“Badshah Begum” is a show that should be number one in the ratings, but isn’t gathering that kind of viewership for some odd reason. Still, this is quality television and one hopes that more producers will be willing to create creative shows like this in the future. Starring Farhan Saeed, Zara Noor Abbas, Hamza Sohail, Ali Rehman Khan, Komal Meer, Yasir Hussain, Saman Ansari, Abdul Hassan, Shahzad Nawaz and others, the story has been written by Saji Gul and directed by Khizer Idrees. This week’s episode of “Badshah Begum” is a strong one.
Hamza Sohail is the star of episode 28 as a young man who desperately wants to change the mindset and traditions within Peeran Pur. This is a man who does not entirely understand his people, but he wants the best for them. However, do the people of Peeran Pur know any different from what they have been doing for generations? Shahmir and Gulnar (Hiba Aziz) bond over the loss of Gulnar’s child and Shahmir proves to be the husband Gulnar deserves. However, their comfort and protection in one another is short lived as Shahmir makes the decision to declare the “gaddi” unimportant, returning freedoms to the people of Peeran Pur. Most importantly, he declares that Badshah Begum will be free to marry, removing the shackles and burden of loneliness from the lives of his sisters. This proves to be all too much for the citizens of Peeran Pur and they are enraged as the family runs back to the haveli.
What “Badshah Begum” truly drives home is how no one in this family can be trusted. While Shahzaib (Farhan Saeed) promises to protect Shahmir – though not without his own selfish conditions -, he does care about his brother and does not wish him harm. Unfortunately, Murad (Abul Hassan) and Hakim Bi (Saman Ansari) do not have that sort of code of loyalty. And, surprisingly, neither does Roshan Ara (Komal Meer). While Murad sells out his brother by paying the guard to let the bloodthirsty crowd in, Roshan Ara confronts the crowd, supports their decision and reveals Shahmir’s hiding place, essentially leading the crowd to her brother’s murder.
The final fifteen minutes of the episode are harrowing and action-packed, the Pir family scrambling not only to save Shahmir, but also themselves. While Bakhtiyar (Ali Rehman Khan) discovers who the culprit was behind Shahmir’s attempted assassination (Murad), it’s too little too late as Murad has the family cornered. Each actor from Hamza Sohail, Zara Noor Abbas, Shahzad Nawaz, Komal Meer to Farhan Saeed does a wonderful job depicting the anguish each of their characters are experiencing. This episode is a fight for survival and that atmosphere is set not only with solid direction by Khizer Idrees and great writing by Saji Gul, but also stellar performances by the cast. If there’s a single flaw in the episode, it is the atrocious acting by the extras in the “mob.” Some of the extras cannot believe they’ve been recruited to star in a drama and are grinning wildly, which ruins the mood a bit. Overall, this episode of “Badshah Begum” is phenomenal and we can only hope the remaining episodes are equally as gripping.