Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is a story known to all. Even those who have never laid eyes on the works of Shakespeare have seen a version of the story in Bollywood, Hollywood or any other industry. A story following young lovers with feuding families fighting against the odds to be together is not a new or fresh story – and on Pakistani television, we only just recently saw “Muhabbat Gumshuda Meri” (which was great). However, “Burns Road Kay Romeo Juliet” offers a an engaging, meaningful take on the tale. Starring Hamza Sohail and Iqra Aziz in lead roles, the show also stars Shabbir Jan, Khalid Anum, Raza Samo, Zainab Qayyum, Shaheera Jalil Albasit and others in a story written by Parisa Siddiqui and directed by Fajr Raza.
In episode 11, Friha’s (Iqra Aziz) family is preparing for her wedding while Friha herself hatches a plan to escape from the festivities using the help of the ladies hired to apply mehndi. Escaping to a safe place, Farhad (Hamza Sohail) and Friha quickly realize life on the run isn’t so easy – and escaping Friha’s brother, Saqib is even more difficult. Saqib vandalizes Jojo’s (Raza Samo) gym and terrorizes Farhad’s family with a gun – and unfortunately for Farhad, his terrible brother-in-law is still out to get him. Kiran (Shaheera Jalil Albasit) is a well-meaning character, but she is easily the most frustrating one. She wants to protect her family by hiding her bad marriage, but allows her husband to not only insult her brother, but also put his life in danger. Why would she ask Farhad to send his address over text knowing her husband lurks around every corner? Thanks to Kiran, Farhad and Friha’s whereabouts are now known to Saqib, who is now determined to get Friha home before her Nikkah.
When “Burns Road Kay Romeo Juliet” first began, it appeared to be another entertaining show without much soul, much like “Mannat Murad.” But with each episode, “Burns Road Kay Romeo Juliet” only gets better, gaining momentum and the entire cast performing incredibly well – especially our Romeo and Juliet, Hamza Sohail and Iqra Aziz. Their chemistry is excellent and we really believe them to be the young, innocent lovebirds that they are, unaware of how their actions will have an impact greater than they ever imagined. Hamza Sohail is so endearing as a young man in love willing to do anything for his love and Iqra Aziz performs really well in the emotional scenes as she finally understands the gravity of their situation -and the lengths Saqib is willing to go to get her back.
What’s interesting to note is that much like “Muhabbat Gumshuda Meri,” the villainy of this story is one-sided. Friha’s family are the villains while Farhad’s family are just middle class, normal folk trying to make a living and move forward in life (barring Kiran’s unstable husband). Saqib is murderous, Friha’s mother is an emotional blackmailer and Friha’s father lacks a strong mind. What sort of family is this? If anything, we are rooting for this young love story to succeed wholeheartedly just to see Friha’s family punished. At present, “Burns Road Kay Romeo Juliet” is at a high point with the lovebirds now on the run to escape Saqib’s attack. This is a great watch!