By Maliha Rehman
Lahore in the rain. The raindrops splattering over lush green hedges, bright pink flora bobbing up and down in ecstasy, an ancient red sandstone building getting drenched in the shower. And in a home, pakoras getting made, a family settling into the courtyard over hot cups of tea and the daughter, taking out her taanpura to sing a tribute to the gathering clouds.
A drama couldn’t have had started off on a more romantic note.
The first episode of Tumharey Husn Kay Naam, which aired this week on the newly launched Green Entertainment channel, holds the promise of romance, music and sweet, lighthearted family banter. The drama is directed by Saqib Khan and stars Saba Qamar, Imran Abbas and Asad Siddiqui in leading roles but in this initial glance, at least, what catches the eye is the old-world beauty of Lahore. The characters roam through the buildings and gardens that encompass Lahore in the ‘90’s, playing their parts with the backdrop indubitably adding to the storyline.
Salma, played by Saba, is doted upon by her parents. She is the first girl in the family to be studying in a co-educational art college. Her mother frets about this but her father is sure that his daughter will never disappoint him in anyway. Salma’s parents get very anxious when Salma gets hit by a ball because a few boys are breaking rules by playing cricket on the college campus. She faints and her father, enacted by the brilliant Salman Shahid, threatens to get the boy whose ball hit Salma expelled. The boy, Sikandar – played by Imran Abbas – is very worried, commenting that his poor mother would die should he get expelled. He and Salma come face to face for the very first time by the time the first episode ends.
It’s an interesting beginning but not an entirely unusual one. One knows, of course, that the plot will take a turn towards romance very soon. There will be music and poetry, as hinted at in the teasers to the drama. And then romance will then meet obstacles which will eventually take Saba in the direction of Asad Siddiqui.
This could turn out to be a memorable, wistful romance that draws you in or a run-of-the-mill predictable one. I’d like to hope for the former but a lot of this depends on whether the actors will do justice to a script that is obviously very dependent on emotions. One does tend to have faith in a project that has the Saba Qamar name in its credentials. The actor has a penchant for signing on to stories that have something new to say. And there is a newness to Tumharey Husn Kay Naam’s narrative; in the way the characters are connecting with each other, the scenic locales, the slow build-up of a potential romance, the play of music and the intriguing point at which the first episode ends.
It’s a beautiful beginning, certainly.
What do you think?