Where Does Ranjha Ranjha Kardi Lie In The Sea Of Pakistani Romantic Dramas?

Ranjha Ranjha Kardi has been one of Pakistan’s highest rated shows this season. All the characters are made out to be real, solid, as well as multifaceted.

What makes it so special? Each character has a specific goal, a purpose and every little detail about these characters has been translated on screen with clarity. The drama has loads of character development with the two protagonists, Bhola played by Imran Ashraf and Noori played by Iqra Aziz showing clear growth by the end of the drama.

Is Noori the heroine Pakistani dramas need?

Noori is shown to be from a low-income household, but is really idealistic about what she wants from life. From the start we see a conflict in between her and her parents because of what she believes in. A protagonist shown from this strata of society is rarely portrayed in a positive manner in mainstream media, so kudos to Faiza Iftikhar and Kashif Nisar for doing the job exceptionally. At the start of the drama we see a hyper energetic girl full of dreams and aspirations trying to figure out her purpose in life. What we get to see are the men in her life trying to abuse her trust and naivety. Her father was ready to “sell” his daughter to the villain Shoka played by Noor-ul-Hassan. This accurately portrays how society revolves around those who have power and money. Which is why it is so refreshing to watch a female protagonist who is not drawn to these vices.

Noori is the backbone of the drama. With a stellar performance by Iqra Aziz, the audience can’t help but like her even when she is in love with Sahir, played by Syed Jibran, As the show progresses, he is shown to be a master manipulator and soon becomes the hidden villain of the drama. How impressive was Imran Ashraf as Bhola?

While Iqra does a stellar job, the main attraction of the show is Bhola. Imran Ashraf has already earned himself a lot of acclaim in the Pakistani industry with his roles, but Bhola will be the one that stands the test of time. The role is extremely challenging. Yet he delivers a flawless performance in such an effortless manner. During the start we see no connection between Bhola and Noori who are both shown to be hopeless romantics in their own right. But as fate would have it, they are brought together. Does the show have a good understanding of familial relationships in Pakistan?

The newly married couple faces a multitude of problems with the money hungry uncle Nusrat played by Kashif Mehmood. The audience from the start is led to suspect him of foul play due to his mistreatment of Bhola and the unexplained medication he is give by Nusrat. When Noori gets married to Bhola, she has to cover up the fact she is from a low-class family but later on this too gets revealed in a plot to expose her by Rizwana, Bhola’s aunt. The haveli that Noori now lives in is unreal for her, seeing where she came from and where she is now. Even with an enormous amount of wealth at her disposal, she still seems unhappy at times, treating Bhola as an annoying baby, and herself as his caretaker. Yet sometimes in certain scenes we see genuine emotion between the unorthodox couple. Bhola’s mother is just as clueless as her son Bhola and his mother’s relationship has been written well, and has translated extremely beautifully on screen. Asma Abbas plays a mother who is trying her best to take care of a fully-grown differently-abled son. Then when he is married, due to her persuasion, she treats Noori like her own daughter and forgives her lies as well. We see a growth of a genuine bond between the mother and daughter-in-law, which is rare in Pakistani dramas.

The main climax of the drama comes about with the re-emergence of Sahir, who still holds a significant place in Nooris heart. But as the audience, we see him as the real villain he is. We also see the development of a business relationship between Nusrat and Sahir, both shown to be equally greedy and trying to exploit poor Fahmida,Bholas mother Does the show handle taboo topics well? Noori is shown to be a bold woman with a clear plan throughout the drama, experiencing many hardships especially her martial rape, a taboo topic handled carefully by the writer and director. However, it received severe backlash and the actress Iqra Aziz came out in support and said on Instagram:

“One of the most pressing issues today that we don’t talk about is that we think of marriage as a binding contract to anything and everything. But marriage is based on trust and love and consent.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxo8t-knjof/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 It is refreshing to see a female protagonist who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. At the end she finally sees through Sahir and it is a satisfying win for the audience to see Noori finally breakout of Sahirs spell. She finally starts seeing Bhola and Fahmida as her family and with the end approaching the stage is set for final confrontations and a neat ending.

A suspense drama which made its mark in Pakistani television

This has by far been the most suspense-filled Pakistani drama with exceptionally acting by each of the characters, and will certainly be missed by audiences around the world.

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