Five reasons why Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum will go down as a game-changer!

TV dramas come and go, but only a handful remain etched in the audience's memory. Fahad Mustafa's comeback vehicle, Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum, was one such drama, ending with a bang on Tuesday.

Thankfully, no central character died, and Sharjeena and Mustafa's lives (played by Hania Aamir and Fahad Mustafa, respectively) returned to normal. More important than the happy ending was that, despite knowing the ending, people watched the grand finale in cinemas for the experience.

Why Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum will be remembered as one of the better plays in recent years is no mystery; it's a well-handled production that became a game-changer. Here are some reasons we believe the drama's success is due to the following:

Fahad Mustafa's comeback

Fahad Mustafa stayed away from TV for 10 years, focusing on film instead because he found acting in films a better, healthier alternative. After all, he appeared as a TV host two times a week and produced some of the best plays of the last decade.

Call it luck or calculated thinking, but Fahad Mustafa's decision to return to TV acting through a Farhat Ishtiaq script was a masterstroke. He applied his cinematic experience to the smaller screen, creating pure magic. He was undoubtedly the star of the grand finale, calm and composed in front of his parents before breaking down, obedient to them while rescuing his brother Adeel (Emaad Irfani) from prison, and romantic during the final reunion.

Fans missed this side of Fahad Mustafa, just as Sharjeena missed the old Mustafa in the drama. He needs to keep acting on TV, because that's where he belongs. Though he played a 'loser' onscreen, in real life, he's far from it.

Hania Aamir's Girl Next Door Charm

Fahad Mustafa's loser character was matched step by step by Hania Aamir's Sharjeena, the woman behind Mustafa's success. In fact, she was the true hero of the drama. She first decided to get married to the brother of the guy who dumped her, then stood her ground when her sister-in-law humiliated her, and then supported her husband when things took a bad turn.

No actress could have played the character better than Hania, who infused it with her girl-next-door charm. She was bubbly when needed, angry when things didn’t go her way, and resilient when everything fell apart. With this performance, she has bettered all her previous work and deserves commendations for her acting skills.

Relatability factor with all characters

What you see below may seem like a wall, but in fact, it isn't. The drama portrayed conflicts every married couple can relate to, moments that are universal in relationships. Farhat Ishtiaq's work draws heavily from Haseena Moin's classics, and we are grateful for that because she knows her characters like the back of her hand.

She created brilliant and memorable characters and let them do the job exactly what they did here. Emaad Irfani's Adeel evolved from the good son to a character no parent deserves; Naeema Butt's Rubab began as the lovesick boss who changed gears when her father finally told her the truth about her husband. Both actors embodied their characters fully and will be remembered as Adeel and Rubab for a long time.

The same goes for the parental characters, who added depth and authenticity to the story, be it Jawed Sheikh and Bushra Ansari, Yousuf Bashir Qureshi and Annie Zaidi, or Tauseeq Haider. Other characters made their mark in supporting roles, but these main ones kept the audience glued to their screens. These memorable characters are something the audience will surely miss

Representation of Gamers' Community

For the first time in Pakistan’s drama or film industry, a gamer character was portrayed with depth and accuracy. A character who might seem like an underdog at first glance but is a skilled and determined gamer.

Fahad Mustafa convincingly portrayed a tech-savvy pro who could hack into systems and develop games effortlessly. His character had the expertise to hack into programs and develop games as if it were second nature.

His production company even created a new game, Hurricane, to emphasize the importance of the esports industry and make the parents realize that losing their son to esports might not be a bad thing. The move will help the many gamers out there who can help develop the industry in Pakistan since it sends a message to parents that esports can turn 'losers' into winners.

Background scores to die for

Then, there was the background score, the Chal Diye Tum Kahan song by Aur Band. Whenever it played in the background, the audience felt whatever the director, Badar Mehmood, wanted them to feel. It added romance to the romantic scenes, drama to the dramatic, tragedy to the tragic, and suspense to the suspenseful moments in the script. Only a qualified director could be so masterful at placing the background score beautifully.

Also, music composer and singer Hassan Ali Hashmi's two songs - Main Haar Giyan with Naseebo Laal and Uri Uri - were brilliantly done and appreciated by the audience whenever they appeared in the background. Who can forget Oye Loser which made the audience realize that being a Loser can also be interesting, thanks to Fahad Mustafa.

Overall, the recently concluded drama was a blend of brilliant casting, perfect scripting, masterful direction, and a relatability factor that seems to be missing from other dramas. One hopes the team returns with another powerful story that resonates with a global audience, like Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum.