Dil Na Umeed To Nahi delivers an intriguing first episode. There was much to like, and some things to question – over all, a story that seems promising, but needs to up the production game, holds a stellar cast that wows us from the start, a soulful OST that plays on well beyond the episode and a real, raw feel to the sets that drove it all home!
Review in a Nutshell? Yes! Now read on for the Deets!
Dil Na Umeed Tau Nahi gives us food for thought in the very first episode.
Polio affliction
Physical abuse in our schools
Not allowing young girls to live their childhood freely
The curse of Jahez & Salaami
Performances
Coupled with meaningful themes are meaningful performances, esp from Yumna when she suddenly breaks into song and so spontaneously contrived was that, it made us go spontaneously wow! The supporting cast seen thus far has delivered their game, and well played there. Samiya Mumtaz as Naseem Zehra’s mother and Yasra Rizvi both turned in a rememberable presence. Add to that, newcomer Allah Rakhi’s older sister, and we know the casting is sorted. Because what (or who) comes next is Wahaj Ali & Nouman Ijaz – so it could just get better from here, right?
Something Missing?
The story is heavy and the sets hold a raw, real feel, yet, are we missing something?
Perhaps we need to pull up a notch in production? eg. Yumna & Yasra’s home setting, their wardrobe choices, the police road set up, the party scene, could all have been played better and helped elevate the screenplay to the next level indeed.
Flashbacks are a tricky challenge to nail home as always. You get it right, and it’s a winner, you get it wrong, and you confuse the viewer who gets busy trying to stick the pieces together and loses out on the finer points of the story…DNUTN might be getting it more wrong than right so far. Some fine tuning is in order, sooner rather than later – perhaps a call out to direction and final edits to fix this one before we lose audiences!
Justice To The Story
With a stellar cast and promising performances, the plot holds great potential. A Kashf Foundation narrative means the drama will be sending out multiple social messages. Therefore, it must reach mass audiences. The beauty is in the details – and we hope the drama can deliver on future episodes.
