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I will make a confession from the start: although I do watch Pakistani dramas, I tend to fast-forward most episodes and rely on recaps instead to get to the end in a jiff. Case in point: the 58-episode bizarre drama Dayan that was clearly inspired by Khoon Bhari Maang and Return to Eden, dragged on forever and had a completely idiotic ending.

In contrast, the recently concluded Sher was relatively short — 39 episodes — and was, for the most part, skilfully edited and gripping enough for me to keep my hand away from the fast-forward button.

Sher centres on the generations-old enmity between two wealthy landowning families: the Zamans and Maliks, headed by Bakht Zaman (Munawwar Sae­ed) and Malik Salahuddin (Sal­m­an Shahid), whose daughters are slated to marry Malik’s sons. However, following a dispute over property, they turn into sworn enemies, thus ending their relationship. Despite this, Zaman’s daughter, Samra (Sunita Marshal), elopes with Malik’s son Wajahat (Hassan Niazi), causing Zaman to commit suicide.

This forms the foundation of the drama, which has an impressive cast. The Zamans include Yousuf Bashir Qureshi (Shah Zaman) and his two wives, Naeema (Atiqa Odho) and Tehmina (Munazzah Arif). Between them, they have three daughters, Marjan (Amna Malik), Naseem (Zehra Raza) and Mahrosh (Sumaira Saghir) and a much-awaited and celebrated son — and the male lead — Sher (Danish Taimoor in a non-toxic role for once).

Meanwhile, there’s also Shah Zaman’s scheming and slimy brother, a widower, Badar Zaman (Ali Tahir), with two smarmy sons Ahad (Taqi Ahmed) and Fahad (Faizan Sheikh).

The Malik household continues to be headed by Malik Salahuddin, who has two sons: Shujaat (Nabeel) and Wajahat and a daughter Shah Taj (Arjumand Rahim). Nabeel has two daughters, Fajar (Sarah Khan) — the female lead — and Sara (Ravisha Khan). If all this sounds too confusing, don’t worry — after the first two episodes, you’ll be able to figure out who’s who.

What keeps the drama engaging are the twists and turns that unfold, keeping audiences hooked. These range from a scheming maid who has the hots for her ‘master’, a stint at a mental asylum, a broken engagement, marriage and murder or two (after all, human life is no longer valued), not to mention unethical doctors who have no qualms about harming to their patients for money (who cares about the Hippocratic Oath, anyway?), and inventive ways of exacting revenge.

Unfortunately, as is the case in most dramas, most of the women serve as wallflowers, with the exception of a few. In my view, what would have given this drama a little more depth was if the relationship between Shah Zaman’s wives, Naeema and Tehmina, had been explored further, as the dynamic between them changes after Zaman’s death — from rivals to friends. What was refreshing to see, however, was that their children respect their stepmothers and half-siblings — a welcome departure from the usual saga-sautela tropes.

As far as the performances are concerned, Sarah and Taimur are more than competent, but the performances that stood out are those by Rahim and Tahir, who prove their versatility. Unfortunately, several actors are underutilised and could have been given more layers — and scenes — which would have made the drama character-driven rather than plot-driven.

Unfortunately, the last few episodes seemed rushed in comparison to the earlier ones, and one wishes this had not been the case, so as to allow the satisfactory resolution of some of the sub-plots, making it one of the few dramas that one wishes was longer.

However, despite such misgivings, Sher is worth a binge, especially if you’re tired of dramas which feature nothing but whiny women, toxic men and hinge on the eternal question: which boy gets which girl?

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 23rd, 2025