Read time: approx 5 mins
Parizaad Parizaad Parizaad... a name that has been echoed in every Pakistani household and touched every Pakistani's soul and here's why...
Plot
The story of Parizaad follows a very realistic narrative of a dark-skinned college-going boy who is born into an underprivileged family. The literal meaning of Parizaad is beauty-which is in contrast to his dark complexion that does not conform with societal expectations of beauty. Parizaad is a hard-working and honest boy who likes to pen his thoughts to paper in the form of Urdu Shayari. The character of Parizaad connects deeply with an audience as it takes us on such a journey that addresses our everyday battles of betrayal, societal acceptance, and the need for financial success. Parizaad gives up his studies and passion for poetry to earn money to support his family. In the chase for financial stability does Parizaad lose himself to the world? Since the first episode, the drama has been hyped up for its unique storyline- different from the typical saas-bahu, love triangles, and abuse storylines which are heavily being repeated.
Parizaad is a drama serial that consistently brings controversial themes as a focal point to battle stereotypes in Pakistan- and has successfully portrayed this through various characters and plot twists. Parizaad touches on the topic of Gender Dysphoria which is seen as a taboo topic in Pakistan but the way the emotions of Asad Mumtaz Malik and Saboor Aly came through on the screen stole the hearts of Pakistani viewers. Parizaad also carefully touches on the topic of transgenders which surprised the audience but many appreciated how this was done in the drama.
Parizaad is a drama structured into short realistic narratives sewn together to bring a blockbuster masterpiece that has captivated the hearts of every Pakistani. People who don't ever watch Pakistani dramas all sat down to watch this- and rightfully so. This is because the story of Parizaad is so down to earth for people to relate to as there is a learning message that comes from every episode that gives fans food of thought. What we appreciate the most about this drama serial are the thrill, excitement, and plot twists that have us eagerly waiting for the next episode. Parizaad was a clear and concise drama that absolutely did not drag, unlike many current dramas that elongate out their episodes for the TRPs.
Cast
Parizaad evolves around the journey of a boy who meets many women in his life who each teach him valuable life lessons. The first look of Parizaad had me personally questioning why there were was a need for so many female characters in lead roles. In my opinion, the chosen actresses were specifically cast to boost their name and give them a chance to shine and gain recognition in such a huge project. We believe each character big and small were finely handpicked to play a role in Parizaad. This drama involves a huge ensemble cast with many new faces as supporting actors- these actors have been gifted as new opportunities for the entertainment industry to use as fresh new faces with emerging talent. In particular, supporting actors who played Na Saaz and Guru have caught the audience's attention and created a lasting impact- we hope to see more of them on TV.
The main role of Parizaad was played by Ahmed Ali Akbar who has consistently received a phenomenal amount of praise from both fans and other celebrities in the industry for his performance. Ahmed has dived into the character of Parizaad so well through the use of his body language and dialogue delivery which changes over time as his character shifts from Parizaad to PZ Mir. Ahmed Ali Akbar is later seen to adopt the stature and mannerism of Behroze Kareem, in particular, we see this during the piano scenes. Ahmed lived and breathed his character so well from start to finish- he performed this role to utmost perfection. However, did you know Ahmed Ali Akbar was not the first choice to play Parizaadđź‘€ Would we have wanted it any other way though? I think not
The glamorous Saboor Aly is seen to play a young and rebellious tom-boy in Parizaad. This is a very different character for Saboor Aly from her usual negative roles as seen previously in Fitrat and Gul-o-Gulzar. We believe this character is going to leave a lasting impression on Saboor Aly's career to prove her versatility and hopefully, this can be a stepping stone for her to now be offered to play different roles. Although Bubbly Badmash is not a character in the Parizaad novel and was created for the drama serial, we loved every Bubbly-Parizaad scene.
Mashal Khan plays the role of Lubna/Mahpara and we absolutely love the friendship between Lubna-Parizaad. Whilst the characters are polar opposites of each other this is exactly what makes their interactions so engaging to watch. Lubna is introduced to be an independent and confident girl who studies at the same University as Parizaad. After the plot twist, it is revealed that Lubna is stuck in her own helpless circumstances but her character lives with the truth without moaning or whining as typically shown as "bechari" characters. We also believe that Mashal Khan's acting has stepped up in this drama as we see her emotions of pain and grief expressed in scenes head-on with Ahmed Ali Akbar.
We leave the best till last- the Ahmed Ali Akbar and Yumna Zaidi pairing! Yumna plays a young girl who is a radio presenter and a die-hard fan of Parizaad's poetry. However, Parizaad has moved on from his Urdu Shayari college days and so is overwhelmed to have a fan like RJ Annie who recites his poetry regularly on her shows. Her character has been written to be so innocent she brings a tear to our eye with her flawless dialogue delivery and expressions. The importance of Yumna's character being blind means that her admiration and love for Parizaad are based on his words and she sees beauty in his heart. She is the definition of a pure love who sticks by you in life no matter what.
Creative Techniques
Drama serial Parizaad is a clear work of art from every aspect- the scenic locations, the heart-wrenching poetry, and the musical aspect.
We love how this drama consistently integrated Shayari into its dialogues which altogether played a major theme in the drama. Classic Urdu poetry is beautiful and it's quite surprising that writers haven't used this to their benefit the way Hashim Nadeem has done in Parizaad. The drama now has many poetry dialogues that have gone viral and will definitely be remembered for years.
The Parizaad OST lyrics portray through words the journey and difficulties this character will go through. The piano melody is continuously used to create depth in scenes starting from the young Parizaad who requested his mum for his own Piano to later the PZ Mir who owns a piano. After the death of Behroze Karim, Parizaad is seen in many scenes sitting alone playing the piano to emphasize a change in time. This technique created a pin drop silence and proved to be impactful leaving Parizaad in his thoughts and an audience reminiscing Parizaad's journey to date.
Criticism
Whilst the drama serial has had a huge amount of praise we did want to shed light on two aspects for critical analysis and open this up for discussion in the comments below.
From the very first look of this drama, it is clear that Ahmed Ali Akbar's face has been darkened specifically for his physical appearance to fit in with the character of Parizaad. Whilst we applaud Ahmed for his performance we can't help but think was there nobody talented enough who physically was the same colour as Parizaad to play the role? Maybe they could've added more to the character by drawing upon their own personal experiences whilst giving a more realistic look to the character. Was the casting of the fair-skinned Ahmed Ali Akbar to play the dark-skinned Parizaad irresponsible and ignorant of the real issue?
Parizaad was always shown to be a hardworking individual so the fact that he overnight inherited Behroze Karim's wealth feels slightly unnatural to the storyline. We would've liked to see Parizaad emerge successful from his own two feet over time.
Parizaad is incomparable to any other drama in the industry- it has set up a new direction for the showbiz industry. We really hope to see the industry explore more unique storylines and can't wait to see Parizaad rightfully bag all the awards in the next awards show. What life lesson do you take away from the drama serial Parizaad?
