Media Magick

Pakistani dramas have inspired entertainment industries around the world. Back is 70’s and 80’s, Pakistani dramas were not only appreciated by the Urdu language audiences but many cross-border filmmakers also made films on the same subjects and scripts. Pakistani audience was blessed to have notable drama and script writers like Kamal Ahmed Rizvi, Shoukat Siddiqui, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Munnu Bhai (Munir Ahmed Qureshi), Hameed Kashmiri, Fatima Suraiya Bajia, Haseena Moin, Ashfaq Ahmed and Anwer Maqsood who built a flavor, a range of subjects was spread out that suited everyone’s interests. Dramas like Khuda Ki Basti, Dubai Chalo, Shama, Parchaiyan, Ankahi, Chhappar Chhaon, Tanhaiyaan, Dhoop Kinare, Kashkol and Reza Reza offers a potpourri of social subjects, pressing concerns of the society along with humor, sugarcoated satire and performances that are still considered as library material for students who pursue drama and film as their career. Indeed we enjoyed a golden era of dramas from the beginning.

Despite of having a profound history of dramas that offered so many different types of stories and characters, somehow we do not have very distinguishing dramas that are featured on television these days. One of such dramas is hands down Badshah Begum that is quite a remarkable attempt by the writer Saji Gul and director Khizer Idrees. The drama shares the story of Peeran Pur and various characters that have different motives and triggering points that unleash the darkness of their personalities. Badshah Begum has various characters that are integral to the story. Although, the drama has younger lot of actors but the director has wrung the best out of them.

What captivated me, as a viewer, was that Badshah Begum has characters that are very unlikely to resemble from one another, if at one point there is Abul Hasan (Murad) who is evil and is very animated with his expressions, there is also Farhan Saeed (Shahzaib) the mature and inconspicuous kind. If you focus on Yasir Hussain (Kaiser), you find another tangent of devilish façade. Ditto for the female cast like Zara Noor Abbas (Badshah Begum) is compassionate, poised, awe-inspiring and righteous on the other hand Komal (Roshan Ara) and Saman Ansari (Hakim Bi) are cunning, vengeful and ruthless. So many characters with such distinctive and strong personalities that every actor does justice to their role.

Momina Duraid and Rafay Rashdi’s production, Badshah Begum, offers different flavor to the audience that is unique and fresh. The drama breaks stereotypes at so many levels. Besides depicting the story of religious clerics, fighting for positions, entangled with political conspiracies, romantic angles (where necessary) and a lot of surprising twists and turns that revolve around power greedy individuals, Badshah Begum also talks about the cult system that is still followed in multiple parts of Pakistan and no one questions that. From the production angle, the drama is very ambitious and it makes audience go-gaga. The fight sequences that are shown, the chase scenes and scenes from the congregation are worth the watch yet something that is not commonly shown on Pakistani TV channels.

Badshah Begum Title Track

Badshah Begum is a palette cleanser for Pakistani audience who was, at large, served with dramas that talk about infidelity, affairs, in-laws centric torture and politics. The drama will be remembered for character arcs, pretty impressive production value and dialogues that stay with the audience even after its climax. By the way, the title track is cherry on top, it grows on you.