Ep1: Amanat provides an insight into complex family bonds

Star-studded drama serial Amanat kicked off on Tuesday night with a double episode which was full of drama and grandeur. The drama has introduced us to three different families who will eventually be dragged in each other’s lives due to circumstances.

Zarrar (Imran Abbas) is the eldest son of Shehryar Zaidi and Saba Hamid and has two siblings, Samra (Srha Asghar) and Junaid (Haroon Shahid). Zarrar is engaged to be married to Zunairah (Saboor Aly) while his sister is going to marry Zunairah’s brother Raheel (Salman Saeed). This is a classic case of a wattay sattay ki shadi where one family will blackmail the other whenever something happens to their daughter. Here the spoilt brat is Zunairah; she is a narcissist whose family has pampered her to an extent that she doesn’t care about anyone but herself. Not only she is self-obsessed but is also compulsively attached to her love interest, Zarrar, and wants his life to circle only around her. This is indeed a red flag for imminent problems as Zunairah doesn’t even tolerate her sister-in-law or mother-in-law’s involvement in Zarrar’s life.

Left to Right: Salman Saeed, Srha Asghar, Saboor Aly & Imran Abbas

While Zarrar is the calm, composed and hardworking son, Junaid is his opposite. Although he is loved by all, he is the dark sheep of the family because of his non-serious attitude towards life and his career. He blames his shortcomings on others and has an inferiority complex as his family favours Zarrar. Though he dislikes Zunairah because of her rude behaviour, it seems that the two will eventually join hands when push comes to shove.

Haroon Shahid as Junaid

Read: ‘Amanat’ appears to be high on romance and revenge

The third household is headed by Malik Furqan (Babar Ali), a patriarch who is egotistical and evil. Babar Ali has done complete justice to this character with his calm yet menacing demeanour which exudes authority. His wife Saeeda Begum is a helpless woman who has no say in any matter. Malik Furqan has a mentally-challenged son, Qaiser (Gohar Rasheed) who is a man with a mental state of a kid. Malik is also the guardian of his orphaned niece Mehar (Urwa Hocane) who lives in his house like a maid. Now, he has planned to marry his niece to his son, perhaps because that is the only possible way to marry him while keeping his condition a secret.

Babar Ali as Malik Furqan, Gohar Rasheed as Qaiser

Malik’s wife loves Mehar and wants her to escape from this miserable life. So, she helps Mehar to run away from home and marry her nephew Fawad (Asad Siddiqui). However, Malik Furqan is soon going to catch them and Zarrar will get involved in this messy situation due to a promise he made to his friend, Fawad.

Asad Siddiqui as Fawad, Urwa Hocane as Mehar

Things will take a twisted turn in the next episode when Mehar will get between Zarrar and Zunairah, only to provoke her to get married to Junaid. The plot seems quite predictable at this stage but the treatment of the story is interesting. With an ensemble cast giving their best, all the performance are up to par.

Amanat is written by Rukhsana Nigar and directed by Shahid Shafaat. The drama is produced by Sana Shahnawaz, Samina Humayun Saeed, Humayun Saeed and Shahzad Nasib.

Watch the first episode here: