Saba Qamar’s Sar e Rah Just Scored On All Fronts & The Pakistani Drama Season Is About To Hit Binge-watch Mode!
Sar e Rah is a project of iDreams Production and aired on Ary Digital. The drama is written by Adeel Razzak and is directed by Ahmed Bhatti. Moreover, the story aims to break stereotypes by addressing issues like the rights of the intersex community, gender equality, women empowerment, and even infertility.
Worth The Hype?
As I sat taking in the first episode of Saba Qamar’s Sar e Rah, I questioned if the late-night twitter drama trend was just too much hype. Saba Qamar was trending on twitter straight after the first episode, but I wasn’t quite sure if the story was as good as the twitter hype! I hadn’t watched it yet. And then I did. Oh well, twitter stands corrected, it was, actually, even better!
Inspiration In One Episode
Sar e Rah gave out dialogues that spoke from deep inside my woman soul as Rania transitioned from a young girl in love, to a daughter who was mindful of her responsibilities, to a sister who had to reluctantly or enthusiastically take charge (it was the need of the hour and she didn’t fail the moment), to a young girl who knew there was no looking back and so, she just kept going. In a matter of merely one episode, Rania’s character handed out inspiration to countless young girls, broke gender norms, superseded her own conditioned mindset to wait for a man to save her from the depths of poverty and despair … Rania provided hope – a word and emotion we have given up on in this society, especially when it is paired with women.
Dialogues Tailor Made For Saba Qamar
The role was tailor made for Saba Qamar and If I hadn’t read Adeel Razzaq’s name in the writer credit, I would have thought she wrote her own dialogues. Such was the flow and believability with which she rolled out every word, that not a dialogue or phrase felt misplaced – just the right balance of anguish, rage, courtesy, sadness, regret and love and then finally, there was that shining ray of hope again. Rania could not have been written better!
Direction Spoke Through A Refreshing Lens
The direction was super slick and in a matter of one episode, the director, Ahmed Bhatti managed to put any potential critic to rest as the story flowed at an impressive pace, yet not losing sight of meaningful conversations, credible dialogues, poignant moments, and so much food for thought. From patchworking Rania’s journey with a range of passenger types, the story manifested the good, the bad and the ugly in our society. Rania’s journey was not lost on us for a second and yet, we felt we had just sat through less than an hour of conversations on everything that society finds wrong with a woman who wants to help out her family by taking on an unconventional profession.
Lecture Mode Off!
And that too, was laced with lessons that did not bore us into lecture mode: Rania’s first passenger and his 3 life lessons brought tears to the most cynical of hearts and when she reacted to her ex fiancé’s demand for his loan payback, the heart went yeah, that’s as real as it gets. The visuals of Karachi added so much character to the cinematography and the story line – it is heartening to see that drama makers are staying true to the script and manifesting it in ways that add miles to the story.
The Stage Is Set For Lots More To Come
And just when we thought the story is all wrapped in the first episode, because really, how much more inspiration does a girl need, Rania just travelled full circle right, we realized the first episode merely served, but a window into the real story, thriller, social messages, mystery and all that await us as we journey further into the realms of Rania’s Sar e Rah – this one is a watch and a half and worth all the hype you can give it!
Two thumbs up Sar e Rah – keep going, for there’s no stopping you!
