Tanhaiyan Naye Silsilay – Episode 1
For me, Tanhaiyan, as written by Hasina Moin and directed by Shahzad Khalil, was not just a drama serial. It was a journey upon which we embarked with Zara (Shehnaz Shaikh) and Saniya (Marina Khan). We cried with them when they lost their parents, we felt their anguish when they lost their house, we laughed silly at Saniya's pranks directed at Qabacha (Behroze Sabzwari), we watched sadly as Zara turned into a workaholic, and we smiled as romance blossomed between Zara and Zain (Asif Raza Mir). It was a whole package of emotions and in the end, we heaved a sigh of relief that all characters, in their own way, found their happiness in life. Even today, the mere word 'Tanhaiyan' takes me back to my childhood days and makes me overcome with nostalgia.
When I first heard about Tanhaiyan's sequel being prepared and going on air, I purposefully kept myself well away from Facebook pages and even the promos - I didn't want to set my expectations so high that they would come crashing down within the first episode only. To be honest, I was a little skeptical about the sequel in the first place after the disastrous experience with Mera Saaein 2.
In any case, I watched the first episode, with only one question lurking at the back of my mind: If Shehnaz Shaikh is not part of this serial, then what have the writers (Hasina Moin and Mohammad Ahmed) done with Zara? She was the main character after all, so the only way to deal with the absence was to kill her off or send her off to a foreign country with a high-flying career or tell the audience that she decided to leave Zain and marry Saad Salman after all! Apparently, this mystery is not just in 'real-life' - it is in-built into the story's main plot. Zara has been absent from the lives of Saniya, Aani and the rest of the gang, too! Was there a fight? Did she vow to not speak to anyone before she left? Well, your guess is as good as mine!
I found this episode a little dragged out - the entire Zara's absentee birthday party could have been crisper. The scenes with Bibi (Durdana Butt) and Chandni (Saniya's new maid) were given too much screen time and in the end, I forwarded through them. On the positive side, we were given a brief but thorough insight into most of the characters from the original series, and how they have grown over the past 25 or so years which was definitely interesting and intriguing to watch.
Overall, the episode was quite mellow. There were some brilliant strokes of comedy here and there. But did it click? I would say: Not yet, but I hope we get there in the end!
Written by Drama Buff (dramabuff.dp@gmail.com)
A website designed and developed by f-techsolutions.com ,created for the sole purpose of promoting Pakistani dramas . a website thats created to exhibit the wonderful talent our country has!!
Haseeb Says:
I totally agree with you Drama Buff that it wasn't a very 'good first episode'.another thing that people are saying 'don't compare with original don't compare with original' if we don't have to compare with original why is the serial named 'tanhayiyan naye silsilay' and not something else.moreover,first episode is always for character development.in this case,the characters were already developed so explanation was needed for one character which has been 180 degree changed i.e. faran which was not given in the name of suspense and 'oh we will reveal it later'.i hope u'd agree with me drama buff
Posted on October 21st, 2012 at 11:11 am
Zara Says:
Oh my God what an episode loved it
Posted on October 21st, 2012 at 1:27 pm
Afia Qazi Says:
Is it too boring to say- I agree with you 100%?
Was skeptical about it before and am a little still. And yes, the episode dragged. I hope they have a very good reason for showing Zara's silence coz it just doesn't add up. And how can Sania be still so 'happy' with this situation specially on Zara's b'day? Chalo let's see...maybe they have a good explanation.
loved 'Zain' then and now.
Posted on October 21st, 2012 at 6:08 pm
Faraz Says:
I kinda agree with DB here.. see we all were expecting Tanhayian to start with the regular bang and loads of dose of comedy, per pehlay hi episode say ,, they have kinda started on a sad note.
normally haseena moin kay shows mein hota yeh tha kay they start with fun,, in the middle gets sad and then ends on a feel good note , per i guess syed mohammad ahmed's writing has gotten into the 1st episode :) it has starte on a sad note, because in the drama i could feel that udasi ki fizza in the house overall,, what went wrong with faraan uncle?
but none the less.. tanhaiyaan is good to watch, the urdu dialat :) the sweet urdu words that come out of faraan uncles mouth is sweet :) i love thy way they speak urdu in haseena moin's drama :) like they used to say"kya app mujh say khafa hain" :)
Posted on October 21st, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Drama Buff Says:
Thanks for your comments, guys. I guess there is an air of mystery about that will be cleared in the upcoming episodes.
I think the main 'wow' factor lacking in the first episode was that we saw too much of Bibi and Chandni, while Syra and Alishba walked in in the very last scene...Maybe the story will pick up next week with these two along with Asif Raza Mir in the picture.
Posted on October 21st, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Drama Buff Says:
@ Haseeb
Actually Marina Khan said in an interview that those who are expecting this serial to be like the original will be disappointed.
My main issue with this episode was that there wasn't enough substance. We were constantly watching Bibi and Chandni fight. That kind of spoiled it for me. With Syra, Alishba and Asif Raza Mir in the picture, and of course Qabacha, Shehroze S and Shehryar M, the story would have more potential and more screen time given to all characters.
I am also intrigued to find out why Zara and Saniya had a falling out and what has happened to Faran Uncle too! In short, a promising story but not enough promising start.
Posted on October 21st, 2012 at 10:11 pm
Maria Says:
Good review DB :)
i will watch it when its all over and write my final thoughts on the last episode so i watch it all in one go and without any expectations.
p.s. How do you move a story without the most major character? i have funny a feeling that Zara might make an appearance :D
Posted on October 21st, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Haseeb Says:
drama buff if she did say it then she should have not named it 'tanhaiyan naye silsilay' she could have easily named it something else,there were a thousand other names,retaining the original means carrying on the legacy,btw i honestly feel there was no need to tamper with the classic that tanhaiyan was
Posted on October 21st, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Zara Says:
I was definitely not in anyway impressed with this 1 st episode.It was irritating to see the perfect , unforgettable classic being tarnished with overacting and incredulous situations.They should have left the infallible ,glorious characters from tanhaiyan who left such an indelible impressions in our minds stay in our memory the way they had been.I am surely not a fan of Marina Khan's direction which can nowhere come close to Shehzad Khalil.Somehow Hasina Moins scripts including meri behan Maya seem far removed and inferior to what she wrote in the past.The comedy is forced ....don't know whyHasina Moin can't write the same kind of scripts anymore.
Posted on October 21st, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Sara Says:
@zara in my opinion haseena moin is a superb writer meri behan maya is a very good serial and the story is nice but the problem is with neelums acting and bindyas makeup but overall its an awesome serial and regarding tanhaiyan sequel hasina apa just wrote the plot the episode wise story is written by mohd ahmed so hasina apa has only partially written and supervised the script bcz she was out of town...so u cant blame her she is a legend and the writer who gave us the best dramas ever and gradually the story will develop and surely will be an interesting one
Posted on October 22nd, 2012 at 12:27 am
najia tariq Says:
Loved the 1st episode! But the sad part is that 'zara' is not there, and saniya without zara is so alone. Especially looking at her that she's so excited about seeing her sister after 10 years, celebrating her b'day, and anxiously waiting for her sister more than her nieces. So it's really sad when she comes to know that zara is no more there.
This is really sad, and I believe 'Tanhaiyaan Naye Silsilay' has made the viewers left crying from the first episode by knowing the fact that 'zara' is not there and 'saniya' is alone now. But I believe it'd be a better option to kill 'zara' rather than letting the audience know that 'zara' ran away with 'saad salman'.
'Zara' who became workaholic to take care of her sister, saniya and to get her parents' dream house, and who got married to her best childhood friend........such a woman would never cheat her husband, such a woman would never leave her daughters for her rich & successful business partner, and top of that, a woman from such a loving, caring, decent family would never do anything cheap. Such cheapness is done only by insecured people.
In short, I loved the first episode except the maid part which was too annoying. Bibi and baba's fights or arguments does make us laugh, but Chandni was untolerable.
And if I'm not wrong, manzoor quraishi might be 'saniya's' hero?
Posted on October 22nd, 2012 at 3:36 am
royter Says:
Just want to give friendly advise to prod. houses, plz don't destroy the legacy of previous successful dramas in order to cash in, it won't work. The person behind Tanhaiyaan amazing success was Shahzad Khalil, and he made many more memorable dramas like Dastak. Its success was relevant to that era when it was produced. Even if u get a director like Shahzad Khalil to direct the same Tanhaiyaan presently, it would look totally out of place.
The only new in Tanhaiyan 2 was a grumpy Farhan [Qazi Wajid], supposedly comic but really dull conversation b/w Saniya's employees, another maid and Zara's stonefaced daughters minus Zara.
Posted on October 22nd, 2012 at 3:37 pm
jk Says:
ik baat jo achi thi wo irony.... n urdu...........bhtttttttttt arsey baaddd... puranay dramay ki feel ai....v werna ab tau actors ka deliverance prob hi counter nahi hota...zara the protagonist..... i dont know why shehaz sheikh is not part of this play.....bht hi flaat drama lagra hai uss k baghair :(
Posted on October 22nd, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Drama Buff Says:
@ royter
Well said: "Its success was relevant to that era when it was produced."
Tanhaiyan - the original serial - was set in an era which was pre-digital and people actually enjoyed long, meaningful conversations on-screen, drama serials with fewer and deeper characters, and long comedy scenes.
Now, our audience dynamics have changed. We are a point-and-click nation and we watch dramas with one hand on the mouse, ready to forward through any scene which does not click. As an audience, we are now inclined towards dramas that have short scenes, more outdoor settings, more gray characters and dialogues which convey deeper meaning in fewer words. A conversation running on-screen for more than two minutes quickly loses impact and we forward through any scenes which have characters running or crying or thinking - that translates to 'they are doing nothing but wasting my time'.
I am still on the fence with regard to Tanhaiyan - with the introduction of more characters, I might love it more than the original. I am still hopeful!
Posted on October 22nd, 2012 at 5:15 pm
chip Says:
salam..Well its good to see tanhaiyaan sequel after 27 years but old is still gold. :)I just wanted to ask about the original 16 cast .like can you please please give me the information of what happened to them and who were the 10 cast who died??..thank you.
Posted on November 9th, 2012 at 4:08 am