The Horror genre with all its potential has not been explored to the fullest by Pakistani dramas.
Who does not love a spine-chilling tale of supernatural stuff and paranormal activity? As a matter of fact, our favorite pastime as children was listening to stories of jinn and churails. Exorcism, horror, tales of the unexpected, and superstition excite people. Our local audience easily relates to scenarios such as haunted basements, headless ghosts roaming around in school hockey fields at night, and weird and spooky voices from graveyards. Fear fascinates people and stories that capture fear are bound to be successful.
Horror Dramas
It is not that we have a dearth of good writers and directors; dramas like Dhund (Maria Wasti played the role of a medium), Kala Jaddu 1, and Kala Jaddu 2 were popular among the viewers. Dramas like Woh and Woh Dobara, Nazar-e-Bud, Dil Nawaz, and Dareecha are some examples of a strong script, great direction, and powerful performance. Belapur ki Dayan, Chalawa, Bandish, and the recently concluded Neeli Zinda Hai were also popular among the audiences because they had good scripts, crisp direction, and convincing acting. Here is a review of some great horror dramas that had viewers glued to their TV sets.
Also read: Are Pakistani Dramas Glorifying Domestic Abuse?
Woh and Woh Dobara
The Horror drama Woh (2013) fascinated the audience so much that its sequel Woh Dobara was released in 2014 which also kept the audience entertained with paranormal activities and some spine-chilling performances by the cast. It will not be wrong to say that response to drama serial Woh encouraged writers and directors to explore the horror genre more.
Bandish
ARY Digital drama Bandish was written by Syed Nabeel and Shahid Nizami and directed by Aabis Raza. Bandish is all about black magic and jinns and how black magic can practically destroy people. The storyline was quite relatable and showed how black magic can destroy peace and prosperity in a normal and happy family. It also showed that deep faith in the Almighty is all that one needs to overcome all calamities in life. The drama was quite scary, especially the child actor who played the posses Aleena was very convincing for her age. Crisp direction and good cinematography built up that frightful scenario required by horror dramas.
Belapur Ki Dayan
Dayan, an epitome of evil is an important character in our horror stories. Belapur ki Dayan is all about a dayan all set to destroy a family. The drama was written by Inam Hasan and directed by Saifee Hasan. The family of Aziz Ahmed comes to live in what he claims his ancestral home after winning a court battle against his step-brother. Little did Aziz Ahmed know that a dayan which is the spirit of his stepsister haunts the home. The family becomes aware of the presence of a supernatural creature in the house. The dayan wants to take revenge and uses Aziz’s daughter Sarah Khan to do so. The revenge as viewers will discover is more than possession of the house by Aziz Ahmed. Amar Khan gave a stellar performance as the dayan while Sarah Khan was absolutely convincing as a girl under influence. The drama got a very good response from the audience as well as several nominations in Hum Style Awards.
