''Meri Behan Maya'' () is a 2011

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i TV romantic drama serial broadcast by

Geo TV Jang Media Group (), also known as Geo Group, is a Pakistani media conglomerate and a subsidiary of Dubai-based company Independent Media Corporation. It has headquarters in Printing House, Karachi. It is the publisher of the Urdu language new ...

. It was first aired on 17 September 2011. The serial was directed by ''Azfar Ali,'' and the project head was ''Iqbal Ansari''. It was written by

Haseena Moin Haseena Moin () (20 November 1941 – 26 March 2021) was a Pakistani dramatist, playwright and scriptwriter. She wrote several plays for stage, radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromag ...

, and the cast included

Neelam Muneer Neelam Muneer (Pashto/; born 20 March 1992) is a Pakistani actress and model who appears in television dramas and films. She is best known for portraying the role of Ulfat in television series '' Dil Mom Ka Diya'' (2018), which earned her a no ...

, Annie Jaffrey,

Danish Taimoor Danish Taimoor (; born 16 February 1983) is a Pakistani actor, producer, host and former fashion model. Beginning his acting career in 2005, Taimoor is known for his roles portraying a form of toxic masculinity in Urdu television series, es ...

and

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 ...

. The show was broadcast in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on Zindagi, and aired on 12 January 2015, under the title ''Maya''.

Plot

Maya ( Jaffrey) and Zarmeena ( Muneer) are sisters who love each other dearly. Their father, Shazeb Khan (

Shaikh Shaikh usually refers to: * Sheikh, as an alternate Romanization; a term for elders, tribal leaders, and royalty in Arabic-influenced cultures It may also refer to: Communities * Shaikhs in South Asia, a social and ethnic grouping in South Asia ...

), loves them dearly, but their stepmother Attiya ( Bindiya) dislikes them, especially Maya. She tries to create problems for Maya as she is not the real daughter of Shazeb Khan. Meanwhile, Zarmeena is in love with Faizar ( Taimoor) and plans to marry him. Things take a turn for the worse when Attiya conspires with her son Rashid (Zarrar Khan) and

kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

s her. Maya finds out about Rashid's conspiracy as he "deals" with girls and sells them to a

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

, and when she finds this, she attacks Rashid and runs away. She takes refuge in her friend's house Zeb (Amna Karim). Zeb was also a victim of Rashid's web. She tries to help Maya to face her fears. Faizar's parents break off the engagement with Zarmeena as Faizar's father knows that Attiya is a

courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

. Angered, Faizar leaves the house after the argument with his father. Rashid gets arrested and interrogated by police on orders of Shazeb. Attiya, who bails out Rashid, divorces Shazeb and threatens to destroy him. Maya soon gets a job as a Hotel Manager. After finding out that she is Shazeb's illegitimate child, she starts hating him and runs away. Shazeb suffers from a stroke and is hospitalized. Soon after recovering, he finds Maya. She has been kidnapped again by Rashid, who threats Maya to ruin her face with acid. Attiya wants all of Rashid's cases to be withdrawn. Rashid leaves Maya after Shazeb withdraws the case. Rashid gets killed by police after he tries to kill Maya. Maya returns home safely and reconciles with her sister, and Faizar's father stops him from leaving. Faizar marries Zarmeena, and Maya playfully teases Faizar.

Cast

as Zarmeena * Ainy Jaffri as Maya *

as Faizar *

as Shahzeb Khan * Bindiya as Attiya Shahzeb *

Shamim Hilaly Shamim Hilaly (, born 1947) is a Pakistani actress who has acted in both films and television. She is most famous for acting in PTV dramas including ''Barzakh'', ''Mere Dard Ko Jo Zuban Mile'', ''Parosi'' and ''Waqt Ko Tham Lo''. She is noted ...

as Khala *

Farah Nadeem Farah Nadeem is a Pakistani actress. She is known for her roles in dramas '' Jaal'', ''Adhoora Bandhan'', '' Tarap'', '' Besharam'', ''Aakhir Kab Tak'', '' Mere Humsafar'' and '' Kam Zarf''. Early life Farah was born on 3 June 1970, in Karach ...

as Salma * Zarrar Khan as Rashid * Sanam Khan as Naima * Amna Karim as Zeb * Humaira Zahid as Alam Aara *Saima Kanwal as Safiya * Anees Alam as Shafiq

Reception

The drama was written by the legendary scriptwriter Haseena Moin, thus people had a lot of expectations from it. The drama was very well received by the critics and the audience. The fresh story depicting a positive relationship between the two sisters was immensely liked. Annie Jaffry won several accolades for her challenging role as Maya and was appreciated by everyone. The drama was shot at scenic locations in Murre. The drama also received good TRPs, the last episode got average TRPs of 4.2, the highest of that month for Geo TV. The drama was also listed in the top 10 drama serials of 2012 by Geo TV. But the makeup of Bindya and Neelam Muneer was heavily criticized.

Soundtrack

Meri Behan Maya's title song ''Tell Me Why'' is sung by

Mehwish Hayat Mehwish Hayat (born 6 January 1988) is a Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu films, and formerly, in television. She made her debut in the film with the comedy ''Jawani Phir Nahi Ani'' (2015) and later went on to become an '' Actor ...

, composed by Waqar Ali and lyrics by Muhammad Nasir. The song of this drama serial became immensely popular due to its different lyrics and catchy music. The lines of the song are frequently used during the course of the show.

References

External links

* * {{Programmes broadcast by Zindagi 2012 Pakistani television series debuts Pakistani drama television series Urdu-language television shows Geo TV original programming 2013 Pakistani television series endings Zee Zindagi original programming Pakistani prostitution film and television works