When “Dua Aur Azan” was first launched, it appeared we would be getting one of those drawn out, longing romances for the ages. While there weren’t high expectations attached, there certainly were hopes pinned on this show to pull through for audiences in the romance department. Unfortunately, at present, “Dua Aur Azan” is proving to be a lesson in how not to write a romantic male lead. “Dua Aur Azan” has been written by Moona Syed and directed by Ahmed Hassan. The show stars Mirza Zain Baig, Areej Mohyudin, Arez Ahmed, Nauman Masood, Kaiser Khan Nizamani, Nadia Hussain, Erum Akhtar, Paras Masroor, Inaya Khan, Mizna Waqas and others in prominent roles.
Up until now, we have witnessed Dua (Areej Mohyudin) and Azan’s (Mirza Zain Baig) friendship bloom – and while it has been incredibly forced with Azan prodding his nose where it doesn’t belong, it has still come off as rather sweet. That is, until Dua’s wedding is canceled and Azan steps in to save the day. Up until this point, there had not been any doubt that Azan was head over heels in love with Dua – even his friend, Zain, had noticed and pointed it out. However, as soon as the two get married, Azan suddenly acts like this was never something he wanted. Honestly, while he makes grand declarations of stepping in to save Dua, he has since left her in a hotel room alone which caused her to be arrested, he has introduced her to his family as the house help, has blamed her for his brother’s illness and has allowed his mother to kick her out. If a man is this scared of his mother, why even bother “saving” a girl? She would be happier and more comfortable living with her evil Chachi. This is not going against Mirza Zain Baig’s performance, who is a wonderful actor and is so incredibly underrated. But unfortunately, this male character has been written like an absolute fool who cannot make decisions for himself and when he does make them, he cannot stand for them or defend them. Why should we root for a male lead who cannot defend his wife against his mother? Speaking of which, why is Nadia Hussain constantly given these roles that require her to scream unnecessarily in every scene?
Moving back to the leads, it’s interesting how chemistry presents itself in unexpected ways. Arez Ahmed plays Murad, Azan’s house help who carries a mysterious past and has an ulterior motive. Due to a tragedy with his sister, Murad is the family’s obedient right-hand-man who, in reality, wants to destroy them. Murad develops a liking for Dua due to her kindness and seems to be aware that her relationship with Azan is not as clear-cut as he would like to pretend. However, the chemistry between Murad and Dua is much more appealing than the chemistry between Dua and Azan. Their scenes are crackling, even though Dua does not seem to have any interest in Murad. But wouldn’t this be a much more interesting angle than rooting for an overgrown man-child?
Areej Mohyudin is doing a great job and is always a natural in her roles, though this one forces her to be more of a sitting duck than necessary. “Dua Aur Azan” is a show that is frustration-inducing and makes the viewer want to yell and scream at their television screen – and yet, there is still something addictively enjoyable about it.
