Udaari cast shares final thoughts as fans await finale

The cast bid farewell at a special screening of the hit TV serial's finale

KARACHI: A special screening of hit TV serial Udaari's last episode was held in Karachi on Friday.

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And while we won't ruin it for you guys by disclosing whether Imtiaz pays the price for his sins, we can tell you is that Ahsan Khan's performance received a huge round of applause.

We caught up with the cast to get their final thoughts on what has been a groundbreaking serial for the Pakistani TV industry. Here's what they had to say:

Ahsan Khan

Remembering how he landed the opportunity to play Imtiaz, Ahsan said, "Momina approached me saying there's a negative character and we have Pakistan's top actors lined up for this role, but your name is on the top of the list."

I was very excited because it was for a certain cause. When you have a cause attached to the role you see it with a different angle not just for popularity. You view it as a certain duty."

Ahsan also revealed how his wife was dead against him playing the role "It’s normal for people get a bit judgmental, my wife was a bit concerned about my security, but I eventually managed to convince her."

"I appreciate Areesha (Zebo) for working with us. Also, it was great working with Bushra Ansari and Urwa as we worked as a family.

"When you see other people being so passionate about this awareness project, from actors to cameramen ... then you naturally feel motivated to work for it. I’m very happy and proud to be a part of this."

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Urwa Hocane

"Udaari tells the girls of today that they can speak up whether or not it is risky. We showed that we support good causes. We want to talk about the issues that exist in our society and we want to solve them."

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Farhan Saeed

"To bring music on television is a big thing. The music industry has been struggling for the past few years so it was a good opportunity for me as a musician. Music was being composed exclusively for a drama which was a very new experience.

"I really liked playing the role of a lawyer too, particularly because of the issue I was fighting for. I would like to congratulate Pakistan for proving that we too can watch good shows."

Samiya Mumtaz

"Playing Sajida was challenging. When I was approached for this role I didn’t know much about the story," said Mumtaz.

"But later on, when I got the script, I was pleasantly surprised because it doesn’t only talk about child abuse, it also addresses other issues. For example, when Mira didn’t positively reciprocate to Arsh's marriage proposal, he accepted it graciously and continued to maintain a professional and personal relationship with her. It was something new to see -- a woman’s choices being respected."

"We had financially independent women and supportive mothers. Singers and other professions which aren’t considered 'honourable' were also given their due respect in Udaari."

Mumtaz went on to explain how child abuse was prevalent in Pakistan but no one wanted to talk about it. "We don’t know how to say sexual molestation or child abuse in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi or Balochi. So, to show that visually and make an impact on the audience has proved to be very effective."

 



Momina Duraid

Udaari's producer Momina Duraid said she felt a huge responsibility to make sure the serial achieved widespread success. "If today one Udaari fails, there are going to be no foundations or channels supporting such projects. You have to be careful to design a project in a way that it not only fulfills its purpose but also paves way for many other similar projects.

"Udaari has broken the mold. It has broken the myth that subject plays are dry and boring or they are only for a certain class of people."

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