now. 30 more episodes of hilarity, a romance that makes you smile and an OST that you hum along to would be something to look forward to.
What do you think?