“Abdullahpur Ka Devdas” arrived with much anticipation, tagging along on Bilal Abbas Khan’s “Ishq Murshid” success. A project which has been waiting in the pipelines for at least two years, “Abdullahpur Ka Devdas” finally released on Zee Zindagi one month ago and is being uploaded on Zee Zindagi’s YouTube channel for Pakistani viewers. But does the show meet up to the expectations? Starring Bilal Abbas Khan, Sarah Khan, Raza Talish, Anoushay Abbasi, Noor Ul Hassan, Ali Ansari, Saad Qureshi, Savera Nadeem, Nida Mumtaz, Arjumand Rahim and others in prominent roles, the story has been written by Shahid Dogar and directed by Anjum Shahzad.
In episode 8, Gulbano (Sarah Khan) hides from Shehroze (Ali Ansari) and his men in a residential area, winding up in none other than Faakhar’s (Bilal Abbas Khan) new apartment. Unfortunately, by the time Faakhar recognizes her, she runs away in fear once again. Meanwhile, Kashif (Raza Talish) fights internally with his guilt and his newfound information that the woman he loves is Faakhar’s love and vows to step out of the way. Faakhar has randomly gone on the path of becoming some sort of “don” or individual in power, which does not make any sense. He hits Kashif with his car without realizing it’s Kashif and Gulbano threatens Faakhar, saying she will give kill him if anything happens to Kashif.
The loopholes in “Abdullahpur Ka Devdas” are intense and almost make the viewer feel unstable for watching the show. “Abdullahpur Ka Devdas” has basically taken the story of “Saajan” (Bollywood film) and tweaked it to add a heavy political tinge to it along with a story of romance for the sake of escapism. Does Gulbano actually love “Devdas”? She has never even seen his face nor has she had a conversation with him. She has created an idea of love purely out of his interest in her. She has romanticized the idea of this man who wants her solely to rid herself of her two overbearing cousins – one has now passed away, but Shehroze is in full form as a raging alcoholic on a quest to “own” Gulbano. Sure, we can sympathize with Gulbano’s plight, but she is simply not a likable character and the connection between her and Faakhar is so…..wafer-thin.
The potential for romance between Jamila (Anoushay Abbasi) and Faakhar is much better and honestly, Gulbano, as a character, does not deserve Faakhar. The performances which are worthwhile are those from Bilal Abbas Khan, Anoushay Abbasi, Savera Nadeem and Nauman Ejaz. If there’s a story arc which is actually engrossing, it’s the one between Savera Nadeem and Nauman Ejaz, a love story which has played out much like Faakhar and Gulbano’s…..except this love story has ambition, despair and intensity. We would love to see more of these stellar actors enacting their story. At the end of the day, we can see why Zee5 put off releasing this show. “Abdullahpur Ka Devdas” is mostly running on aesthetics, emotional pull, good-looking people and, of course, the two beautiful OSTs. Otherwise, this show has not done a great job of piquing interest.