Kaala Doriya is a comedic take on family dynamics where the interwoven emotions of love and hate lead to hilarious but terrible situations.

Kaala Doriya, the new TV serial, revolves around a love-hate story between two cousins. The story is similar to Suno Chanda Season 3 in many aspects. For example, Nadia Afghan takes a jab at everyone with a typical Punjabi accent, Farhan Ally Agha and Sohail Sameer are seen as brothers and Samina Ahmed as their mother living in the same house.

The playwright Saima Akram Chaudhry has teamed up once again with Danish Nawaz for ‘Kaala Doriya’, a rom-com that could easily pass as a Ramadan special series or an Eid telefilm. The writer-director duo has previously brought two successful comedy-drama series “Chupke Chupke” (2021) and “Hum Tum.”

One more time, the main characters of the story are settled in a posh neighbourhood. It seems a comedy TV series cannot thrive without featuring a joint family living next door and having a love-hate relationship with each other.

On the first go, the relationships between the main characters and the overall family dynamics look quite confusing. The elderly couple, played by Samina Ahmed as Bi Amma and Khaled Anam as Ikhtiar, love each other but they have been living separately for over 5 years because of their two sons Muneer and Shuja (played by Farhan Ally Agha and Sohail Sameer) has had a disagreement over the sharing of property and thus decided to part ways. The rest of the family members had to choose a side, as the rivalry between the two brothers got worse with time.

Where Ikhtiar decided to live with his eldest son Shuja, his wife Shanno (Nadia Afghan) and their youngest daughter Mahnoor (Sana Javed). Bi Amma, on the other hand, decided to stay with the younger one Muneer and his wife Saleeqa (Zainab Qayyum).

Bitto Apa, played by Tamkenat Mansoor, is the only daughter of the elderly couple who is still unmarried and lives with her mother. Muneer and Saliqa have two sons, the eldest one Faraz (Shehzad Noor) who is married to Nida (Adla Khan) the eldest daughter of Shuja and Shanno, and they have two children.

However, as Nida decides to support her in-laws over the property dispute, her parents and sister have somewhat disowned her. Osman Khalid Butt as Asfand plays the youngest son of Muneer and Saliqa who is also a class-fellow of Mahnoor, alias Mano. After 5 years, the two families are living next door and their daily encounters are both hilarious and to some extent, forced and discomforting.

Asfand wants to pursue music as his career and is caring towards his mother, grandmother and sister-in-law. However, he dislikes Mahnoor and taunts her every time they come across each other. Asfand is an energetic young boy with a lively sense of fashion. However, the script doesn’t do justice to his character as some of his lines are not often used by someone of his age. Still, Osman as Asfand is able to make every situation hilarious and relatable to the audience.

Mano, a young university student, holds a deep grudge against her sister Nida and her in-laws for abandoning her family. Gifted with an irresistible charisma, Mano becomes the centre of attention in her every scene, thanks to with her childish interactions and disagreements with Asfand on almost everything.

We have seen plenty of romantic comedy series with a predictable storyline. Amidst all the punchlines and comedic takes, it may be overlooked that these cousins are broiled with anger and hate against each other just because their parents couldn’t agree on something in the past. It represents the sad dilemma of our society which ruins many families.

Samina Ahmed has once again proved her acting prowess, this time in the role of a great-grandmother. Khaled Anam, playing the role of a great grandfather, is craving for the love of his wife as well as for the unity of his family. It’s beautiful yet upsetting how the story highlights the struggle of an old couple living separately owing to the feuds between their children.

Seemingly a good family drama, Kaala Doriya has not been able to make a mark so far. Let’s see if Osman Khalid Butt and Sana Javed can become the new favourite couple with a unique take on the story in the forthcoming episodes. -Ends