You watch the first episode of Zard Patton Ka Bunn and you are reminded of …
The magic of Sajal when she appears on screen and the brilliance of the Saife Hasan and Mustafa Afridi combo, which conveys a non-preachy narrative. HUM has been a pioneer in breaking stereotypes and last but not the least, Kashf Foundation is not only changing lives through the causes it supports, but is also channelling television content impactfuly to shift mindsets.
Falling In Love With Meenu
What a pleasure it was to watch the first episode. Maimoona aka Meenu praying desperately to Allah to save her from the sher of suppli – so many students awaiting results at this moment must have spotted their own reflection in her, making her so relatable, and bringing a smile to your face. You fall in love with Meenu from the first instance as she is introduced, not through a visual, but through an announcement from the maulvi sahib about her letter asking him to pray for her and pledging to cook her father’s fighter rooster if she passes the exam.
The best part of the drama is when Meenu’s brother Roshan announces in a very nonchalant way that Meenu has topped in the entire area. It was a surprise, not only for everyone in the drama but also for the viewers, and you can’t help but cheer for her with a big smile.
Spotlight On Maternal Mortality
The drama takes an interesting route in introducing you to the subject of maternity and maternal mortality as you see the husband of a woman who passed away while giving birth, attacking the hospital and threatening to hurt the female doctor handling his wife’s case. The execution was great as it made you scared for that doctor, and you desperately wanted to protect her.
Hamza Sohail essays Nofil aptly, as a young doctor who not only has the wisdom to handle a dangerous situation but also the conscience to realize that the hospital should have handled this situation better and more sensitively than just handing over the family members of the patient to the police. We fear for Dr Nofil’s safety now.
The Beauty Is In the Detail
A big shout out to the production house and director Saife Hasan for focusing on the finer details: from the hospital attack to the rooster fight scene in the village. It is certainly adding to the visual experience, making it more relatable, real and interesting. The drama also opens a window into the daily routine of rural lifestyle after a long time. The rooster fight is a prevalent practice in villages, so it was interesting to see this spectacle being employed to gain traction on the narrative from the people who belong to these areas – a great way to tell a story.
Message Driven Narrative
The drama introduces the subject of population control, female education, the threat to lives of doctors handling maternity cases and behaviour based on gender treatment within a household. All these themes are interwoven in the story in a very light-hearted manner. They create a space in your subconscious without you realizing it.
The nonstop announcements from the Maulvi sahib during nearly half of the drama runtime is something you struggle with at moments. But maybe the purpose was to drive home an important point; the mosque and the significance of the maulvi sahib in the area – things and people we have stopped taking seriously and that have now just become background noise rather than key players of community building and positive change.
If you watched Zard Patton Ka Bunn, tell us what you thought and what else you would have added in the review!
The drama is penned by the talented duo of Mustafa Afridi & Saife Hasan. The project is produced under Momina Duraid Production & Kashf Foundation. The cast includes Sajal Ali, Hamza Sohail, Rehan Sheikh, Samiya Mumtaz, Ali Tahir, Adnan Shah Tipu, Saad Azhar, Syed Tanveer Hussain, Chaudhary Muhammad Usman, Mubashir Mehmood, Adeel Afzal, Najma Bibi, Zaryab Haider & others.
