Some thoughts on MALAL by Umera herself on her facebook note: ===========================================
As Malal is starting this Saturday I found it important to make a comment on the serial. This is my second original screenplay after my first serial Wujood-e-Laraib that aired in 2004 (the rest have all been adaptations)... and that is why I am really looking forward to your feedback .
This is also my second serial with Mehreen Jabbar; one of the finest directors that we have in Pakistan. After Doraha we were very much aware of the kind and the amount of expectations that viewers would be having from our next serial. It was easy for us to do a sequel of Doraha or a project very similar to it and hit the jackpot again. But that is not what we believe in. Success of a project becomes meaningless when it creatively stifles you. It is always fun to break the mantra and come up with something new and daring. That is the only way we can refine your tastes. Malal stands at a 180-degree shift from Doraha in its theme, treatment, issues, class and cast. You will get disappointed if you kept on comparing the two while watching it. That is my only fear. I never believe in bragging about a project beforehand. Still I will like to say that our cast and crew have given their optimum best. That is my verdict. However, you are the ultimate judge of the quality and success of a project. So I leave it to you. I read a quote somewhere a few days ago...'' Take the shot even when your knees are shaking."....I loved it. So Malal Team Is Taking The Shot:)....don't ask if our knees are shaking or not:):):)
My thoughts on Umera's facebook note: ==========================
Umera-Mehreen teaming yet again...with HUM (Moomal) patronization and a strong story and equally strong direction and a cast like Deepti, Sarwat and Imran Abbas and whatever I have heard about the serial and its grandeur due to the three most popular artiste---I have cogent reasons to believe that people who do not watch the serial will face malal ... Read Morefor missing it out.
My pleasure has been working in MALAL as Imran's dad....and despite the fact that it is a guest role of hardly a scene or two---with my good friend Ismat Zaidi as my wife and Sanam Agha as my daughter...I found Mehreen's spellbinding direction---so endearing and wonderful that there emerged a certain pleasure working there that this magical find Umera in pak showbiz..who has created waves in private productions with some strong scripts which are gaining momentum of the extent our serials of 60's and 70's and even 80's did--that they are still remembered so fondly and MALAL assures us the same kind of popularity due to its strong script, strong direction, classy location (New York) and the wonderful and most professional cast---that one can well visualise MALAL as the forthcoming popular serial on HUM TV that it will carry a very strong viewership as well.
Good luck Umera, Mehreen, Sarwat, Deepti and Imran Abbas..and the entire cast including the people behind the camera---support to Mehreen.
Umera. Thanks for your note. It was a pleasure to work with Mehreen and to invest in the characters you created. I can’t wait to see how audiences respond to Malal. My other serial that is on air right now on HumTV has been getting good responses from audiences all over. This is all very exciting development.
Some thoughts on MALAL by Umera herself on her facebook note:===========================================
As Malal is starting this Saturday I found it important to make a comment on the serial. This is my second original screenplay after my first serial Wujood-e-Laraib that aired in 2004 (the rest have all been adaptations)... and that is why I am really looking forward to your feedback .
This is also my second serial with Mehreen Jabbar; one of the finest directors that we have in Pakistan. After Doraha we were very much aware of the kind and the amount of expectations that viewers would be having from our next serial. It was easy for us to do a sequel of Doraha or a project very similar to it and hit the jackpot again. But that is not what we believe in. Success of a project becomes meaningless when it creatively stifles you. It is always fun to break the mantra and come up with something new and daring. That is the only way we can refine your tastes. Malal stands at a 180-degree shift from Doraha in its theme, treatment, issues, class and cast. You will get disappointed if you kept on comparing the two while watching it. That is my only fear. I never believe in bragging about a project beforehand. Still I will like to say that our cast and crew have given their optimum best. That is my verdict. However, you are the ultimate judge of the quality and success of a project. So I leave it to you. I read a quote somewhere a few days ago...'' Take the shot even when your knees are shaking."....I loved it. So Malal Team Is Taking The Shot:)....don't ask if our knees are shaking or not:):):)
.......and some thoughts of the Director Mehreen Jabbar on the note of Umera on facebook:
Mehreen Jabbar:
Umera jee, thanks for writing the note. I do agree with you that Malal is 180 degrees different from Doraha in terms of its storyline and treatment but I really enjoyed working on it and am looking forward to seeing the audience reaction. It is definitely a storyline that is not being explored in our serials and is away from the mainstream. The ... Read Moreserial was shot in New York and Karachi and is the first serial to be filmed on 35mm (film) lenses so the look will be slightly different. The team was a mixture of Pakistani and American crew members and we shot in very very cold temperatures so apologies if sometimes the actors mouths are trembling ;)
I love working with Umera because of the realism of her stories and her dialogue and the effort she puts in characterizations instead of just plots.
I think Malal will be a serial that needs to be savored and enjoyed araam sey, episode by episode.
I am so excited. I absolutely LOVED the last Mehreen Jabbar drama, Doraha. It reminded me of the good old PTV dramas, where dramas were 15 episode long, story lines were realistic, characters were relatable and women didn't go to sleep with full makeup and jewelery on. I can't wait for malal to start. Mehreen is the Sahira Kazmi of our generation. I am so proud of her!!!
.......and some thoughts of the Director Mehreen Jabbar on the note of Umera on facebook:
Mehreen Jabbar:
Umera jee, thanks for writing the note. I do agree with you that Malal is 180 degrees different from Doraha in terms of its storyline and treatment but I really enjoyed working on it and am looking forward to seeing the audience reaction. It is definitely a storyline that is not being explored in our serials and is away from the mainstream. The ... Read Moreserial was shot in New York and Karachi and is the first serial to be filmed on 35mm (film) lenses so the look will be slightly different. The team was a mixture of Pakistani and American crew members and we shot in very very cold temperatures so apologies if sometimes the actors mouths are trembling ;)
I love working with Umera because of the realism of her stories and her dialogue and the effort she puts in characterizations instead of just plots.
I think Malal will be a serial that needs to be savored and enjoyed araam sey, episode by episode.
umera ahmed is one of my favorite writers !! i wish they could make an adaptation of the short novel imaan umeed & mohabbat ..its one of her first piece of work i read ..although peer-e-kamil remains the BEST ever ....but i think an adaptation could NEVER do justice to it ..though
Mehreen Jabbar is so talented that she mite be able to pull dis one off too.
i just have one slight complaint from the private channel productions. post production wise, direction wise they r fabulous but they are deviating from the cultural values of our country. they now have alot of indianized and western touch. too many extra marital affairs and such things are being shown. i DO agree that these r the dilemmas of today's pakistani society, but they are also scaring away the youth of today from marriages, families and cultural values
this was solely my opinion. :) any1/every1 could disagree if they want :p
Our drama industry has been the best. esp PTV's old classic dramas ..nobody can beat tht..
i LOVED doraha. it reminded me of the old plays like ankahhi, tanhayyan , dhuwan etc .. they were realistic, simple without any glamour. i mean marina khan looked very pretty even without makeup and so did shehnaz sheikh in ankahi..they grabbed attention by their acting..and the dialogue delivery . i wish we could have such dramas again ! :)
the first episode came on air this past week and right from the beginning, the characters are so well defined and the story once again under Mehreen's direction is so very every day and normal.
this drama looks interesting but cast...........wohi imran,sarwat,deepti,faisal..
it's the treatment, direction, and story that makes a huge difference.
Mehreen would normally cast Nadia Jamil, Humayun, Yasir Nawaz, etc in her plays but each time they did something different so we never got bored seeing them together.
i agree with u..cast achi nahi hai phir bhi i’m interested in this serial only bcoz of Mehreen and umera…i like their combination so much and i luv mehreen’s work :k:
watched the 2nd episode and the story is progressing nicely (as expected :)) so far. Danish is similar to the character Humayun played in Doraha in some respects as he is also shown not to be able to make his own decisions or stand by his own decisions. Which I think will lead to his downfall and unfortunately bring everyone else down in the process.