Leader — Big Cast, Big Banners, But Does It Resonate?
The foremost question that comes to mind while watching Leader is its relevance and relatability. Student political parties and politics within colleges and universities no longer represents present times.
So why would one want to watch it? Even those who witnessed that era would perhaps rather move on than relive it. What perhaps saves the drama is impactful performances and a few surprises in the story.
The Relatability Problem
When one cannot relate to a story, one simply would not want to watch it. A politically motivated drama needs to get its audience passionate and invested. Leader sadly fails to do that, despite a strong cast.
Perhaps if the drama had created a fictional world where these events transpired — something like a fantasy setting — it could have still worked. Or if it had clearly established itself as a story from a decade ago. Or simply if the movement had belonged to a broader social cause within the realms of a city or a small community, rather than about political parties in a college campus, it would have been far more compelling.
The Story So Far
Mansoor is the leader of a student wing of a political party, while Rubab is the daughter of the opposition party’s head. The twist that really fails to make sense is why Rubab, after returning from abroad, is sent to a local college to study. The drama miserably fails to justify this. You do not need to attend a local college to understand politics better — especially when you belong to a powerful political family.
Rubab’s lack of awareness about her father’s and cousin’s corrupt and criminal actions is also hard to believe. Must we really witness another female lead living in a delusional bubble?
Upon joining the college, Rubab decides to lie about her identity, telling her new friends she comes from a humble background like theirs — even choosing to travel by bus to convince them. After challenging Mansoor on a few occasions, she was finally convinced by his mandate and agreed to join his party. But since her father heads the opposing party, we still question why?
The story delivers some action scenes that are a good watch, and had the overall storyline been built on a more believable concept, these scenes could have been so much more engaging. The interactions between Rubab and Mansoor, Mansoor and his friend, and Rubab’s attempts to adjust to local university life, are probably the only few elements that give you some relief in the script.
The Verdict — Two Episodes In
Two episodes down, Leader could not quite grab the interest it had the potential to generate. We await to see what the coming weeks bring.
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The drama is written by Radain Shah and directed by Asad Mumtaz Malik. It is produced by Momina Duraid Productions. It stars Kinza Hashmi, Ali Raza, Faran Tahir, Yousuf Bashir Qureshi, Ali Safina, Saqib Sameer, and more.
