Deep within one of the congested neighb­ourhoods of old Karachi, an unremarkable gate opens into a tranquil street, surrounded by small, time-worn and old-world houses shaded by neem and peepal trees.

This unassuming little street, with plants scattered in front of gates that have rust creeping across their hinges, is the star of one of the most watched dramas on Pakistani TV right now: Sharpasand.

There is a prodigious line-up of stars acting in Sharpasand: Naumaan Ijaz, Nadia Afgan, Hira Mani, Affan Waheed, Hareem Farooq and Seemi Pasha, as well as a coterie of very talented young actors, including Ahsan Afzal Khan, Hassam Irfan, Zuni Sheikh, Saba Bukhari, Sabahat Sheikh and Sarah Aijaz Khan.

And then, of course, there is the aforementioned street — offering a whiff of Karachi’s old residential areas, where houses stand squashed shoulder-to-shoulder, allowing neighbours to snoop on each other conveniently, with ancient trees standing guard along boundary walls. Neighbours gather outside their homes every day, indulging in a bit of gossip, make sanctimonious declarations as they judge their neighbours, and make their way to the mosque for namaz.

Presiding over this neighbourhood is Ijaz’s Farasat Ali, the titular sharpasand — someone who likes to spread mischief.

One of the most avidly watched dramas on television these days, Sharpasand has many things going for it — a strong script, an exceptional cast, astute direction and production, and a neighbourhood that is a holdover from bygone Karachi. Icon goes behind the scenes to take a peek at this wholesome street with an underlying dark side

Sitting under one of the shaded trees, with gaffers and grips milling around us as they decorate one of the homes with fairy lights, the drama’s director Aehsun Talish waves his hand towards the street as he tells Icon, “I had two conditions before I decided to take on this drama: that the title character would be portrayed by Naumaan Ijaz and that we would create a set like this.”

He continues: “Thirty percent of our work, which means at least 200 scenes, had to be shot in this lane. We couldn’t go off and shoot just anywhere, where we would have to ward off random passers-by and traffic. We needed a controlled environment, where we could work easily. And we found this place, with old trees growing on the sides and we built our set around it.”

The drama’s producer, Abdullah Seja of iDream Entertainment, explains: “Facades were created from the houses on this street and we deliberately aged the walls. All the indoor filming has been done in other locations. As soon as we read the script, we knew that the star of the drama was going to be this street. It was a challenge that we took on.

“Most TV dramas are shot indoors, especially in drawing rooms,” he adds. “We deliberately asked the playwright to write a large number of scenes that could be shot outdoors. We also tried to incorporate natural components into the filming. If it was raining, we shot in the rain rather than coming up with scenes that were shot in artificially created rain.”

He elaborates further: “You’ll see hawkers roaming around in the background, implying that it is a semi-commercial area, and there are plenty of scenes with children getting off a school van.”

The street in Sharpasand is particularly significant because of the culture it symbolises.

Talish observes, “In a lot of mohallas [neighbourhoods] in the past and even now, there is a prevailing tharra [a raised platform outside a house] culture where people in the neighbourhood congregate to have a chat. When loadshedding takes place in the evening, they all come outside and gather here.”

Here, Ijaz — the drama’s most significant linchpin — chips in. “In a mohalla such as this one, everyone knows who lives where and how many people are living in a particular house,” he says. “If a stranger is seen roaming about, people ask who he or she is. These days, most people don’t even know who is living next door to them but there are still some neighbourhoods like this one. People who still live in such areas are the ones who can relate the most to this drama.”

I interject that even people living elsewhere would be able to relate to Farasat Ali’s machinations — unfortunately, troublemakers like him are not uncommon. A neighbourhood like the one in Sharpasand may look close-knit and cosy from a vantage point, but the drama’s script explores the cracks that run deep beneath the surface.

Facades were created from the houses on this street and we deliberately aged the walls. All the indoor filming has been done in other locations. As soon as we read the script, we knew that the star of the drama was going to be this street. It was a challenge that we took on,” says producer Abdullah Seja.

The story zigzags into different homes across the street, particularly, the house of Shazmain (Hira Mani), a young widow working in a bank and subjected to moral policing because she lives alone; the home of a young couple, Sanam (Hareem Farooq) and Fida (Affan Waheed) who are having difficulty conceiving a child, which is taking a toll on their marriage; and the abode of Hafsa (Sabahat Sheikh), who lives with her widowed mother while her brother studies abroad and who has had to bear with neighbourhood gossip. And, of course, Farasat Ali’s residence, where he gossips with a vengeance, while professing to be pious.

Wearing a crumpled cotton shalwar kameez, a prayer cap perpetually on his head, Ijaz transforms, limping, squinting, stuttering and frequently touching both his ears in the gesture of taubah [repentance] as he discusses, with a crowd of gullible neighbours, the immoralities rampant around him.

“Naumaan and I spent hours discussing the script and his character, coming up with different nuances that could make him more relatable,” says Talish. “We decided on the way he would talk, walk, dress — we even discussed his shoes!”

“A lot of people just read a script and come on the set or they just read the script once they reach it,” quips Naumaan. “They don’t realise the importance of developing a character. That’s why it’s important to be on the same page as your director. If the two of you are not comfortable with each other, then the resulting work is superficial.”

He continues: “This is the second extensive drama that Aehsun and I have worked on together, the first one being Bismil. We had known each other for a long time but, about four years ago, I had told him, ‘Aehsun Talish, let’s work together before either one of us dies!’”

Bismil, incidentally, was also an iDream Productions project. Seja discusses the casting decisions that were made for Sharpasand: “We had several options in mind for the title character but, obviously, no one could come as close to playing him as well as Naumaan Ijaz can.

“We opted for Affan Waheed because I had worked with him in my very first production and had been on the lookout for a script where we could work together again. Hareem was my first choice for Sanam because she has a very natural way of performing, which fits in well. However, this is the first time that I have worked with Hira Mani. We had discussed different projects in the past but, somehow, the dates would always clash.

“Honestly, I was expecting her to say no to this script because there was no male lead opposite her,” admits Seja. “But, fortunately, she understood the character and signed on.”

Hira Mani confirms Seja’s story. “Abdullah Seja and I had been trying to work together for more than 10 years now and, finally, we could, in Sharpasand,” she says. “I signed on to the drama because of him and also because I liked the fact that I was playing a girl who is independent and lives alone.

“More than anything else, though, what I found beautiful was the bond that my character shares with her neighbour, Sanam. I don’t have a sister or a daughter and I wanted to feel what it must be like when a woman, who isn’t your blood relation, is a friend who loves, understands and supports you.”

Farooq — whose story interlaces with Waheed and Mani’s characters — says that she was attracted to the multiple tracks within the script. “I loved that for once the story wasn’t just about a man and a woman, and it was tackling the hypocrisy that runs rampant in our society, which we all encounter on a daily basis.

“Usually, troublemakers such as Farasat Ali are supporting characters in a drama,” Farooq points out. “I don’t think I have ever encountered a script where such a character takes centre stage, and the plot focuses on how mere words hold the power to destroy reputations and even lives.”

Did it concern her that she was just one of the characters in a story that weaves through multiple sub-plots?

“No, in such cases you look at the project as a whole rather than just the character,” she responds. “If I was part of a drama where my character was the main one but the story was mediocre, that wouldn’t make me happy. I would much rather be part of a project with an ensemble cast, where I am working with the best in the industry, from the producer to the director to the actors, with a script that I believe in.”

It also helps that the storytelling in Sharpasand is very well-balanced, with Talish giving ample attention and screen-time to every character’s journey.

Farooq recalls a scene that aired in a recent episode. “When we shot the scene where Affan’s character tells me that we should separate, the tears just came naturally. I don’t know how — maybe I subconsciously tapped into emotions within me — but I kept crying even after we had wrapped up the shoot and I was returning to my hotel!”

Waheed, similarly, says that he was first drawn to Sharpasand because it was offered to him by Seja. “I trust Abdullah with scripts,” he says. “The writing was compelling and the cast and crew were fantastic. There was no reason for me to say no.”

He adds, “Hareem makes an incredible co-star. She keeps it simple and smart on set. She is balanced: humble, wise and professional and, of course, a great actor. And, fortunately, we were on the same page regarding the relationship dynamics of the couple and I guess that has translated on screen.”

For Afgan, playing Farasat Ali’s gullible wife Ruby was an exciting notion. “I am always very excited when I come to the Sharpasand set,” she tells me. “I put a lot of heart into every character that I enact and, while I am nothing like Ruby, I try to imagine how she will react during a situation and what must it be like to play a woman who gossips and who thinks that her husband can do no wrong!

“Nomi bhai [Naumaan Ijaz] and I often go over our scenes and add nuances. Just yesterday, we added a scene where our characters are snooping around at Fida and Sanam’s home. When the dialogues between characters are organic, the scene really makes an impact because it isn’t artificial.”

And then, when Farasat Ali and his family wreak havoc in the lives of their victims, Ruby is inclined towards opening her eyes wide and declaring her utter belief in her husband’s innocence by saying, ‘Farasat-ji aap yeh sub kaisay kar letay hain! [Farasat-ji how do you pull it off!]’ Afgan laughs when I mention this to her. “That’s my trick, you know. I always play cute when I am being evil, so that I get some of the audience’s sympathy.”

Khan, who enacts Wali, one of the younger boys in the cast, says that roles like the one he has in Sharpasand are hard to come by. “If you were to read out the story to me without telling me which character I could play, I would still have opted for Wali. Usually, especially for actors my age, roles are either black or white. Wali, on the other hand, has shades of grey. He has a lot of substance to offer.

“I have also really enjoyed being on the set. The director really pays attention to the details. The people walking in the background all have cues for where they have to go, so that when he yells ‘Action!’, everyone easily slips into character.”

A strong script, in addition to proportionate, multiple storylines, an exceptional cast and astute direction and production — and all of it staged on this quaint little street, where I go to get a behind-the-scenes sneak peek into the workings of Sharpasand — are the ingredients that make the drama stand out. It’s a world built with great love and detail for TV, and with the drama being watched avidly, all the hard work behind it has clearly paid off.

So far, so good. TV dramas have a tendency of going off-track as they progress. Sharpasand, halfway through its run, doesn’t seem to show any signs of doing this fortunately. At least, so far.

Published in Dawn, ICON, December 7th, 2025