anam Saeed returns after Main Manto Nahin Hoon as Zeba in Kafeel opposite Emmad Irfani. The play, penned by Umera Ahmed and directed by Meesam Naqvi, holds nostalgic value.

Sanam’s character is vastly different from the one she played in Main Manto Nahin Hoon; in Kafeel, she is a girl in her late teens.

Set in the ’90s, the play reminded this writer of her teenage years. The family car brought back memories of the white Toyota Corolla owned by her family. She was taken back to her college days when life was simpler and it was quite normal to see groups of girls sitting on the floor, excitedly going through engagement or wedding albums and oohing and aahing over jewellery, clothes and the newly married couple.

Zeba is in her final year. She has a younger sister, Alia, and a brother, Usman. Her mother, Yasmin, is portrayed as a dutiful wife, mother and daughter-in-law. Zeba is portrayed as a studious girl preparing for her examination when the play opens. As the eldest daughter, she is the apple of her father’s eye, who drops her off every day at college and is extremely proud of her achievements.

All is well until Zeba’s mother’s college friend, Farhana visits her after many years and takes a liking to her eldest daughter, seeing a potential match for her brother, Jami, portrayed by Emmad Irfani. The family is settled abroad and well-off. Yasmin is quite keen on the proposal but Zeba’s father wants her to complete her degree and is not willing to marry off his daughter so early.

Cupid strikes. A chance encounter with a gentleman at a friend’s wedding-cum-birthday celebration sets Zeba’s heart aflutter. He is smitten, too. He hands her a note written on a piece of paper; she quickly shoves it in her bag and returns home with stars in her eyes. One of her friends mentions that the gentleman’s sister is looking for a girl for him.

An Umera Ahmed production is always eagerly anticipated. This writer was slightly disappointed with Sanam’s performance who although an accomplished actress, somehow, did not manage to convincingly essay the part of a college-going girl with limited exposure to the opposite sex.

The next day, Yasmin discovers the note in her daughter’s bag and shows it to her father. The two decide to accept Farhana’s proposal. When she mentions this to Zeba, she believes that this is the gentleman she met at her friend’s place, as he too is called Jami. She happily agrees. On her wedding day, when she discovers that it is somebody else, she gets the shock of her life.

The play is off to a promising start. The supporting cast is excellent. Sanam, tall and lean, looks a tad older than the Jami she meets at her friend’s place, who sings a romantic song for her and pens a note with his phone number on it.

There is zero on-screen chemistry between the two, so the romantic scenes do not have the desired impact. Some viewers may not be comfortable with the idea of a tall woman romancing a shorter man although the scenes have been done well.

The pairing with Emmad Irfani, a mature actor, looks far better. Sanam has a rather serious face. Given her tall and statuesque physique, she should have been paired with a taller man. Her love interest, the singer Jami, has a more youthful look and is almost as tall, if not slightly shorter, which makes him look younger.

An Umera Ahmed production is always eagerly anticipated. This writer was slightly disappointed with Sanam’s performance who although an accomplished actress, somehow, did not manage to convincingly essay the part of a young college-going girl with limited exposure to the opposite sex. The romantic scenes, as mentioned, did not really go down very well. Her younger sister, Alia, was far more convincing.

Otherwise, the script is tightknit and the production and direction superb. Tune in to watch this gem every Monday and Tuesday.

The writer is an educationist. She can be reached at gaiteeara @hotmail.com.