Omair Alavi|Shehr|May 16, 2021
With no Eid gatherings due to government restrictions, you have all the time you need to relive classic TV dramas on YouTube, where they are now available
Though Covid-19 has destroyed life as we knew it, it has also provided us with something that we didn’t have – time. With no outings on your calendar, no event to take you away from home, and no Eid gatherings due to government restrictions, you have all the time you need to relive classic TV dramas on YouTube, where they are now available. All you need is a good internet connection and a free schedule to go back in time without leaving the comfort of your TV lounge. I have shortlisted some of the best TV dramas, which were instant hits when they aired, and are now considered classics for withstanding the test of time. Happy watching.
Tanhaiyyan (PTV, 1986)
Cast: Shehnaz Sheikh, Marina Khan, Asif Raza Mir, Jamshed Ansari, Qazi Wajid, Behroze Sabzwari, Badar Khalil, Azra Sherwani and Durdana Butt
Writer: Haseena Moin
Director: Shehzad Khalil
No list for must-watch dramas would ever be complete without the mention of Tanhaiyyan, which had Shehnaz Sheikh and Haseena Moin reunite for the second and final time. The dynamic duo of Shoaib Mansoor and Mohsin Ali were replaced by visionary director Shehzad Khalil, and a serious play was developed that had its share of laughter, happiness and crazy characters. Moreover, it went on to become so famous that Indian films were made on Tanhaiyyan’s blueprint. After so many years, it still inspires many dramas.
Tanhaiyyan was the story of Zara (Shehnaz Sheikh) and Saniya (Marina Khan) who lost their parents in Lahore while they were visiting their aunt (Badar Khalil) in Karachi. When the elder sister found out that their father had left a lot of debt behind, they had to sell the house he built to pay off his debt, leaving Zara with a mission to buy back the house in any way she could. With the support of her childhood friend Zain (Asif Raza Mir), and help from his fiancée (Yasmeen Ismail) and her business partner Saad Salman (Aamir Hatmi). Zara manages to run a successful business and achieves her mission when she realises that no matter what she does, she can’t bring back her parents. That’s when she has an accident and has to be brought back to Karachi, where her family nurses her back to life, and she goes on to live happily ever after.
Haseena Moin knew how to create characters and come up with a story that uses them all intelligently. We still love Qutubuddin Qabacha because he was transformed from a robotic person into a romantic one within the play’s thirteen-episode duration. Faran (Qazi Wajid) is amongst the most loved khalus in PTV’s history. Buqrat and Apa Bi (Jamshed Ansari and Azra Sherwani) are considered the ideal employee and employer, respectively. Add to that the love triangle that Zain and Zara were oblivious to, the arrival of their father’s friend (Mohammad Yousuf) and Zara’s accident and you had a perfect drama that had everything from romance, comedy and tragedy to suspense rolled into one. The way it promoted strong women is still something that not many serials have been able to do since, and we must thank the makers for thinking out of the box for the audience.
