What's wrong with Humayun Saeed-Yumna Zaidi starrer Gentleman?

Humayun Saeed's comeback TV show Gentleman is doing well as far as the audience is concerned. It has their favorite actor in the lead role, paired with Yumna Zaidi for the first time, playing a goon who falls in love. However, critics don't seem to rate the show highly due to various reasons, its over-ambitiousness being one.

Written by Khalil ur Rehman Qamar and directed by Haisam Hussain, the play seems to revolve around Karachi's street mafia, but only on the surface. The language used is more millennial than gangster, the story seems to have been taken from Sanjay Dutt-Ajay Devgn starrer Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi, and logic from outer space.

Yes, a gangster named Iqbal Munna can fall in love with a TV anchor (don't we all, if the anchor is good-looking!) but what are the chances of his boss falling for the very same anchor? In which universe does a Karachi gangster speak in a Mumbai accent and introduce himself as 'Main Iqbal Munna Hoon'? In which dimension does a popular TV anchor travel by rickshaw and get away after slapping a gangster in front of a huge crowd?

These are some of the questions the audience has in mind, but the writer will not be able to answer them because, in his world, he is always right, the director has no authority over his script, and nobody can write better than him. This is where he is wrong because had he been such a great writer, Qamar's own directorial debut Kaaf Kangana would have broken Titanic's record. Secondly, most of his drama ideas come from Bollywood films which makes him a 'legend in his own mind', and not all that different from his contemporaries who look across the border for inspiration.

So far, Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, Yumna Zaidi, Zahid Ahmed, and Ahmed Ali Butt stand out in their characters with Humayun and Adnan doing great as gangsters, Yumna as a TV anchor with principles, Zahid as a police officer and Ahmed Ali Butt as comic relief.

Yes, Zahid Ahmed's moustache seems funny, but is compensated for by Sohai Ali Abro's brilliant acting. It was great to see her back on screen after a four-year hiatus; the Motorcycle Girl doesn't give a hint that she was gone for some time. Haissam Hussain's direction could have been even better had he been given a free hand like he was given in Jo Bichchar Gaye.

There is no doubt that Khalil ur Rehman Qamar is the best dialogue writer in the country, but he seems to forget that not every character has to be philosophical, or to be more precise, like him. Why is a gangster speaking like an IBA graduate, why is his sidekick speaking like Circuit from Munna Bhai, and why doesn't Korangi look like Korangi, are the things the makers should be worried about.

Right now, Gentleman looks more like a Khalil ur Rehman Qamar vehicle instead of a Haisam Hussain play. If it wants to go down in history in the same club as Mere Paas Tum Ho, Pyare Afzal etc. Qamar has to take a backseat and let the director do the talking.