Is Duniyapur Pakistan’s answer to Mirzapur?

When was the last time you saw someone fire a rocket launcher on a Pakistani TV show? Realistic gunfights? Police fighting with gangsters and dacoits? If your answer is 'never', then it is all about to change with Green TV’s Duniyapur, where good and evil will both have a field day, but only one will triumph in the end.

Featuring a star cast led by Sami Khan, Khushhal Khan, Ramsha Khan, Naumaan Ijaz, Shamyl Khan, Manzar Sehbai, Ali Raza, Yousuf Bashir Qureshi, Saima Qureshi, Erum Akhtar, Hassan Niazi, and Nayyar Ejaz, Duniyapur has all the making of a blockbuster.

But hey, doesn’t it sound like an Indian OTT show that also had a huge cast, was filled with blood and gore, and dealt with good and evil? It began with M and ended with a pur … yes, Mirzapur!

It might seem as though that's the inspiration for this show, but not many know that Duniyapur is an actual city in the Lodhran District of Punjab, Pakistan. It might have a population of less than 50,000, but stories can emerge from even such a number, and Duniyapur seems to have loads of them.

Sami Khan leads a cast of both young and experienced campaigners

The dialogue Sami Khan’s character Mir Hassan delivers in the first teaser ‘tamaam cheezain qanoon k dayeray main reh kar karna possible nahi hota’ might give you an idea regarding the show’s storyline.

Sami Khan plays an honest cop here who goes to Duniyapur to control those who operate above the law but in the end, has to cross the line to get things done.

There is no doubt about Sami’s talent as an actor – he even played a cop in his debut film Salakhain in 2004 – but how he stands out among senior performers like Naumaan Ijaz, Manzar Sehbai, Nayyar Ejaz, and Shamyl Khan remains to be seen. Even younger stars such as Khushhal Khan, Ramsha Khan, and Ali Raza will be there to challenge him both as a character on screen and actors off it, which will make Duniyapur a must-watch for all those who feel deprived of quality entertainment.

Duniyapur resembles Gotham more than Mirzapur …

Although family politics dominate Pakistani dramas, Duniyapur takes a leap of faith and inserts elements of action, thrill, and suspense to make it more interesting. From afar, it might sound and even seem like Mirzapur, but in fact, it is more like DC’s Gotham than the Indian OTT blockbuster.

Like Duniyapur, the story in Gotham revolved around a young Jim Gordon long before he became Commissioner of Gotham City. It was his journey that was highlighted in the series and his interaction with the many characters that he faced including Penguin, Joker, Poison Ivy, The Riddler, and even Catwoman.

In Duniyapur, the story seems to revolve around Sami Khan’s character who is an honest cop stuck in a city where everyone is corrupt, and the law of the land doesn’t exist. He will have a face-off with characters played by Naumaan Ijaz, Nayyar Ejaz, Manzar Sehbai, Hassan Niazi, Ramsha Khan, Khushhal Khan, and even Ali Raza who so far seem to be on the wrong side of the law. Whether good will triumph over evil, or will evil triumph over good, one will have to wait for Duniyapur to air on September 25 to see.

Who are the players behind Duniyapur?

The dialogues in the released teasers of Duniyapur could only have been written by someone new and fresh. Radain Shah is the scriptwriter, and gives that Bollywood touch to his lines without going overboard. He has written some of the best scripts in the last few years including Akhir Kab Tak, Bewafa, Khudparast, Shehnai, Meri Guriya, and Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi which is proof of his range and diversity.

To gather the best actors in the country for such an ambitious project is a challenge not every director would have taken up and one must commend Duniyapur's director Shahid Shafaat for doing that. The experienced campaigner must have been waiting for such a script to show his craftsmanship, because every frame we have seen so far is a gem.

Raza Mossavee, Director Programming & Strategy at Green Entertainment claims Duniyapur is the most expensive TV drama ever produced in Pakistan and we might have to agree with him! The kind of action shown in the teasers so far was only possible in dramas made in collaboration with the armed forces, and doing that without their help is nothing short of a huge achievement.

Will it be able to stand out in the saas bahu saga?

The biggest problem with Pakistani dramas is the oversaturation of saas bahu sagas. In nearly every other show, the mother-in-law is someone the audience despises, and the daughter-in-law is the person everyone sympathizes with, irritating audiences who are lucky enough to be exposed to international television.

However, it seems that with Duniyapur, things might change because improvement in any way attracts more improvement. Just take a trip down memory lane and you can see that post-Udaari, Pakistani dramas became more meaningful; post-Khudgarz, more antiheroes were created who turned over a new leaf by the time the show ended; and post-Parizaad, casting big names became a regular occurrence. Similarly, if the writer-director combo of Radain Shah and Shahif Shafaat doesn't fall into the ratings trap, Duniyapur could change the game in a good way.

Is this the first time such a TV show has been envisioned in Pakistan?

You could say yes, but that would not be true. Before Duniyapur, many plays featured a cast to die for. There was Waris which had so many stars that you would be unable to cast them in a single go; Aangan Terha had both a regular cast and a guest one, where every big actor appeared sporadically. Amjad Islam Amjad’s Samandar, Asghar Nadeem Syed’s Pyaas, Khuwahish, Chand Girhan, Nijaat, and Hawain featured some of the biggest names of the era, whereas drama series Andhera Ujala accommodated stars on weekly basis.

What makes Duniyapur different is that here, every actor seems to have been cast because they fit the character, not because they have a massive social media following. It will also be interesting to see how actresses like Ramsha Khan, and Erum Akhtar fare in a sea of performers who give little or no margin to their co-stars because of their towering personalities.

The Verdict - Duniyapur shouldn’t be missed

Duniyapur is here to stay for many reasons, the biggest being Green TV’s belief in challenging run-of-the-mill drama production. If watching a character fire a rocket launcher on a police entourage didn’t give you goosebumps, I am sure the explosive dialogues will.

The way Manzar Sehbai refers to himself as the King, or Naumaan Ijaz belittling a pawn is the best way to challenge the illogical, lazy, and gharelu lines that come out of character’s mouth, and are forgotten once heard.

Why I am waiting for Duniyapur is simple as well: I have grown up watching quality dramas on our TV and any kind of change is welcome for me. I firmly believe that we can make good dramas that can give international projects a run for their money, and for now am placing my bets on Duniyapur. If it succeeds, it will make my belief stronger, but if it doesn’t, I will wait for the next big thing.