After 33 episodes, Iqra Aziz and Talha Chahour starrer ‘Mannat Murad’ has finally concluded. With credible names like Syed Wahajat Hussain (director) and Abdullah Kadwani–Asad Qureshi (7th Sky Entertainment) bankrolling the project, did ‘Mannat Murad’ emerge as a commercial success? Let’s review…
‘Mannat Murad’: The Final Episodes
Mannat (Iqra Aziz) leaves Murad’s (Talha Chahour) place after he slaps her for not apologizing to his mother Razia Sultana (Irsa Ghazal). The former files for Khula and subsequently the court proceedings begin. Murad is in disbelief about this development and refuses to divorce her. He finally gives his mother a shut-up call when she assassinates Mannat’s character and links her with Haider (Ali Rehman). Murad realizes his wrongdoings and brings Mannat back home.
What Went Wrong?
‘Mannat Murad’ started on a good note but went crashing down within no time. One wishes that the writer Nadia Akhtar had worked harder on the script. She did touch up issues related to late marriages of girls affecting their mental health but that wasn’t enough. Why was the narrative centered as a saas-bahu saga?
The chemistry between the lead pair was lukewarm. There were no solid twists and turns throughout and when viewers came across the promos of the second last episode, one wonders, what did they sign up for? Adding more to the horror was the abrupt ending, within no time every character became a saint and realized their wrongdoings. Sadly, Wajahat Hussain had nothing meatier in hand and had to focus more on visuals rather than content.
Feeling Bad For Iqra Aziz
What made Iqra Aziz sign ‘Mannat Murad’ is a big question. May be some extra zeros on the cheque? It’s hard to believe that an actress of such big repute picked a mediocre script for her comeback. There’s no doubt that she is a great actor but it was disheartening to see that she literally had nothing to do except weeping. She looked a million bucks and did well in whatever she was given to do. Her chemistry with Talha looked refreshing in the promos but was highly missing throughout. Aziz shouldn’t be blamed completely as she couldn’t do much with a half-baked script.
The Silver Lining
Talha had everything going in his favor in his very first solo outing. The best production house backing him, the best resources at his disposal and great co-actors to work with. He made full use of this golden opportunity and proved his talent to the fullest. He shows remarkable growth as an actor with full conviction. Another star performer was Irsa Ghazal, her act was spot on but at times she went overboard.
Summing It Up
‘Mannat Murad’ was designed as a commercial potboiler with all the necessary ingredients. But the absence of a sound script eventually had precious little to offer to viewers. Had this been taken care of, ‘Mannat Murad’ would have been a bona fide hit.
