The Barzakh trailer dropped and other than the expected fan hype for Fawad Khan, Sanam Saeed and company, a much awaited, eagerly anticipated watch by fans on both sides of the border, the trailer ushered in a realm of nearly dead and nearly living – after all, Barzakh is the world that lies between the living and the dead – the trailer did not disappoint.
The Look & Feel
If trailers are meant to disclose the story, we wonder if this one did. What it did disclose however, was a peek into a narrative that attempts to step into the world beyond the living. As Salman Shahid’s character aims to reunite with his Mahtab, family comes around to fulfill his wishes to marry the living dead, or is it?
The frames offer a real world feel initially, but just before the viewer gets too comfortable with the comfort of familiarity, visuals shift to suggest a darker force at work?
Characters Intrigue
Glimpses of a disbelieving Fawad Khan changes hats as he shifts from typical dad to surma-lined stranger, Sanam Saeed owns the screen as she does always, wuth tempered rationality guiding her character. But it is in the persistent voice of Salman Shahid, the seemingly resistant patriarch, that a love story is about to unfurl.
There were hints of discord between father and son, glimpses into the unknown, magical, cult like visions wrapped in red, a vintage feel to the sets, just like the protagonist himself, and a sense of mystery.
Characters, like Asim Abbasi’s previous projects, are expected to be layered, intriguing and not totally what they seem; case in point, Khushhal’s character who offers his hand to Salman. The frames open up in the second half as graphite, earthy landscapes takeover, much like a place we do not know, but might have dreamt of, much like an expansive universe the inhabitants of Barzakh might live in – a land that’s in the middle of nowhere.
Narrative
It seems that the family, from children to grandchildren coming together on the whim of their father and grandfather, might be present to please an ageing old man, but, as we said, all is never what it seems with Asim Abbasi’s narratives – we expect the story will urge them to reveal and discover, much more about themselves. Barzakh seems like a journey into the mysterious unknown, nothing seems familiar, yet seductive storytelling tempts to draw in the viewer to want to know more.
The star cast is formidable enough to boast a who’s who of South Asian entertainment and if one were to sit back and note one thing that sets the project apart, it is perhaps, the look and feel of the series – nothing that is being screened so far.
Barzakh scores on aesthetics alone. And that is a win for any trailer where the eye shifts beyond the initial pull of Fawad and Sanam to take on a canvas that certainly connects with viewers, invoking curiosity, mystery and sinister forces at work beyond the realm of the living.
More About Barzakh
Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed star in a six-episode series with Salman Shahid, Eman Suleman, Khushhal Khan, Sajid Hasan, Faiza Gillani, Anika Zulfikar and Franco Giusti, among others. Produced by Shailja Kejriwal and Waqas Hassan, with cinematography by Mo Azmi, Barzakh is a collaborative effort of visionary talents in the industry. The project is directed by Asim Abbasi of Churails and Cake fame.
Starting July 19, Barzakh will be released simultaneously on Zindagi’s YouTube and ZEE5, with new episodes available every Tuesday and Friday at 7:30pm Pakistani Standard Time and 8pm Indian Standard Time.
