Qalandar was one of those dramas that was engrossing despite dragging on for ten episodes too many. It had an eclectic cast of characters, with many superb actors, with some mediocre ones sprinkled throughout the mix. The story was at the same time, cliched, while having a fresh take. It was an overall interesting one, with somewhat blatant, yet positive themes.
Introduction – Qalandar
A Pakistani television series called Qalandar will debut on Geo Entertainment on October 14, 2022. Samra Bukhari is the author, and Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi are the producers under the brand of 7th Sky Entertainment, with Mikaal Zulfiqar serving as the developer. Komal Meer, Muneeb Butt, Ali Abbas, Hiba Aziz, Asma Abbas, and Kinza Razzak are among the cast members of the show.
The Synopsis of Qalandar
So basically Geo describes it as:
Qalandar is a story of a girl’s firm belief in her God and His decisions while the rest of the world continues to hurt, defame and challenge her.
Dur-e-Adan is a young and innocent girl who has grown up under the care of her uncle and aunt. Despite being an orphan at an early age, Dur-e-Adan doesn’t complain about her challenges and difficulties.
On the contrary, Tabriz is a handsome young man who aspires to achieve great things in life. Living in the same locality, Tabriz’s parents find Dur-e-Adan suitable for him as a life partner. However, Tabriz’s life takes a surprising turn when Sumbul hailing from a wealthy family falls in love with him. In efforts to secure his future financially, Tabriz forgets the gift that he has been bestowed in the form of Dur-e-Adan for this world and hereafter. Soon, Tabriz’s half-heartedness and conflicting loyalties in the form of greed begins to reflect in his relationship with Dur-e-Adan.
Amidst all the atrocities faced by Dur-e-Adan will she continue to be patient with those around her? Will Tabriz realize the respect and love that Dur-e-Adan deserves or will he continue to hurt her? Will Tabriz be able to mend his relationship with Dur-e-Adan?
Trailer
The Good Points of Qalandar
The cast is well-rounded, with good acting overall. Qalandar has a sort of twisted Cinderella story, with attempts to put across some positive themes and values, which are sometimes a hit and sometimes a miss. The sets are detailed and opulent, as well as different from the usual locations in dramas.
Settings
The drama includes a look at rural village culture, as well as small town culture, rather than being based solely in Karachi or Lahore. I find this a positive, as our television usually just focuses on the big cities, it was a refreshing change.
Themes
The main themes were belief in Allah and saving yourself from worldly greed and pride. They were portrayed through character action and personality, raths we than solely through dialogue, so the writers did a halfway decent job of not shoving them in the audiences face too blatantly. For me, it always sours the viewing of something, if it’s too preachy, so this was a positive.
Story
The story was a Cinderella story with a twist, you are left horrified and yet fascinated by the on-screen family. They are such a bunch of hypocrites that they sometimes left my jaw hanging at their sheer audacity. The reason why I consider this a good thing, is because the drama reveals the ills of Pakistani society in a very accurate manner.
The Bad Points of Qalandar
It drags. The story is extended, with nothing much happening, and the characters just flapping about repeating themselves. Some of the actors were freshies, and while they improved immensely, sometimes their ineptitude caused scenes to fall flat.
The Length
In my reckoning, they could have told the same story within 30 episodes, with much tighter editing and better story flow, but obviously this was not a writer’s choice but a producer’s. They wanted to milk the thing for all it’s worth, and unfortunately, a good story always takes a backseat to cold hard cash.
Overall
It’s a solid 7/10. I liked it enough to watch 50 episodes, so there must be some merit to it.
Disclaimer: Qalander and all of its materials are owned by Geo, along with their various production companies. We are merely using some of them in this post to illustrate a point (fair use). If you wish for your materials to be taken down please contact us and we will remove them immediately.
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