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badedramay · 8 months

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I’m going to say something unpopular which is that, I don’t think Fawad and Mahira should’ve played Sikander and Liza in a 2023 adaptation of JBHSSL. Even if this drama was being made 5 years ago, they could’ve worked, but not anymore. I’m glad it’s not them, but I will acknowledge that the actual casting is pure nepotism if the rumors are true.

Anyway, FK is over 40 and Mahira is also 38. Listen, they look PHENOMENAL for their ages, and Bollywood and Lollywood have serious ageism issues (where a 31 year old actress will start playing mothers to 20-something actors but 55 year-old actors will romance girls who are 19). Those are important issues for another post.

But specifically speaking of the characters of JBHSSL, Mahira and Fawad just don’t look like Sikander and Liza, young adults who are lost in several ways when they cross paths, anymore. Fawad Khan is a gorgeous man but he can’t pass for a 20-something anymore, and neither can Mahira. It was difficult enough accepting her as an MPhil student in HKKST, and that was already two years ago. They just don’t have that same youthful innocence that they did, and that’s ok, they’re humans. They’re not supposed to look the same for 12+ years.

And I’m not saying that only people who look like they’re in their 20s can be romance leads, but for this specific novel, unless they significantly change timelines, that bit of naïveté of youth is important and I just don’t think it would be believable coming from them at this point.

We are a country of over 200 million people. We should try and recruit new talent because we have more than plenty, which is another reason I’m bringing up not defaulting to the same stars over and over again because they’re, well, “stars”. I completely understand bringing MK and FK on board because they are some of our biggest stars, and we should all be rooting for this drama to be a hit since it can open doors for more Netflix ventures, but I agree with what the casting directors reportedly did here. They brought on massive stars to build hype and pretty much guarantee views but they also tried to do some realistic casting in terms of ages as well. You can say it’s low key unfair to Mahira and Fawad fans to bring them on board and use their names but not make them the stars, but they’ve both been in this industry for 15+ years; nobody forced them to do this. I’m sure they can see the value of being in the first ever Netflix project for a country. They want their names out there as much as their fans do, trust.

that's the thing. this novel has been in the news to be adapted for YEARS. literally..YEARS!! i remember when Balaa was on air (2018) and Bilal Abbas was THE rage on social media..he gave off immaculate Sikandar Shehryar vibes to me. i couldn't believe anyone else to do that role more than him in those days. he looked the part, he gave off the aura of the part. back then Fawad was so distant from PakTV as a whole that just on that principal i didn't want him to be part of the project. but then years passed and nothing was confirmed and actors aged up and changed their style so I just forgot about it all. Namal Khawar when she was doing Anaa was gave the perfect Liza vibes. she could pull off the half Pakistani, half Italian heritage and Namal is an artist irl so like..WHO ELSE COULD'VE BEEN BETTER?! and then Namal and Hamza got married and Hamza toh hai hi Hamza..he pulls off silent broody somber romantic hero extremely well (Mann Mayal is a great example). what better pairing than them?! but again..years passed. nothing happened.

i digress. i meant to say that for YEARS fans have been fancasting this novel. ab finally jaake there's some confirmation about this project and it is a mix of some of the old favorites and some completely new names so I get why there's such "strong" backlash from the fandom. this backlash is not 100% because of the acting prowess or star power of the actors supposedly playing the lead roles but more due to the sentiments attached of the fans with their personally preferred casting that they'd have been hoping to be canon for years. FaHira fans aren't as mad about Fawad and Mahira not playing Sikandar and Liza as they are mad that the two aren't paired romantically. chances are if they are given the confirmation that Fawad and Mahira, while not playing the lead roles of the novel, will have their own romantic track in the drama and the fans will shut up. unhen sirf apni jodi ka romance chaiye, aur kuch nahin. FaHira fans have always disliked the Fawad-Sanam jodi because in their head it's blasphemous for Fawad to have two successful romantic jodis that continue to garner praise. if Humsafar was a hit, so was ZGH. and ZGH toh was a bigger hit in India. the fact that it was Sanam Saeed who was also considered for Raees and the only reason she couldn't make it to the auditions was due to her wedding proves that Indian filmmakers had noticed Sanam's potential to be received well in India. Mahira Khan is not as "exclusive" as the fans thought she was. and yeah, that hurts their ego.

The casting IS messy, YES but considering the story it is also FINE. i am reading that Netflix wanted Fawad, MK, and Hamza for the project so they had to be cast one way or another. fact is that these actors with their age and seniority can NOT pull off the characters as WRITTEN in the novel. the limitations of the body can not be overcame by sheer force of the fandom. yeah..but they can be accomodated in the adaptation if they play completely different roles. there's nothing wrong with them playing older generation in a flashback. so what? didn't Fawad and Mehwish play great grandparents or something to Ms. Marvel in one episode? DIDN'T THAT ONE SINGLE EPISODE HAD THE WORLD PRAISING THEIR CHEMISTRY AND STORY???? it was nothing more than a one episode cameo but it was done WELL and it WORKED. just because these actors are potentially playing the parents of the leads of the novel doesn't mean they will necessary be relegated to insignificant roles. Farhat Ishtiaq is GOOD when it comes to expanding the story of her novel to accommodate the demands of TV adaptation. she has done that in Diyar e Dil, Yaqeen Ka Safar, and Mere Humdum Mere Dost. are the makers absolute FOOLS that they'll cast some of the BIGGEST names of the industry that are widely known internationally and give them no significant story line or characters??? c'mon now.

Actors can play characters older than their real life age on screen more convincingly than the actors playing characters younger than their age. Ahad can pull off the carefree youth of Sikandar just as well as he's capable of portraying the angst of a 30 something Sikandar. Fawad cannot do both the things. THAT'S A FACT. THAT'S A FACT!!! Ahad and Khushhal can pull off a sibling bond with both the bitterness of youth to the understanding of maturity that Hamza and Fawad cannot. bhayee aap se KIS NE KAHA HAI ke Netflix pe show karne ke liye aapko Oscar nominated hona laazmi hai. HAVE YOU SEEN NETFLIX ORIGINALS?????? they literally adapt dramas from novels all around the world and cast up and coming actors from the industry ALL THE FREAKIN' TIME!!!! this is NOT a new phenomenon. had Netflix wanted to they could've simply gone over every contender's head and take completely NEW actors for the project from Instagram content creators lot and that would've STILL fit their MO. yahan toh phir bhi they are taking established names. like???

so yeah, the casting is messy but not irredeemably disastrous. once they officially reveal the actors and their characters, the fans will come around it. as for the new audience that Netflix is of course targeting to get via this project..they'll don't care about the casting as much anyway. the only absurd decision the makers have done so far is the way the project was announced and confirmed. not a single word from the actual people making the show but plenty of noise from unconnected sources. that ain't it bruh. this should've been done via a proper press conference like how Parwaz Hai Junoon was announced (even uss time pe bhi the casting had ultimately changed but hey..it got the buzz going on in the right manner!)

#jbhssl

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