When Malika appeared on the screen, writing her story with the passion and dreaminess only youth knows, when Raza appeared onscreen, a vintage-feel hero only seasoned Pakistani drama lovers would recognize, one wondered if Pamaal would manage to grip an audience that has lived through multiple love stories onscreen; from the dreamy to the passionate and everything in between… only time will tell but the first two episodes have scored big on viewers. Here’s why…
What’s so different about Pamaal, you ask. It’s a love story. Set against a backdrop of rolling green hills and sharp performances, scripting that breathes life into characters, wide, cinematic backdrops and scenes that pull you into the frame – isn’t that something many stories have to offer today?
What’s different about Pamaal’s first two episodes is the poetic packaging of a story that could have been told in a linear, seen-before, written-before timeline but instead, sketches characters in an all embracing, enigmatic thread – endearing, passionate, relatable and yet, romantic.
When Malika writes her story and urges everyone to read it, when she spins a tale about the man of her dreams and literally manifests that man into existence, when that man strikes just the right shades of grey – he’s not your seen-before toxic hero, but he has a history to unravel, she’s not your typical dreamy heroine, but she has dreams she believes in – one wonders if Pamaal will relive every young girl’s dream of meeting her Prince Charming right here on earth, except, this one’s not going to be an old fashioned princess story, but a modern day relationship steeped in vintage love feels.
This is what Pamaal’s first two episodes promise. Malika’s writing was poetic, yet the AI generated opening award show was anything but vintage. Raza’s curt responses to his bhabi Safia were oh so predictable, but then his composure when dealing with Mehmal, and successive encounter with Malika is what heroes are made of, aren’t they? One questions earlier suspicions about Raza, is he a red flag, or is he not? Not, hopefully, answers the heart. Slightly unsure, but wholly hopeful.
Is Raza the man Malika had written about in her story? But is there more to him than meets the eye? Is she seeing too much in him? Is he too good to be true? Will he suddenly turn into the red flag monster we encounter in so many other stories, and if not, then what’s the catch?
Zanjabeel Asim cannot merely be relating a straight, uncurved love story – girl-boy meet, fall in love, and the only impediment to their marriage is a cousin who’s lost in love and whose love is in fact, one-sided. Neither can it be Mehmal’s unabashed desire to own Raza’s collection of cars – there simply has to be more to Pamaal than what meets the eye.
So far, the drama has set itself out as Cupid’s gameplan with both Malika and Raza meeting each other in a chance encounter, yet one suspects the universe already had plans for them. The story is touched by a quiet tragedy – Malika being an only child of a single mother, and Raza possibly without a parent. What sets them apart is their environments but what bonds them together already is an intangible connection through a story penned by Malika that lands up in Raza’s car. Yes, coincidences happen, but only in the most poetic love stories.
But where other love stories might follow the same route, Pamaal chooses to do away with the cliched dream sequence, and instead, Malika pens her own hero and then, the writer brings him to life. From their chance meeting in a parking lot, to the rainy day encounter, Malika and Raza do not fall for each other just because they gaze into each other’s eyes and feeel an unexplained magnetic pull; but instead, the story, a character penned down by Malika resonates with Raza, and that’s what draws them towards each other – a far deeper connection than love at first sight.
Pamaal is a story that seems to promise tragedy, romance and intense storytelling. The first heartbreak is about to happen and it’s going to be Ani. How the story navigates a plot twist to get our hero-heroine wedded to each other is the next question. For the story and all its secrets will only unravel once Malika learns more about Raza. Is he in fact, the man of her storytelling dreams, or, will her dreams be shattered once she gets to know him, the real him, (not the man in her story) better, and by then, will it be too late to turn back?
Pamaal will give us more than meets the eye. But for that, the first two episodes have inspired enough curiosity in viewers to keep watching. Casting with Haris Waheed as Ani, who already has our heart, Saba Qamar as Malika who romances the screen in every frame, and Usman Mukhtar as Raza, playing a shade of grey we haven’t seen before, is already hitting the high notes. The drama moves in flashbacks which makes for an intriguing storytelling experience. We recommend you add this one to your watchlist.
Pamaal airs twice a week on Monday and Tuesday on Green Entertainment.
Pamaal is a Multiverse Entertainment production, written by Zanjabeel Asim and directed by Khizer Idrees, with Tehreem Chaudhary serving as producer. The cast includes Saba Qamar, Usman Mukhtar, Haris Waheed, Salma Asim, Adnan Jaffar, Faiza Gillani, Naima Khan, Shahnawaz Zaidi, and Fatiq.
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