DRAMA 
 

DRAMA

Prem Gali

Down Love Lane

By Muhammad Ali Khan | September 2020

After the success of the family sitcom ‘Aangan’ in 2017, director Qasim Ali Mureed, writer Faiza Iftikhar and producer Humayun Saeed of Six Sigma Plus decided to re-unite for yet another project with the same comic theme and thus ‘Prem Gali’ came into being. The new ARY Digital serial ‘Prem Gali’ is a Pakistani romantic comedy television production about a locality named Prem Gali which is an enclosed neighbourhood where every family is familiar with the other.

The story begins with four men comprising the popular Dada Jee (Qavi Khan) along with his two sons Hatim Chaudhry (Waseem Abbas) and Luqman (Abdullah Farhat) and grandson Hamza (Farhan Saeed) moving into the town as tenants. While Dada Jee is cool, Hatim is very much into astrology and makes his moves based on what his horoscope tells him. Luqman is an introvert and listens to sad songs. Hamza portrays a handsome man who is in demand by all the girls. The family shifts into their new home in a small lively colony ‘Prem Gali’. They are now getting used to how things go about in the neighbourhood and because they are a family of four men, they have already become the new talk of the town, mainly because of Shireen (Saba Hameed) who loves to gossip.

As soon as Hamza steps in the neighbourhood, he is smitten by Joya’s (Sohai Ali Abro) beauty and charm. She also lives in the same locality with her mother Shireen, grandmother Rahat (Shamim Hilali) and aunt Musarrat (Uzma Hasan). Rahat is a TV buff who takes her TV programs very seriously. Shireen is in-charge of the family as she runs a grocery store while Musarrat is a teacher. Joya is still in college, which is shocking, considering the age Sohai is. Joya’s family is not very popular in the neighbourhood as all three women have their share of failed marriages yet are independent and empowered in their own way. Hamza and Joya’s family is in contrast to one another.

Then comes the loud and shrewd landlady Haseena Begum (Farah Shah) who rents her upper floor to Hamza and his family. Haseena is a widow and is also a matchmaker. She has a daughter Fariya (Anoushay Abbas) who runs a beauty parlour inside their home and a son Salman, who is into bodybuilding.

Soon Hamza and Joya are noticing each other every day and it seems as if love is in the air. But, of course, what would be a Pakistani drama without the usual melodrama of keeping the boy and the girl at a distance from one another. It also seems that the old ones will have a lot of say in the lives of Hamza and Joya, particularly Shireen and Haseena, who has an upper-hand in the locality. They find every possible means to ensure that these lovers never unite.

Farhan as usual aces his boy-next-door character while Sohai’s first impression was kind of over-acting when she thinks of Farhan as a thief but she is improvising with time. Shireen is blunt and straightforward as she doesn’t believe in beating around the bush. While divorce has made Shireen stronger, Musarrat has been a tragedy-queen since then yet is strong enough to fight the circumstances, nevertheless. The thing that stands out the most is showcasing the women as independent women who are not relying on a male figure to support them. These women running households is indeed a good move to portray women’s empowerment, making Prem Gali a female-dominated locality. The performance of Qavi as Dada Jee along with Waseem as Hatim and Abdullah as Luqman are also noteworthy.

The initial episodes are quite refreshing with humorous dialogue as everyone says something about the other. While Haseena has strong opinions about Rahat’s family, Rahat also doesn’t shy away from sharing feelings about Haseena and her decisions.

There are some loopholes as well. Haseena calls Joya’s home ‘talaq manzil’ expressing how she feels about Joya’s family. The name-calling could have been avoided as it is somewhat a societal tradition that needs to end. She should have been more supportive towards them. In another scene, Joya and Fariya are trying their best to look good so the men in the locality stare at them. Was this necessary, considering the times we live in where women are being harassed every single day?

‘Prem Gali’ is a light-hearted presentation that people will love to watch as it has all the comedy and humour one would want to see, besides, of course, the negative points.

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