Written by: Hurmat Majid
Posted on: November 02, 2021 | 
| 中文
The main cast of the drama serial 'Amanat'
While Pakistan’s drama scene is rapidly evolving, some production houses are still busy making dramas that make the audience brain dead. Amanat, written by Rukhsana Nigar and directed by Shahid Shafaat, is one such offering.
Imran Abbas and Urwa Hocane with Shahid Shafaat, the director of the drama
The story, if you may call it that, revolves around Zarrar (Imran Abbas), who finds himself in a predicament when a close friend of his passes away, leaving him the charge of his wife Meher (Urwa Hocane). Zarrar is engaged, and soon to be married to Zunairah (Saboor Aly), whom he deeply loves.
Imran Abbas and Urwa Hocane
Defying all logic, Zarrar brings Meher home and does not give his family any reasonable explanation about who his friend was, and why he left Meher in his care. Zunairah, on the other hand, is losing her mind over this mysterious woman’s appearance in her fiancé’s life.
Mehr’s paternal uncle, Malik Furqan (Babar Ali), comes looking for his niece, and when Zarrar falsely declares that he is married to Mehr, Malik Furqan threatens to kill her. This leaves everyone in shock. Zunairah, in a fit of rage, decides to marry Zarrar’s brother (Haroon Shahid). At the same time, Meher gets shot by Malik Furqan and is hospitalized with Zarrar nursing her.
Mehr (Urwa Hocane) in hospital after being shot by malik Furqan (Babar Ali)
The plot is not only baffling, it is also mindless. In the 21st century, how is it okay for two people, who are in love and engaged to not communicate with each other at all? Also, which man in his right mind would just ask another man to take care of his wife, if he dies? Lastly, which brother would marry his own brother’s fiancé, just to be one-up on him?
An intense scene from the drama
In terms of acting, Urwa seems to not have gotten over the persona she portrayed in Neeli Zinda Hai while shooting Amanat, and looks a lot more sinister than she needs to be for this role. Saboor’s acting takes on the role of the depressive fiancé really well, but then after she marries the wrong guy, her acting becomes extremely over-the-top, to the point that one simply fails to sympathize with her out of sheer annoyance. Imran Abbas does not know how to act, he didn’t have the skill when he first joined the industry, and he still hasn’t grown as an actor over time.
Malik Furqan (Babar Ali) dragging his wife (Saima Qureshi) while their mentally impaired child (Gohar Rasheed) can be seen behind.
Babar Ali has brought his silver screen expressions to Amanat, with an excessive use of his eyes. Saima Qureshi, who plays his wife, seems to be playing the same role in five different dramas with zero changes to her appearance or wardrobe. What is sad is that she seems to be okay with the fact that audiences cannot differentiate one persona of hers from the other. Saba Hameed plays Zarrar’s mother and does justice to her role. Gohar Rasheed plays the role of a mentally impaired boy, and it appears as if he is trying to imitate Imran Ashraf’s famous character ‘Bhola’ from Ranjha Ranjha Kardi.
Saba Hameed is playing Zarrar's (Imran Abbas) mother in 'Amanat'
As far as the production goes, a lot of money has been spent on the wardrobes and set designs but none of that really matters if the story does not make sense. On top of that, just five episodes in, the drama is already starting to show flashbacks, and audiences are being made to sit through five different renditions of the same scene over and over again.
Overall, the drama has no redeeming points, and one wonders why a stellar cast like this was wasted on a mind-numbing stupid storyline. It is a shame that audiences still have such poor choices when it comes to weekly dramas. It is high time channels and production houses realize that audiences have evolved and that they deserve better.
You may also like:
