Muslim social is a rarity on our screens. Till Beintehaa came, Qubool Hai was the only serial based on the minority community. So, the Bhopal-based Beintehaa promised to be a welcome change, but the story is not rivetting. The fresh lead pair — Preetika Rao (Amrita Rao’s sister) and Harshad Arora — is good looking but so far have failed to connect with each other or the audience!
What is it about: Aaliya and Zain are first cousins who played pranks on each other as kids, before they went their own ways. While Aaliya belongs to a middle-class family, Zain has an affluent but a slightly dysfunctional background. Zain’s mother Suraiya is a bitchy socialite, father Usman is a businessman and brother Fahad has two wives. Aaliya’s parents Shabana and Ghulam have fixed an alliance for her with Zeeshan. Usman wants to sponsor his niece’s marriage but his sister Shabana refuses. So he calls Zain who is whiling away in Bangkok to deliver the money to his aunt. Meanwhile, Aaliya has mistaken Zain as Zeeshan and he plays along. The duo seems to be attracted to each other, but soon things get clarified and they are back to putting each other down like they did in childhood. Amidst all this, Aliya’s marriage to Zeeshan is on the verge of being solemnised.
What works: The fact that it is a Muslim social and you get to see a completely different set-up and an attractive lead pair.
What does not work: The opening episode that showed Fahad (Vivek Madan) having two wives — one sophisticated and the other gauche — fighting over him in a purported funny manner was a put-off. Aaliya and Zain’s grown-up pranks are childish. Even Aaliya’s behaviour on the eve of her wedding reeks of immaturity. How can she be thinking of sparring or winning against Zain during her sangeet, while her bridegroom looks on! Also, in an tech-connected era where you can find/see a person at the click of a button, it’s surprsing how Zain and Aaliya haven’t seen other’s pictures even if they haven’t met in person after growing up! Barring for a few moments and performances, the serial is more like a caricature than a serious drama.
Performances: Suchitra Pillai as the socialite Suraiya who controls her family through her subtle vampish acts is good, Riva Bubber as Aaliya’s mother Shabana touches a chord — her get-up, and accent reflect her background perfectly and so does Rituraj Singh as her loving husband and a doting father. As for Preetika and Harshad, it would be too early to pan them as it’s their debut show, but both definitely need to go beyond looking good, and emote.
Verdict: Watch it strictly for its novelty of being a Muslim drama.
Beintehaa
Colors
Monday - Friday, 9 pm
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