For a Pakistani drama that hits it out of the park with its promos, Duniyapur first episode cannot be ignored, and that’s precisely what the makers wanted. “What you see is what you get” might be a cliche but in today’s promo-oriented ambiguous world, DuniyarPur makers must have employed quite the muscle and brain behind making sure that the first episode doesn’t fall ahem, flat on its face, because after all, the promos and pre-hype had to be countered. Well, you ask, did the episode hit the mark? Read on to get the full “drama”.
The Story
A fortress, a bus ride, impending doom, but not quite, as the first episode of DuniyaPur opens onto a bird’s eye view of the location where all the drama will transpire. Sami Khan’s character greets us as the new SHO in town and the bus conductor seems to have nearly read his funeral prayers even before he alighted at the stop – a soft-feel introduction to our “terror town”? Not quite, the makers are just getting us warmed up to the brutal bloodshed that reigns in DuniyaPur where even the bus route dare not venture inside – touching only the outskirts.
As the scene zooms down to earth with patriarch and currently power lord in DuniyaPur, Nauroz Adam navigating his kingdom, one notes the carefully assembled set with flowing red curtains amidst red stone brick walls – a visual that will dominate much of the story-telling.
DuniyaPur is a place where residents know who’s king and cater to his well-being. Of course, the power struggle is two-fold: One between Nayab, elder son of Nauroz, who struggles to keep his cool, (and the locals obedience), and Nawab, who has lost 3 sons and his power-hold to Nauroz. One would think it is intentional that the writer has used Nauroz, Nayab, Nawab – an alliteration to set off a subconscious emotive feel to the characters – all powerful, all seeking more power to their thrones. Yes, there is a poetic shade to the writing, despite its gory narrative.
Characters & More
What the promos did achieve was to set the pace with audiences who expected a thrilling watch – loads of action injected at timely intervals with the likes of Ali Raza and Khushhal Khan onscreen. Both actors thrive on throwing some well-directed punches (throwback to Muhabbat Gumshuda Meri) and add to that, Sami Khan, posing as the new SHO in town, and you’re anticipating a thrilling watch right there.
However, a note on Sami Khan’s entry as SHO Mir Hassan, we assume the police officer’s clueless, almost amateurish caricature in episode one is a hint that his character will tread a journey (hopefully before he is finished off by the likes of Nayab), and come into his own, as promised by the formidable promo feels.
The high point of the episode was the promised bike race, where Khushhal did what he does best – blockbuster action with an adrenalin rush matched by the execution of the same. The terrain travelled throughout the race offered a thrilling watch and also helped offset the rivalry between the Nawab and Nauroz clan in a manner that didn’t, for once, involve bloodshed.
However, both clan heads – Nawab and Nauroz essayed by Manzar Sehbai and Naumaan Ijaz respectively, came off as shrewd operators who knew how to work with strategy rather than emotion, which tends to suggest a more ruthless side to their nature.
So far so good.
The Love Angle, Not Quite There Yet
And then we come to the Romeo Juliet pairing where Ana and Shahmir are both fed up with the persistent carnage and brutality ruling their lives and would prefer to escape from DuniyaPur. Shahmir has directed his focus towards biking and Ana seeks greener pastures in a foreign land.
Of course both will have to sacrifice their dream, (not us, the promos talking here), but a note on the action that dominated the last 9 minutes of the episode. Often, Pakistani dramas have attempted to pull off hi-action scenes, battleground settings and multiple action sequences with only partial success. DuniyaPur came close to ticking all the boxes. From when Nayab is startled in the weapons shop to raging his way into the Nawab fortress and subsequently, Shahmir encountering Ana, and the staircase runup to the same; the action was a finely-tuned exhibition of rogue strength, un-tempered rage (from Nayab) and some impactful scenes – fighters scaling walls with riveting drone angles and the final Shahmir fall from atop a building, which, we have to say, was totally unanticipated.
What’s Missing?
What could have been better is perhaps, the inclusion of a fist-fight in the heat of the moment, involving the hot-headed Nayab. Ali Raza has proven his skills on delivering unnerving action sequences in the past and perhaps his talents should have been exploited better. While great attention to detail was given to offsetting a panoramic view of the battleground, viewers could have experienced a real ‘edge of the seat’, signature finish with a close-up battle injected in-between the final battle scene. And although Ana’s (Ramsha Khan’s) last cut had all the shock factor, and certainly added to the action, one felt a sense of incompleteness as the Nawabs surveyed the final scene.
Furthermore, Mir Hassan aka Sami Khan needed a more impactful entry but maybe that’s not the story so far, hence we wait for episode two to reveal more cards, and insights into a drama that seems to be an overall promising watch. On an end note, it’s great to see creators doing things differently, chasing different narratives and adding to the mega-storytelling dynamic that makes up the Pakistani drama industry!
And that’s all folks. So if you’re into a season of action, battleground feels offset by some intense romance (we’re predicting this one), then add DuniyaPur to your Pakistani drama watchlist and drop us a comment if you have something to say about the episode that was!
DuniyaPur premiered on 25th of September on Green Entertainment. The drama is written by Radain Shah and directed by Shahid Shafaat, presented by Multiverse Entertainment. The cast includes Sami Khan, Ramsha Khan, Khushhal Khan, Nauman Ijaz, Manzar Sehbai, Ali Raza, Zaib Rehman, Shamyl Khan, Nayyer Ejaz, Yousuf Basheer Qureshi (YBQ) , Saima Qureshi, Erum Akhter, Ali Raza , Hassan Niazi, Farah Sadia, Mashal Khan, Hammad Siddiqui, Amra Zahid Kazi, Hussain Ali Shah Jamote, Mashal Karim, Najam us Saqib, Sarfaraz, Saad Ali, Jhalak, Huma Batool, Asad Ali, Palvasha, Awn Raza, Asad Shah, Aftab Ahmed and more.
