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Doraha
Opening title screen
Genre	Romance Drama
Written by	Umera Ahmad
Directed by	Mehreen Jabbar
Starring	Humayun Saeed Sonia Rehman Sanam Baloch Adnan Siddiqui
Opening theme	Tum Kahan Chal Diye by Jal
Ending theme	Duniya
Composer	Ilahi & Delorenzo
Country of origin	Pakistan
Original language	Urdu
No. of episodes	14
Production
Producer	Humayun Saeed & Abdullah Kadwani
Editor	Mehreen Jabbar
Production company	7th Sky Entertainment
Original release
Network	Geo Entertainment
Release	17 October 2008 (2008-10-17) – 23 January 2009 (2009-01-23)

Doraha (Urdu: دوراہا) (English: Crossroad) is a Pakistani drama television series which premiered on Geo Entertainment on 17 October 2008. It is an adaptation of an Urdu novel Mein Ne Khawabon Ka Shajar Dekha Hai, written by Umera Ahmad. The serial is produced by Humayun Saeed and Abdullah Kadwani's production house 7th Sky Entertainment and directed by Mehreen Jabbar.

The official soundtrack is called Tum Kahan Chal Diye, composed and performed by Jal the band. It was one of the tracks in Jal's album Boondh, released in 2007 and was well received by the listeners.

In an audio interview given to Raju Jamil, Humayun Saeed revealed that given the success of Doraha, 7th Sky Entertainment is planning to produce a second season of the serial with the same cast. However, the sequel was never made and the reasons remain unknown.

Synopsis

Shahla (Sanam Baloch) and Umer (Humayun Saeed) are cousins living in the same neighbourhood. They both belong to middleclass families, but as Shahla is the only girl of her parents, her family is better off than Umer's. Umer is six years older than Shahla and adores her like a little sister. But Shahla fancies him and tries to show him her feelings again and again by making him Biryani and many other delicious dishes. Umer is doing his graduation and is in love with his fellow university mate Sara (Sonia Rehman), who belongs to a sound family and when she tells her parents (Mohammed Ahmed, Ismat Zaidi) about Umer's proposal, they immediately refuse to give permission. But that gets sorted and her parents give their permission for this marriage. However, Umer's mother (Badar Khalil), who wanted Shahla and Umer to marry, refuses to accept her new daughter-in-law and doesn't even pretend to be happy on their wedding day.

Shahla however, shows no sign of hurt and gets on with her new bhabhi. Sara's new house is nothing like where she used to live before. Even the food is not the same. But Sara adjusts to the new environment in a mature way and doesn't throw tantrums or make demands to her husband. But her mother-in-law is anything but appreciative towards her, since she always thinks that Sara stole Umer away. The first time Sara cooks meal, Umer's mother calls it badly cooked in front of Shahla who doesn't stop bringing meal from her house for Umer and his family, even though her mother (Parveen Akbar) tells her off for that. Umer who loved Shahla's food prefers having his wife's meal that night. Sara's father-in-law (Qazi Wajid) is also supportive of her, but soon Sara loses his support too, when she helps her sister-in-law marry the man she loves.

After two years of marriage and household chores Sara talks to Umer about taking up a day job. Umer refuses at first but reluctantly agrees later on. This gives his parents another point of mocking Sara because they worry too much of what the society thinks. Shahla, who has been engaged recently, pours oil on the fire and talks ill with her aunt (Umer's mother) about working women. One day she brings qorma for Umer but he is not at home. Sara tells her not to bring food from her home whenever she visits and Shahla starts weeping over it. Shahla comes back the next day when Sara's mother comes to see her daughter, only to hear Umer's mother ridicule Sara. All limits are crossed when everyone starts blaming each other for everything. Umer gets fed up of this constant fighting at home and ends it all by divorcing Sara.

Umer marries Shahla in the next few days. Now is the perfect time for her to tell Umer about her feelings for him since her childhood. But she never gets a chance to do so because the marriage doesn't turn out to be as magical as she thought it would. Shehla is delighted and happy on finally getting what she wanted and takes over the reins of the house and the new wife of Umer. Shehla and her mother in law do not get along and Shehla convinces Umer to keep her in a new and separate house, this makes Umer's mother realize what a gem Sara was, who despite so much opposition from her was living with them and serving them. Sara also marries again, this time to Asfar (Adnan Siddique). Though she takes a little while to make the decision unlike Umer. One day accidentally Umer sees Sara (this was their first encounter after the divorce), at a hospital where she's being treated for wounds caused by her husband's beating. Asfar was a divorcee as well and a mentally unstable person with trust issues with his previous wife. Umer blames himself for her condition and quickly lets Sara's parents know about this and this is how Sara's second marriage, which was more painful than the first, ends. Umer who is still in love with his ex-wife and having a tough time with his new wife, divorces Shahla, despite having a daughter with her. And it all comes back to where it all started. Umer and Sara start a new life together, for the second time.

Cast and characters

• Humayun Saeed as Umer
• Sonia Rehman as Sarah
• Sanam Baloch as Shahla
• Badar Khalil as Umer's mother
• Qazi Wajid as Umer's father
• Parveen Akbar as Shahla's mother
• Ismat Zaidi as Sarah's mother
• Syed Mohammad Ahmed as Sarah's father
• Adnan Siddiqui as Azfar
• Javeria Abbasi as Sofia, Sarah's sister

Broadcast

Doraha originally broadcast on Geo Entertainment from 2008 to 2009, airing a weekly episode.

It re-aired in UK on Geo TV UK, following the success of the highly-rated Meray Paas Tum Ho, also starring Saeed and Siddiqui.

Reception

Critical reception

In the journal of January 2010 of The Herald, a reviewer praised the series for its storyline, dialogues and strong performances, stating that it has "broke ground in more than one way".

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ "Geo TV UK to re-run popular Urdu series 'Doraha'". 11 February 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023.
2. "Mehreen Jabbar Talk room". 11 December 2008. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
3. "Drama Of The Week- Doraha". reviewit.pk. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
4. Zakir, Fatima. "Dramatic Beats". The News International (newspaper) (Jang Instep). Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
5. "Lights, camera, waterworks (2010 Lux Style Award winners)". The Express Tribune (newspaper). 2 November 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
6. ^ "Detailed categories of 9th LSA". Lux Style Awards. 6 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
7. "DRAMA Doraha - review". The Herald. 41 (1–2): 1. January 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2024. When Mehreen Jabbar is the director of a play, one can pretty much guarantee a strong storyline, well - written dialogue and a few outstanding performances without even a sneak - peek. And "Doraha" did not disappoint on any of these counts. Penned by Umera Ahmed, arguably the most sought after writer on the block, "Doraha" tackled a common theme - marital troubles - but with innovation. Sara (Sonia Rehman Qureshi) and Omar (Humayun Saeed) are a college - going couple who decide to get married despite familial reservations, which stem from the difference in the two's socio-economic status. Add to the mix the fact that Omar's cousin Shehla (played by a confident Sanam Baloch) refuses to stop pursuing him and the spice quotient becomes too hot to handle. The marriage fails and the two divorce. The modern twist was that Jabbar focused on the post - divorce lives of the two Omar marries the scheming Baloch and Sara is cajoled by her parents into saying yes to suitor Asfar (a superb Adnan Siddiqui in the role of a smooth psychotic). But in a further twist of fate, the second marriages fail too, making both wonder if they made a mistake in breaking up. Innovation did not just end with Jabbar's script adventures; Geo, which aired the serial, added a dash of reality television to "Doraha" by asking viewers to vote on whether or not Sara should remarry Omar. In short, "Doraha" broke ground in more than one way.
8. "9th LUX Style Awards 2010". Fashion Central. 21 February 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
9. "8th Lux Style Awards (nominations of 9th Lux Awards)". Lux Style Awards. Archived from the original on 6 August 2010.

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• 2008 Pakistani television series debuts
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• Pakistani drama television series
• Urdu-language television shows
• Television shows set in Karachi
• Geo TV original programming
• Television shows directed by Mehreen Jabbar
• Pakistani television dramas based on novels
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