Starring Amar Khan, Muneeb Butt, Maryam Noor, Osama Tahir and others, “Baddua” has been written by Samina Aijaz and directed by Ramish Rizvi. This is a story that centers around the concept of “karma,” fate coming back to destroy those who care only for themselves, disregarding who they hurt in the process. Centered on Abeer, played by Amar Khan, this character is a go-getter, trampling on family, friends and boyfriends to move up in life. At present, she has married Junaid, her best friend’s ex-fiance, and now finds herself in an unstable position.
Muneeb Butt’s Junaid is a very odd character and it’s hard to understand him. From his actions, he appears to be a man who obsesses over those he can’t have. While Abeer (Amar Khan) was exciting for him while he was engaged to Neelam, she’s now uninteresting as his wife – and he also says he married her for revenge. Meanwhile, he continues to declare that he loves Neelam and should have married Neelam, going so far as to arrive at Neelam’s doorstep with Abeer to make Neelam jealous in previous episodes. What then is this situation with Annie (Maryam Ansari)? A woman who refuses to meet him anymore, Junaid gets into a car accident after the “break up” and is now bedridden, grieving over that loss. Abeer, meanwhile, waits hand and foot on her good-for-nothing husband and only gets scolded in return. Abeer has also entered an interesting phase in her life. Once a horribly arrogant girl, Abeer is now unable to understand how to proceed. Her own family has disowned her and Junaid’s family will only tolerate her as long as Junaid does. Of course, we also have Mohsin’s mother constantly giving Abeer “badduas.”
The highlight of “Baddua” is, honestly, Neelam (Maryam Noor) and Affan’s (Osama Tahir) potential relationship and marriage. Neelam has healed from the heartbreak she experienced at Abeer and Junaid’s hands and is ready to move on with the support of her family. Neelam is a great character, well-written, confident and unafraid to express herself. On the other hand, Affan is a kind-hearted young man who has dealt with loss of his own, ironically also at the hands of Abeer. Mohsin (Mohsin Abbas Haider) was Affan’s cousin and Affan’s family continues to deal with the emotional ramifications of his death. It’s an interesting twist, but Neelam and Affan’s marriage tends to serve as the perfect revenge while also being a genuinely cute relationship between two “good” individuals. It also helps that Maryam Noor and Osama Tahir make a visually appealing pair. However, how will Affan’s friendship with Junaid figure into the scenario when both men realize the connection between Neelam, Junaid – and Abeer?
Other than Osama Tahir and Maryam Noor’s track, Amar Khan is giving a strong performance as the central character, Abeer. She is an incredibly talented actress and it’s nice to see her in a role like this. Salma Hassan is also performing well. “Baddua” is one of those shows that isn’t necessarily an exciting one. It isn’t “so bad, it’s good,” nor is it “good.” It’s a drama with an interesting story and talented actors who are giving likable enough performances to keep viewers watching – but it’s also dragging while only on episode 12. This drama needs to take off in a new direction quick.