Amanat Episode 1: An Exciting Cast, But A Repetitive Storyline

ARY is currently churning out new shows and “Amanat” is the latest release, its first episode airing on September 21. This drama has been in the works for a while and was stuck for some reason, now finally being released, so one assumes the entire show has already been shot in full. Starring Imran Abbas, Urwa Hocane, Saboor Aly and Haroon Shahid in lead roles, the story has been written by Rukhsana Nigar and directed by Shahid Shafaat. The first episode does not disappoint, though the storyline seems repetitive and gives a feeling of deja-vu.

In episode 1, we are introduced to Zaraar (Imran Abbas), a young man who is dedicated to his profession, which leaves his fiancée Zunaira (Saboor Aly) irritable and feeling neglected. Zaraar’s sister, played by Srha Asghar, is married to Zunaira’s brother, which complicates matters, particularly because Zunaira has a flaring temper. Zunaira does not get along with Zaraar’s younger brother, played by Haroon Shahid, and when the two have an argument, this leads Zaraar and Zunaira’s relationship to a messy place.

On the other end, Mehar (Urwa Hocane) is a girl who lives with her Chacha (Babar Ali) and Chachi (Saima Qureshi). Her Chacha has grand plans to marry Mehar off to his differently abled son, played by Gohar Rasheed), and this horrifies not only Mehar, but also her kind-hearted Chachi. She plots for Mehar to marry Asad Siddiqui’s character, encouraging the two to run away to save Mehar’s life, but endangering her own. It’s clear that Mehar will wind up under Zaraar’s protection.

The strong point of “Amanat” is, quite honestly, its cast. With Imran Abbas, Urwa Hocane, Saboor Aly, Haroon Shahid, Gohar Rasheed, Asad Siddiqui, Srha Asghar, Salman Saeed, Babar Ali, Saba Hameed, Tara Mehmood and many others, this is a star-studded cast which makes the viewing experience entertaining at least. That being said, this is not an innovative story. In fact, this show immediately reminds the viewer of one of Imran Abbas’ last shows – “Thora Sa Haq.” How many times will Imran Abbas play the role of a man betraying his fiancé for another woman he “rescues”? All the characters in “Amanat” are extreme – extremely sweet, extremely “majboor,” extremely angry, extremely brash, extremely conservative, extremely selfish, extremely sacrificing – it’s all just very extreme. Nothing in the initial storyline shows why so many actors jumped to sign this show – but who knows? Maybe this will wind up being the dark horse, a show that winds up being worthwhile. The first episode is entertaining enough, but will the remaining episodes manage to keep up pace and keep viewers connected?