Prime time television in Pakistan is high on romance. The plot of each and every drama winds around a love story or two, relying heavily on lovelorn gazes, lilting music and the debilitating pain of heartbreak when unforeseen circumstances, death, disease or — more often than not — an evil mother-in-law tears two lovers apart.

But not every romance can be the stuff that dreams are made of. Just placing a good-looking female actor with a male one cannot guarantee TV fireworks. Some drama couples are endearing, while others look so stilted together that their pairing is unfathomable. There are also the unwholesome ones whose love affairs tilt towards borderline incest! Chemistry is extremely important, as are acting skills. But above all, a solid storyline is needed to build a memorable love story. The most romantic first few episodes can plummet towards the desultory when the story inevitably falls victim to the machinations of evil in-laws, greed, the need for revenge or just basic dumbness.

Most frequently, our TV drama romances flail at the hands of episodes that drag on and on and on. In an effort to maximise profits from viewership ratings, drama producers tend to elongate scenes and create repetitive scenarios. Even the most enchanting lovelorn couple can only hold the audience’s interest for so long.

Scanning the recent spate of dramas to have gained popularity, here are some TV couples who manage to look great together. This doesn’t mean that they haven’t suffered at the hands of the usual ploys that bring down the value of even the best TV scripts. But for a few episodes at least, these couples spun magic and had their audience humming love songs… before the story began to drag and induced yawns instead!

A typical ‘happily ever after’ screen romance can only be as convincing as the lead couple’s chemistry on screen. Icon takes a look at some of the screen pairings that are making the small screen sizzle with their romantic takes

Ahad Raza Mir-Sajal Aly

It’s no big surprise that real-life couple Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly, aka Sahad, are quite sensational even when they are together on screen. The actors share a natural chemistry, but they are also very talented, making sure that every scene, every shared love-struck glance and every tearful lovers’ tiff is completely believable.

The two have worked in several projects together but their most recent one was the suspense romance, Yeh Dil Mera. The drama had a riveting storyline with Ahad’s character Amaan romancing Noorulain played by Sajal, while very obviously being prompted by an ulterior motive. The mystery surrounding Amaan’s past unfolds parallel to the couple’s love story. There are many scenes that are remarkable, in which revenge battles with love, confusion creates doubts, and the past threatens to tarnish the lead pair’s romance.

Sadly, there could have been many more exceptional scenes had the drama not suffered at the hands of bad direction and long drawn-out episodes. There were long pauses, repetitive scenes, multiple flashbacks and some badly put-together dialogues.

The fact that, despite all this, the romance between Ahad’s and Sajal’s characters was memorable says a lot for the on-screen — and off-screen — sparks that fly when these two are together.

Ameer Gilani-Mawra Hocane

Ameer Gillani and Mawra Hocane look so sweet together in Sabaat that there are rumours afloat that the actors are also a couple in real life. Both, however, have been denying it. On-screen, their romance starts off with a typical boy-meets-girl-at-the-university scenario. Anaya’s the no-nonsense girl with a strong sense of morality. Hassan’s the pampered rich boy who is brought down to earth when she calls him out for his rudeness. He is besotted first and she, a little later. Their love story begins with some accidental meetings, a few hesitant phone calls and shy smiles. It’s all quite endearing.

Then, of course, their life embarks on a choppy rollercoaster ride which twists and turns through economic differences, marriage and a very nasty sister-in-law. The dreaded dramatic drag has also been rearing its ugly, persistent head. There have been plenty of teary-eyed moments and, while no love story is without its share of pain, too much tears can really drown out a romance. We do hope that their love story remains alive.

Bilal Abbas-Yumna Zaidi

In Pyar Ke Sadqay (PKS), Bilal Abbas and Yumna Zaidi’s awkward, befuddled characters are meant to be together. Slowly, their strange friendship begins to deepen. Their repartee often teeters towards the ridiculously funny and you root and cheer for this odd couple to find their ‘happily ever after’. But then, the plot thickens, prolongs, and you start getting irritated. Bilal’s character, Abdullah, may be gullible but he also comes off as spineless and a bad judge of character. By the time the drama drones on to the 20th episode, you’re not quite sure you want Mahjabeen, played by Yumna, to end up with him.

Both Bilal and Yumna are two very fine actors, and when they are on screen together, their chemistry is undeniable. They make an enchanting couple in PKS in the first few episodes, until they don’t in the next few.

Feroze Khan-Hania Amir

Feroze Khan’s brooding, hot-headed Hamza and Hania Aamir’s vulnerable Romaisa are the high points of Ishqiya. Their chemistry is palpable and you wait for their scenes together, urging them to fall in love while they navigate a relationship that is burdened with baggage from the past and a whole range of conflicting emotions.

It’s unfortunate that the core storyline and the treatment of the drama does not do the actors justice. Both of them are performing extremely well and, in fact, had it not been for Ishqiya’s fundamental flaws — the repetition, constant flashback scenarios and complete lack of character development when it comes to the ensemble cast — they could have easily been one of this year’s hottest romantic TV drama couples.

Hamza Ali Abbasi-Sajal Aly

Hamza Ali Abbasi and Sajal Aly’s characters were in an erstwhile search for truth all through Alif. They cry, endure losses, recall sad memories from the past and then, cry some more. Ultimately, they find purpose to their tumultuous lives and, while self-reflecting and carrying on long theological discussions, they also find each other. And when they do, there’s an inexplicable tension in the air. These two protagonists may be very confused but, as an audience, you do root for them to one day get together.

The love story, nevertheless, simmers between the lines. Qalb-i-Momin and Momina (yes, they even have names that go well together) barely exchange any romantic monologues, or are even happy together for a few episodes. Perhaps the drama’s story, so deeply entrenched in philosophy, didn’t allow for such deviations. But in their subtle, complicated way, Hamza and Sajal look great together. A slight shift towards the romantic angle would have added some memorable scenes to a drama that stood out for its unique storyline.

Ahsan Khan-Ushna Shah

The romance between Ahsan Khan and Ushna Shah is yet to unravel in the ongoing Bandhay Ek Dor Se (BEDS), but the first few episodes of the drama hint at a lighthearted dalliance that will be unfolding soon, and maybe deepening into something more. In all fairness, Omar (played by Ahsan) and Maheen (Ushna’s character) are not a hit romantic TV couple — yet. In fact, Omar is shown to be initially in love with Ushna’s neighbour, Roshni, enacted by Hina Altaf. But it’s quite obvious from the teasers, that a love triangle is going to develop very soon, and fate will be throwing Omar and Maheen together. It’s a refreshing new pairing, helped along by a script that is delivering well on emotions and situational comedy. So far so good.

A concern, however, is that BEDS’s ensemble cast is mostly embroiled in saas-bahu spats. We hope that once the romance thickens, it doesn’t end up getting entangled in one of TV’s oldest and most predictable tropes.

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 19th, 2020