The name Raja London Ka piques one’s curiosity. It almost sounds like a film, but it is a drama series that aired on June 1 and is much-hyped.

Penned by Shahid Dogar and directed by Fajr Raza, the series stars Samar Jafri, Ameema Khan and Zaviyar Nauman Ejaz in the lead roles. Will it live up to the hype? Let’s see.

Raja, portrayed by Samar Jafri, owns a shop in the Landa Bazaar in Karachi, carrying on his father’s legacy. Portrayed as a pleasant and happy-go-lucky fellow, Raja enjoys great camaraderie with the other shop owners. They are like one big, happy family. Raja’s mother, played by the versatile Shagufta Ejaz, has two daughters also, one of whom is engaged to her first cousin. The other is in college.

Raja is the sole breadwinner of the family. He dreams of going to London and making it big, so he can fulfill all his responsibilities and give his family a better life. He makes a dhamakedaar entry in the first episode, when he finds out that the local goon’s men are beating up his friends and destroying all their shops, for not paying the weekly bhatta [extortion money]. He had been entrusted with the cheque but as the bank was closed, he was unable to deposit the money.

Although Raja’s father was an extremely honest man, he was labelled as a thief due to unfortunate circumstances. The shop owners in the bazaar had all pooled money for a tender and Raja’s father was on his way to deposit it, when he was robbed. After that, he was labelled as a thief. His son has never been able to live it down. In fact, one of the men who had come to collect the weekly payment, while leaving, casually referred to his father as a thief. Hell hath no fury like Raja scorned. He beats all of them to a pulp.

A story running parallel to this is about Adil Sultan, played by Zaviyar Nauman Ejaz. He is the son of an MPA, Sultan Ali Khan, who was shot at an election rally. He returns from England, where he is studying and pledges to continue the work and complete all the projects his father had initiated. He is seen as the true successor, much to the chagrin of his first cousin and aunt, who accuse him of killing off his father. The aunt worries that he will become popular and win the next election due to the sympathy vote.

Adil’s father, in his last conversation, had expressed his wish to see him marry a daughter of a friend and associate, Rania Mirza, essayed by actress Ameema Khan. He has a chance encounter with her when he visits her university to oversee a library renovation project that his father had started. Impressed by her forthrightness, he develops a liking for her.

On her mother’s death anniversary, Rania visits the thrift market with a friend to buy some clothes to distribute amongst the poor. There she meets Raja. He is smitten. Later, he assists her when she decides to make a documentary on the Landa Bazaar, for a media studies project. In the process, she develops a liking for the community and a strong bond is forged.

The story has all the elements of a commercial potboiler, with romance, action and music thrown in. In short, there is something for everyone. Reminiscent of typical Bollywood masala fare, it has a lot of sub-plots, for example, the scene where Rania’s father is deliberating on how to use his political connections to win a tender that his company had applied for. Although he had known Sultan, he is wary of his son, Adil, who he thinks will be a tough nut to crack.

The love triangle can be seen coming from a mile off. Paisa vasool, this one is a good time pass. Tune in every Monday and Tuesday to watch this Raja wooing his Rani in Raja London Ka.

The writer is an educationist. She can be reached at [email protected].