Ghulam Bashah Sundri: The name gives away the story. Imran Ashraf is the Ghulam to Bashah, played by Zaviyar Ejaz, whose father has done a favour to Ghulam and his mom by giving them a place in his mansion. Now obviously, they are both going to fall for the same girl — Sundari, who lives in the village where Bashah is running for elections.
Ghulam Bashah Sundri has its share of good and bad points. Only as the story proceeds further can we know which side wins — the good or the bad.
The drama has been shot at multiple locations, almost like a film, giving it a cinematic feeling. The story also proceeds fast, so the pace is good. Ghulam Bashah Sundri has this thing going on where you kind of know what happens next. The twists are predictable, but you keep watching just to confirm the hunch, and a small voice inside you keeps hoping that something different will be shown, which doesn’t really happen.
Sundari performs a dance at the college farewell and she has to leave with her friends soon after. The van breaks down and she has to walk on the road with wearing ghungroos, in which she was dancing at college. Amidst all this chaos and the fear that her father will find out she was dancing at the college, she runs into Bashah, who seems to be in a drunken state and offers a lift to Sundari and her friends. The ghungroos makes him think she does this as a business and he can buy her services, that she is in fact a prostitute. Now one wonders and questions why Sundari doesn’t take off the ghungroos — not when she sits in the car, and not even when she walks on the deserted road. She just keeps wearing them, with the ghungroo sound echoing loudly in her surroundings. It really tests your patience and causes discomfort as a viewer, compromising the scene on screen.
Also, what gave Bashah the impression that Sundri is a prostitute — just because she was wearing those ghungroo and was a bit dressed up? Both twists seem easy, silly, and needed to be better executed.
When the drama begins, both Ghulam and Bashah are shown acting for justice and helping people. Ghulam rescues a girl from goons, and Bashah punishes a man who had raped a 6-year-old girl. So one thinks, wow, interesting… but then Bashah goes about forcing his will on Sundari, thinking she is a prostitute, and that she must accompany him. No means no, whoever says it. This is the big twist in the drama. She slaps him in response, fearless of his power. He cannot stop thinking about her now.
Elections are around the corner and Bashah’s father wants him to be fully focused on winning them, which is certainly not happening. Ghulam is protecting him and trying to take care of him. Again, showing a young guy in power who drinks excessively was not necessary. What was the need? The twist could have still happened even if he wasn’t drunk. Our dramas sadly cannot escape the rich, broken guy tropes who are emotionally damaged and only focused on satisfying their egos.
Sundari’s father is not happy that she danced at the event in college and he didn’t know about it. He cautions her and talks about the dangers of growing into a young woman. At the same time, there was this conversation where the father was putting away money to save for her dowry, which was also funny and highly unrealistic. He seems to be an educated father who is worldly-wise — wouldn’t he deposit the money in a bank account? Also, the conversation was boring and could have been skipped altogether. Probably, this entire sequence could have been shorter and better execution would have helped save the scene.
The performances are good and Imran Ashraf and Zaviyar Ejaz seem to share a good camaraderie onscreen.
Drop us a comment if you’re watching the story and tell us your thoughts on the first two episodes.
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