Media Magick

India and Pakistan share a love-hate relationship; it is like two brothers or sisters growing up together but fighting with one another but at the end have softer feelings for each other. Umera Ahmed is one of the most famous writers in Pakistan and with her last web-series Ek Jhoothi Love Story for Zee5, she gathered numerous fans from the India as well. Umera Ahmed’s dramas have already been popular in Indian diaspora, thanks to YouTube. Dhoop Ki Deewar is currently airing on Zee5, it is written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Haseeb Hasan who impressed his audience last year with ‘Alif’. The story of Dhoop Ki Deewar revolves around two characters Sarah Sher Ali (Sajal Aly) and Vishal Malhotra (Ahad Raza Mir) and their families.

Dhoop Ki Deewar raises many questions, they range from questioning one’s patriotism, how it feels like when a loved one embraces martyrdom and how things change behind them; it also highlights how media takes advantage of situations and fuel controversies, and how humans react to losses and look for a sense of association with others. The overall concept of Dhoop Ki Deewar is intriguingly interesting. This is a kind of story that has not been depicted earlier. The first three episodes are about what happens to the families of Indian and Pakistani soldiers who embraced martyrdom in the line of duty. How their kids respond to media and how media turns that into a controversy. From social media to electronic media everyone starts to talk about the burning issue and leaving no stone unturned to create havoc around it in India and Pakistan. The media culture is very much the same and so is the emotional response to the loss.

Manzar Sehbai and Samiya Mumtaz as the father of a Pakistani soldier and wife of an Indian soldier (respectively) are scene stealers. In every frame, they both prove that they have absorbed their characters very well. A few scenes of Manzar Sehbai are beautifully written and brilliantly performed. Similarly, Samiya Mumtaz carries a complicated character with utmost ease and conviction. Human elements are impressively depicted in multiple characters. A few scenes of Samina Ahmed are noteworthy, where she mourns her son’s demise is amongst the highlights of the first 3 episodes.

Sajal Aly is so remarkable as Sarah that she performs commendably. Sajal portrays her character realistically and brings out her emotions in every scene. Her outbursts and the way she displays her confusions and complexed nature are all first-rate. Ahad Raza Mir as Vishal is a little lost in the character. He looks cute but there are scenes where he underperformed, perhaps that is the kind of character that the writer has written for him.

Direction-wise, Dhoop Ki Deewar is very strong and Haseeb Hasan once again proves that he has a knack for handling complicated and emotional scenes. A few of the scenes stand out and gel well with the narrative. Execution of the web-series is a little slower than the slow, in the first 3 episodes, it looks like a lot of time has been spent on setting up the foundation. At times, there is a repetition of the same message that feels a little monotonous. Because of the slow execution it the web-series look more like a drama or a soap, let’s see what upcoming episodes have in store for the viewers.

Dhoop Ki Deewar is airing on Zee5 and every Friday, 2 episodes are released. So far, 4 episodes have been released.