If I was to be completely honest, I didn’t think it would – match up to the hype. When you have a dream team behind a project that’s hyped to eternity and back, you’d think it’s gotta give somewhere – but you know what, Mitti De Baway suprised me and in a good way! Despite being a Wahaj Ali fan, I have no reason to not announce it, the man has proved his mettle several times over, I wasn’t too vocal about the run up to the project because, well, once a Pakistani drama fan, always a Pakistani drama fan – the scars I bear tell their own story. Not everything that glitters is gold. And I was hoping desperately, that Mitti De Baway would prove me wrong…
And thankfully, it did!
Just 11 minutes into the first episode and our hero was, presumably… dead!
The creators dared to go where few tread foot – letting go of their lead man in the first few minutes of a potential blockbuster – or atleast, that’s where the story has led us so far. Not just that, but they went ahead to enter yet another ‘no man’s land zone’ by casting a younger couple – Fazal Hussain and Aena Khan as the younger version of Billo and Baala – and then proceeded to give them unchecked screentime – two actors who might not have given traction to the story but oh, how they did. A nod to director Wajahat Hussain and the actors for giving us just the right play in expression and tone to deliver the emotional pull, young feel, and edgy characterization that sat just right with audiences. If Baala was daring, young Bilquis Bano matched his reckless abandon, if Billo refused to play the damsel in distress, Baala matched the mood – it was this playful camaraderie between the two laced with a risqué beginnings of a romantic interlude that made for an engaging, budding romance as well as matching the mood with the older version of the couple who seemed to reveal hints of the same high-spiritedness, albeit many seasons later.
Well played Faiza Iftikhar. Baala stole his family poultry while Billo bribed her maasi – both complicit in the love story that was to follow.
A directorial effort that wowed the skeptics into submission
From the drone shot of Kot Lakhpat jail, to the smooth transition in timelines – 1999 to 1996, then further back in time, the screenplay was a juggling act between time period, characters who aged backwards, and an ensemble wardrobe that kept pace with the character mood and also managed to stay true to the ethnicity of the times – Baala in a puffed-sleeve shalwar kameez, Billo first in black, then red, the clink of bangles that transitioned from 1996 to 1980, as Billo recalls her past, the graveyard shoot-out – shocking at first sight, impeccable attention to detail and the cinematic screen-feel that brought it altogether. Yes it was all happening in Mitti De Baway and what an unmissable experience for Wednesday night drama audiences – just that it all ended too soon, one episode was just not enough.
Note to the OST that was inserted throughout the episodes in the most subliminal way possible. Paar Channah De with Arif Lohar, Saleema Khwaja and Sahir Ali Bagga’s incredible vocals scaled to match the mood of the scene just about headlined the entire drama in ways that will revive this soulful melody throughout the drama season.
Point to note: The streets in Faisalabad mimicked the 1996 time period with Nawaz Sharif election banners sporting a clean feel – here one might have wanted a slightly messier appearance with more banners and cluttered streets, however, perhaps the creators wanted to go with the aesthetics from the rest of the frames and hence, proceeded to mark authenticity in time and yet, not reproduce an entire real world feel.
Performances stayed onpoint
As if Wahaj Ali ever needed further work on his expression, but he delivered more, better, bigger, more powerful than ever. If Mahira Khan could be cast in a role that pushed her beyond the ordinary, this one just showed us the magic a director and superstar can conjure together when the story and character inspire. If Samiya Mumtaz had slipped into all the roles we’d ever seen, this one just hit different – playful, sharp, and defintely grey. Amar Khan too, showed us a version of a frazzled housewife who’s not sure how to fix what’s always been wrong, Mubashir Mehmood teases us yet again – winning hearts from the very first minute we set eyes on him. Dawar Mahfooz, in his brief yet powerful moment, gave us everything he had and it worked.
Needless to say, Mitti De Baway has done what it set out to do, entertained audiences every second of every minute that the story played out onscreen. The creators have understood the assignment and needless to say – the most unrelenting critics amongst us can’t find fault with much. If first episodes are anything to go by, these two were a banger! So bring it on Mitti De Baway, you have us right where you wanted us!
Now let’s hear what you have to say. And it better be good!
Mitti De Baway is penned by Faiza Iftikhar, directed by Wajahat Hussain. The drama airs on Green Entertainment and features an ensemble cast comprising Wahaj Ali, Mahira Khan, Samiya Mumtaz, Mubashir Mehmood, Aena Khan, Fazal Hussain, Amar Khan, Junaid Khan, Dawar Mahfooz and more.
