Competition has been stiff this Ramadan season with four headlining shows, including “Chand Tara,” “Heer Da Hero,” “Tere Aany Se” and “Fairytale.” With the usual fare being one drama from Geo and one from Hum TV, this year doubled the dose – which wound up being a negative. Rather than focusing on one strong, well-written show, each one had its strengths and weaknesses without any one emerging as a great, flawless product. That being said, of the four, “Fairytale” wound up being the black horse of the group, a show that arrived with the least expectations – and floored viewers with its lead pair. Written by Sarah Majeed and directed by Ali Hassan, the drama stars Sehar Khan and Hamza Sohail in lead roles with Adnan Raza Mir, Aena Khan, Ali Safina, Saleem Sheikh, Salma Hassan, Tehseen Wajahat, Saman Ansari and Amna Yousafzai in supporting roles.
Again, “Fairytale” has never been a perfect show, yet it’s the fresh presentation, youthful cast and sweet love story that has won viewers over. In the finale, Umeed (Sehar Khan) begins questioning her decision to participate in Socho Pakistan. On one end, Umeed is fed up of being controlled by Pasha (Saleem Sheikh), an oppressive dictator of a father and it’s this frustration that has molded her into the person that she is – and hearing the same thoughts echoed by Farjaad (Hamza Sohail) is the exact opposite of what she wants to hear. And yet, on the other hand, she has grown to accept and acknowledge her feelings for Farjaad and genuinely cares about what he thinks. He is her ideal, he is the guy she looks to in admiration, even if she has mocked his rigid, stern, disciplined behavior in the past. She may not vocalize it, but she is not only in love with him, but also respects and admires him. The sequences that follow show Umeed’s discomfort as her family excitedly rushes to join the show.
Meanwhile, Asadullah (Ali Safina) winds up fired from his position as host as Farjaad, in a moment of insecurity, refuses to give him the position. This is a low moment for Farjaad, a moment that doesn’t sit well with the audience – or Umeed, as she storms away in anger. Asad is visibly hurt, as all his hopes had been resting on this position. More than that, he is disappointed in Farjaad, his friend. However, the sequence that follows with Farjaad apologizing to Asad is one of the best sequences in the finale, two friends having a genuine conversation and understanding one another. Of course, Mimi (Amna Yousafzai) deserves credit here, having beautifully explained Farjaad’s feelings earlier to Asad. Amna Yousafzai is a natural and has proved herself to be a talent worth looking out for. The special appearance by Ahad Raza Mir is cute and his scenes with Ali Safina are enjoyable to watch, though realistically, any audience member in this crowd would have been revolting with how disorganized this gameshow is. Ali Safina is one of Pakistan’s most underrated actors and always delivers his best – and Asadullah is no less.
The show wraps up with Umeed winning the game show but giving it all up in an honest confession – not only to Farjaad, but also Pasha. Umeed has finally recognized and acknowledged her own shortcomings, her desire to get rich quick without putting in any effort for it, and she finally understands where Farjaad and Pasha are coming from. Meanwhile, Farjaad acknowledges that his way of living hasn’t truly been living and he needs Umeed to bring happiness into his life. This confession is sweet….but also unsatisfying. This is an intimate conversation, two individuals with their insecurities coming out, confiding in the other on how they filled that void. This is an odd conversation to have in front of an audience on national television.
Fortunately, the final sequence more than makes up for it, not only treating audiences to a genuine Farjaad and Umeed outing, but also giving us the confession we genuinely wanted to see. While Farjaad is seen as strong, he allows his insecurities to slip through here, showing a fear of losing Umeed and the two confess their feelings – privately – in a beautiful moment.
“Fairytale” has been a beautiful ride, a sweet love story after a very long time. This is a love story that brought its carefree heroine and rigid hero together to give viewers a story that genuinely felt like a fairytale. Hamza Sohail and Sehar Khan have come like a breath of fresh air in this show. While the two have acted regularly in other shows, this is one that allowed them to explore aspects of their craft that they haven’t been able to before – comedy – and it has clicked in a big way. This is a beloved on-screen pair which must be repeated. Adnan Raza Mir and Aena Khan were wasted in side roles that felt more like fillers, not contributing anything real in terms of story. Fortunately, the show is gearing up for season two, so we can hope the next season offers viewers much more in that regard, much more of “FarMeed,” more character development and more focus on ironing out those flaws. Again, this hasn’t been a perfect ride, but it has been lovable and memorable, a show that audiences are already desperately missing.