''Dobara'' () is a Pakistani television series produced by

Momina Duraid Momina Duraid (, born 30 June 1971) is a Pakistani director and producer. She is a senior producer and creative head of television network Hum TV and CEO of her own production company MD Productions. She has produced and created several series ...

under banner

MD Productions Momina Duraid (, born 30 June 1971) is a Pakistani director and producer. She is a senior producer and creative head of television network Hum TV and CEO of her own production company MD Productions. She has produced and created several serie ...

, directed by

Danish Nawaz Danish Nawaz Baloch (; born 4 August 1978) is a Pakistani actor, director and comedian. The son of the late senior actor Fareed Nawaz Baloch and brother to fellow actor-director Yasir Nawaz, Danish Nawaz has established a career in Pakistani ...

and written by

Sarwat Nazir Sarwat Nazir () is a Pakistani fiction writer, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. She is best known for her screenplays Main Abdul Qadir Hoon and Umm-e-Kulsoom. Another show was ''Do bol'']. Selected works Novels The following novels ha ...

. It broadcast on

Hum TV Hum TV HD is a 24-hour Urdu general entertainment TV channel based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Sultana Siddiqui and Duraid Qureshi. It is owned by Hum Network Limited and traded on the Pakistan Stock Exchange as (HUMNL). Hum Net ...

from 20 October 2021 to 15 June 2022 on

. It features

Hadiqa Kiani Hadiqa Kiani (Urdu, ; born 11 August 1972) is a Pakistani singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, actress, and philanthropist. She has received numerous local and international awards and has also performed at the Royal Albert Hall and The Ke ...

as Mehrunisa who gets a chance to relive her life after the death of her dominating husband when comes across Mahir, a carefree and jobless bachelor, played by

Bilal Abbas Khan Bilal Abbas Khan (born 4 June 1993) is a Pakistani film and television actor. Known for his portrayal of characters fitting the boy next door prototype, he features among the list of the nation's popular personalities and is the recipient of th ...

. It also features

Usama Khan Usama Khan (born 22 November 1991) is a Pakistani television actor. Khan is best known for portraying the main role Tabrez in 2018 soap '' Sanwari'' for which he received Hum Award for Best Soap Actor. He further portraying main role in A-Plu ...

, Nabeel Zuberi,

Zoya Nasir Zoya Nasir () is a Pakistani actress, entrepreneur, model and beautician. She made her acting debut with a lead role in ARY Digital's crime drama '' Hania'' and later appeared in '' Deewangi''. Zoya then did the role of Narmeen in Hum TV's '' D ...

, Sakina Samo,

Sabeena Syed Sabeena Syed () is a Pakistani actress, model and former author. Syed started her acting career with television serials. Her debut show was Hum TV's romantic drama '' Yaqeen Ka Safar'' (2017). She made her film debut with a supporting role in '' ...

and Maheen Siddiqui in supporting roles. At

22nd Lux Style Awards The 22nd Lux Style Awards were held on 6 October 2023 in Karachi, Pakistan. The ceremony was hosted by Saba Qamar, Dur-e-Fishan Saleem, Fahad Mustafa and Ahmad Ali Butt. '' Kamli'' led the ceremony among the films by winning three awards wh ...

, it received a nomination of Best TV Actress - Critics' choice for Kiani and won Best TV Actor - Critics' choice for Khan.

Synopsis

When her husband Hidayatullah dies in his early seventies, Mehrunissa feels as a free spirit and recalls the bitter memories of her past when her dying father decided to marry her off at 16 years of age to Hidayatullah, who was 36 at the time. At the time of her husband's funeral Mehrunissa does not seem emotionally affected by his death. Mahir is a next-door carefree boy who is a tennis player and in search of a job.

Cast

as Mehrunnisa "Mehru" Maahir : Hidayatullah's widow; Maahir's wife; Affan and Minal's mother. ** Prerna Bajaj as Mehru (young) *

as Maahir Jahangir : Mehrunnisa's second husband; Naheed and Jahangir's son. *

as Affan Hidyatullah : Hidayatullah and Mehrunnisa's son; Minal's brother; Sehar's husband. * Maheen Siddiqui as Minal Zameer : Hidayatullah and Mehrunnisa's daughter; Affan's brother; Zameer's wife. *

as Sehar Affan : Affan's wife * Nabeel Zuberi as Zameer : Minal's husband *

as Narmeen : Maahir's ex lover * Sarah Nadeem as Nayyara : Mehru's friend and confidant *

Angeline Malik Angeline Malik is a Pakistani director, actor, producer, model, television host, and activist. Malik won the Lux Style Awards in 2006 for best director, and a nomination for best actress. Early life Malik has one elder brother and sister, Dr ...

as Naheed : Maahir's mother *

Shabbir Jan Shabbir Jan () is a Pakistani actor who has appeared in many TV drama serials, such as '' Jangloos'' (1989), '' Makan'' (2006) ''and'' '' Zindagi Dhoop Tum Ghana Saya'' (2011). Career Shabbir Jan started working as a TV actor in the 1980s. He ...

as Jahangir : Maahir's father *

Fareeda Shabbir Fareeda Shabbir is a Pakistani actress. She is known for her roles in Urdu TV dramas ''Ghalati'', ''Romeo Weds Heer'', ''Mera Dil Mera Dushman'', ''Yeh Zindagi Hai'', ''Saraab'', ''Dobara (TV series), Dobara'' and ''Bikhray Moti''. Early life ...

as Adeela : Jahangir's second wife * Amber Khan as Ghazal : Sehar's mother * Raja Haider as Mubarak : Sehar's father * Salma Asim as Narmeen's mother * Mojiz Hasan as Babar *

Nauman Ijaz Nauman Ijaz (Punjabi and ) is a Pakistani television and film actor, anchorperson, and television presenter. He is the recipient of several accolades, including 10 Lux Style Awards, 7 Hum Awards and a President's Pride of Performance award, wh ...

as Hidayatullah (only in flashbacks) *

Aurangzeb Leghari Aurangzeb Leghari (born 25 October 1944) is a Pakistani TV actor who has been working in TV dramas since the 1970s. His notable TV dramas include '' Waris'', '' Dehleez'', ''Waqat'', ''Uchay Burj Lahore Dey'', and ''Chanan Tey Dariya''. He was ...

as Mehru's father (only in flashbacks) * Sakina Samo as Durdana : Hidayatullah's sister *

Javed Sheikh Jawed Sheikh (also spelled Javaid and Javed; born 8 October 1954) is a Pakistani actor, film director and producer who works in Lollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for working in the Hindi films ''Om Shanti Om'', '' My Name Is Anthony G ...

as Ibtisam : Durdana's brother-in-law * Hira Umer as Nadia : Zameer's ex-girlfriend

Production

The project was first announced on 8 July 2021.

Osman Khalid Butt Osman Khalid Butt () is a Pakistani film, television and theatre actor, writer and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Wali Sohaib Khan in '' Diyar-e-Dil'' (2015), Faaz Ibrahim in '' Chupke Chupke'' (2021) and Malik Shahzain in '' Eh ...

was first approached to portray the leading role of Mahir, however due to his other commitments he could not do it. Later, Bilal Abbas Khan was cast in the role. With Khan, singer-turned-actress Hadiqa Kiani was selected to portray the other leading role. It marked her second series after her debut in poetic-romamce '' Raqeeb Se''. She revealed in an interview that Mehru

obara Obara may refer to: People With the surname * Daisuke Obara (born 1981), Japanese ice hockey player * Hitomi Obara (born 1981), Japanese sport wrestler * Joji Obara, Korean-Japanese serial rapist * Keita Obara, (born 1986), Japanese professiona ...

is her attempt to break some norms as an actor regarding age.

Reception

Television rating

It led the rating charts for its 6th episode with 6.2 trps. It again led the slot in 11th episode by achieving 6.5 trps. The 13th episode of the serial received ratings of 7.2 TRPs. 15th episode received 6.7 TRPs. The 16th episode saw a boost and it led the slot with 7.6 TRPs. The 17th episode saw another boost and the serial achieved the whopping 8.8 TRPs. 25th episode received 6.1 TRPs. In the month of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, ''Dobara'' was continuously leading its slot with 5-6 TRPs and became No 1 drama of the week. After Ramadan, it received tough competition from rivals but still managed to receive decent ratings of 4-5 TRPs and ended on 6.5.

Critical reception

Critically, the series received acclaim for its storyline and performances especially for the performance of the lead cast. In an initial review of the series by Gaitee Ara Saiddiqi of ''

The News International ''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/ Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London th ...

'', the series was praised for its unconventional storyline, relatable characters, and strong performances, but the typecasting of Sakina Samo was critiqued. ''

DAWN Images ''Dawn'' is a Pakistani English-language newspaper that was launched in British India by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1941. It is the largest English newspaper in Pakistan, and is widely considered the country's newspaper of record. ''Dawn'' is the f ...

'' lauded its diversified and plot and strong narrative against the societal stereotypes. Maliha Rehman of ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

'' gave mixed review to its narrative stating, "Most of the time, ''Dobara'' is narrated with great sensitivity and attention to detail." Afreen Seher of the ''DAWN Images'' criticised the series for prioritizing wealth over its intended romantic storyline, reducing the protagonist's worth to her possessions, but appreciates its initial attempt at a refreshing narrative featuring a middle-aged woman remarrying a younger man by choice. With the introduction of false allegations of sexual harassment, social media users criticized the script. Due to weak characterization of the male lead, the series' conclusion received mixed reviews from social media users.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Hum TV Programs Hum TV original programming 2021 Pakistani television series debuts Urdu-language television shows 2020s Pakistani television series Pakistani romantic drama television series Television series by MD Productions MD Productions