Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Think of the desi drama heroine, bullied persistently, suffering the taunts and scheming of her heartless in-laws, emotionally tortured to the point that she is reduced to a flood of tears that pour out scene after scene after scene, supported by a melancholic soundtrack. When she unleashes her fury, imagine the sort of hell she could wreak over the villains in her life. The helpless, heartbroken, long-suffering girl transforms into a vengeful witch, vamp, ‘daayan’.

This is the premise that Daayan is expected to rely on, the drama currently airing on Geo TV, produced by Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi of 7th Sky Entertainment. It marks Mehwish Hayat’s return to TV after seven long years, and one supposes that she will eventually transform into the titular ‘daayan’ — although at the time this piece is being written, her character is still bringing on the waterworks with great gusto.

Also interesting is that the drama pairs Mehwish with Ahsan Khan, an actor with whom she shares a history of TV hits. The rest of the ensemble cast includes Hira Mani, Sohail Sameer, Zainab Qayyum, Shamyl Khan, Afsheen Hayat, Nida Mumtaz and Nayyer Ejaz, with director Seraj-ul-Haq behind the camera.

The recently launched serial is an over-the-top, escapist, masala-laden drama with plenty of risque innuendos, thrills, family politics and wordplay geared squarely towards the masses. So why were industry veterans attracted to it?

It’s an impressive list of veterans and, as you watch Daayan, you wonder why all of them were inclined towards this story. Why was Ahsan Khan, renowned for some heavy duty, critically acclaimed roles, attracted towards playing the polygamous, amorous feudal lord who was likely to get the audience smirking and making wisecracks?

Moreover, what prompted Mehwish — with her international experience, her burgeoning work as a producer and famous for being the only actress in Pakistan whose every movie has been a hit despite the fluctuating fortunes of the local box office — to sign on to the dotted line?

Then again, why wouldn’t they? Daayan isn’t an intellectual work of art nor does it want to be. It’s an over-the-top, escapist, masala-laden story with plenty of innuendo, cheap thrills, family politics, sleazeball relatives and clever wordplay that manages to communicate some shocking stuff without testing the patience of the TV censor board. Zigzagging between Zawar Shah (Ahsan Khan), his two wives, his murderous sisters and useless brothers-in-law, the plot winks out at you and expects you to wink right back.

Think Bollywood movies from the ’80s, where a lascivious Shakti Kapoor would try to rob maidens of their innocence. Or Urdu paperback digest stories where the woebegone bahu [daughter-in-law] would glam up and suddenly gather the courage to become the nemesis of her in-laws. Or even Shakespeare’s Macbeth, where three cackling witches would create mischief. That’s Daayan for you.

Asad Qureshi of 7th Sky Entertainment observes, “With our years of experience as one of the country’s most respected production houses, we have a certain vision for the projects that we undertake. We understand the audience’s pulse and we ensure that we maintain high production values and attention to detail with every drama that comes under the 7th Sky Entertainment banner.

“Daayan is definitely one of our premium projects and it had been highly anticipated because it marked Mehwish Hayat’s return to TV acting. Mehwish has acted brilliantly, delivering a powerful performance that resonates with viewers. Ahsan Khan, as the male lead, has also acted exceptionally well, and the cast overall is very strong.

“The way the story evolves has connected with the audience and this is a sign that, while some dramas deliver strong messages, others, such as Daayan, serve as escapist fantasies. Their sole purpose is to provide pure entertainment, and I believe Daayan has truly succeeded in doing so.”

In good ways and some bad, the drama is utterly filmi — Amrish Puri-esque, commercial cinema, mind you — which is probably what lured Mehwish, with her penchant for cinema, back to the TV screen.

“When I first read the script for Daayan, it captivated me immediately,” says Mehwish. “I had been working my way through countless scripts over the past three, four years, searching for something that would challenge me, but nothing quite clicked until this one. While the story is set within the familiar family dynamics that Pakistani audiences connect with, it offered something rare: a character with a genuinely transformative journey.”

She continues, “You know how actors always claim that their roles have ‘many shades’? It has become such a cliché in interviews. But with this character, those layers actually exist. You witness her evolution from beginning to end — a real woman navigating increasingly complex circumstances, changing in ways that feel authentic and profound. This role demanded things that I hadn’t given before as an actress — pushing me beyond comfortable techniques into emotional territory that scared me a little. That’s exactly what I crave as an artist looking to grow.

“Working with Ahsan again was another major draw. When you have chemistry with a co-star and a talented team supporting the project, it elevates everything. The collaborative spirit on set made tackling those challenging scenes all the more rewarding.”

For Ahsan Khan, enacting the hapless hero — wearing his heart on his sleeve, with his loyalty sliding from one wife to the other wife to his sisters — the drama was refreshingly different from his recent roles.

“As an actor, I want to offer something new with every role,” he says. “I hadn’t played a character like Zawar Shah in a while. He is a wealthy man surrounded by grandeur, and going through this emotional journey that is pivotal to the plot. I spent a lot of time building Zawar’s character in my head: how he would walk, talk, what he would wear, what his educational background is… I wanted the audience to really believe in the character.”

He adds, “Of course, Mehwish and I were very pleased that we would be working together. We have a professional relationship that spans about 15 years, from working in dramas such as Meray Qatil Mere Dildar, Mirat-ul-Uroos and Kabhi Kabhi to our many stage performances. Audiences have always liked seeing us together and she is very talented. A good performance is largely based on actions and reactions between co-stars and Mehwish truly understands this. She even gives her all during rehearsals or when she just has to give cues . Nobody does that!

“The whole cast is, in fact, very talented. I have got to work with some of my oldest friends in the industry, such as Sohail Sameer, Shamyl, ZQ, Mehwish, Hira and Seraj after a long time. Seraj always has a very larger-than-life, glamorous vision as a director. He adds cinematic elements, creates a whole world and somehow makes it believable for the audience. I enjoy that.”

Ahsan continues, “It’s also always a very good experience working with 7th Sky Entertainment. The producers Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi are great people to work with. They are visionaries, excellent paymasters and I appreciate that they always seek me out for very interesting roles.”

There’s also Hira Mani, an important linchpin to the story as Zawar’s first wife, gliding about the family mansion in elaborate saris better suited for weddings, accessorised with heavy jewellery. She’s a woman of steel whose greatest weapon are her tears that she uses with abundance in multiple scenes.

“When I read Daayan’s script, I felt like I was going to be playing a character in a ’90s Bollywood movie, where the wife loves her husband to the extent that she is willing to jump off the roof for him!” says Hira. “I loved how filmi it all was and I wanted to work with Seraj. He makes actors look beautiful, like he did in his past directorial project Tere Bin.”

While we reiterate that Daayan is indeed filmi, it is also important to repeat that it is unabashedly, proudly mass-appeal. It is theatrical. Outlandish.

From the very outset, the characters discuss — with completely straight faces — the lack of a ‘waaris’ (male heir), owing to Hira Mani’s character’s infertility issue. When Mehwish Hayat’s unfortunate Nehal gets forced into the family, her ability to deliver an heir is discussed just as casually.

There are insinuations that are so brazen that they have you laughing: an angry Zawar forced into his second wife’s room by the first wife, both wives dressing up to please him; Zawar standing in the foyer at night, staring at the two doors that lead to his two respective wives! It goes on and on — not your usual prime time family drama, for sure.

Director Seraj mixed and matched five different houses in order to depict the family’s expansive mansion. “I love creating scenes that are cinematic, grand,” he says, “and there are so many layers to the story that you will soon see unfold. That’s what I enjoyed. You don’t come across a drama like this very often on TV!”

“It’s a twisted, revenge-love story,” declares ZQ, who loved playing Zawar’s murderous sister. “Playing a key villain is always interesting. It’s the villain’s game throughout the drama, until the hero finally emerges victorious at the end!”

Fledgling actress Afsheen Hayat — also Mehwish Hayat’s sister — plays the other evil sister. “My character isn’t just negative for the sake of it, she has a strong presence and there is depth to her motivation and ambitions.”

Sohail Sameer talks about having had a “great time” working with “old friends”, as does Shamyl Khan, who reveals that Seraj-ul-Haq was one of the directors on his wish-list.

Did the actors, however, not have any apprehensions about being part of a project that is so overtly “mass-appeal”? Mehwish answers eloquently: “I don’t approach roles with those kinds of labels. A role is a role. You never evaluate it with those criterions. Television by its very nature is a mass medium and the storytelling pace is different from film or limited series. Characters have room to grow and evolve over time.

“When I am reading a script, I am not thinking about whether it is ‘massy’ or critically acclaimed material. You cannot categorise a script that way during the creative process. I am always focused on what I can bring to the character, how I can make it authentic and what emotional journey I will take the audience on.”

She continues: “What excites me is finding the truth in every character. The real question is always: ‘Can I do something meaningful with this role’? Everything else is just industry categorisation that doesn’t serve the creative process.”

In that vein, sure, we won’t categorise Daayan, even as it gleefully traverses implausible new twists. “Just enjoy the ride,” says ZQ.

“Wait and see what happens next. It’s going to get more and more exciting,” promises Seraj.

“It’s fun,” points out Ahsan, “and there should be stories on TV where you just enjoy the world created before you.”

It’s a mad, mad, mad world. And as the daayan gears to enter the storyline, it’s only going to get even more mad.

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 4th, 2025