Dastaan

Plot

Based on the true events of the partition of India in 1947, the series depicts the events of rioting and chaos in 1947.

Based on the novel Bano, Dastaan begins with the wedding of Suraiya and Salim. Suraiya's nephew Hassan was the son of Rasheeda. When Hassan's father died, he and his mother were kicked out of his father's house by his paternal family which was in Jalandhar, and they moved back to Rasheeda's maternal house in Ludhiana.

Bano, Suraiya, Faheem, Salim and Hassan were childhood friends, and all grew up together. When Hassan went to the university, he left home and went to Islamia College in Peshawar. Hassan returns for Saleem and Suraiya's wedding, where Hassan and Bano meet for the first time as adults after three years. The whole family gathered for the wedding, including Hassan's aunt Jameela from Amritsar, his aunt Sultana and her daughter Rabia from Lahore or Pindi.

Hassan spent most of his time at the wedding preaching the Quaid's message and the rest of it teasing his cousin Rabia and flirting with Bano. Although Rabia was only 14 years old and Hassan thought of her as a younger sister, she started developing feelings for him. As Hassan starts teasing and flirting with Bano, they slowly begin to develop feelings for each other, with Hassan visiting Ludhiana every now and then.

He is a final year engineering student at the Islamia College, an active supporter of the All-India Muslim League, and the leader of the Ludhiana Branch. He strongly believes in the establishment of Pakistan and is an avid follower of Qaid-E-Azam, the head of the Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. Saleem is an activist of the Indian National Congress, with all his friends being Hindu. He strictly believes that the creation of Pakistan will not help but lessen the position of Muslims in India.

The political debate between Saleem and Hassan begins as friendly competition, but it intensifies as conditions worsen throughout India for Muslims. Saleem, hot-tempered and rash, begins bringing political debates into family life and eventually forbids Suraiya from visiting Hassan, her nephew. But Hassan is not dissuaded. He continues to spread the message of Pakistan throughout Saleem's family, causing Saleem's anger to explode on many occasions. Other than Saleem, his entire family becomes strong supporters of the Muslim League, especially Bano, who makes posters and signs for the Pakistan Movement.

Cast

Fawad Khan as Hassan

Sanam Baloch as Bano (Sundar Kaur in Kapurthala)

Mehreen Raheel as Rabia

Ahsan Khan as Saleem; Bano's elder brother

Saba Qamar as Suraiyyah; Saleem's wife

Saba Hameed as Rasheeda; Hassan's mother

Qavi Khan as Khwaja Naseer-ud-din; Bano's father

Samina Peerzada as Saliha a.k.a. Bibi; Bano's mother

Affan Waheed as Nadir; Hassan's friend

Babrik Shah as Basant Singh/Basanta

Seemi Raheel as Sakeena; Hassan's Maami

Asma Abbas as Sultana; Rabia's mother

Naeem Tahir as Rabia's Father

Daniyal Raheel as Faheem; Bano's younger brother

Anita Fatima Camphor as Jameela; Hassan's aunt

Khayyam Sarhadi as Jameela's husband

Humaira Ali as Kaamini

Fawad Jalal as Laxman

Guest appearances

Samina Ahmad as orphanage caretaker

Shazia Afgan as Musarraut, Bano's friend

Bilal Khan as social worker

Sangeeta as Basanta's mother

Nasreen Qureshi as Basanta's aunt

Azra Mansoor as Musarrut's mother

Farooq Zameer as Musarrut's father

Kanwar Arsalan as a Carvan's leader

Farah Tufail as Sikh villager

Soundtrack

The Dastaan theme, "Aasmanon Se", was composed and sung by Sohail Haider and was written by Sahir Altaf. A frequent background music on the show played during scenes asserting Pakistani independence and Pakistani pride is based on the tune of Aye Watan Pyare Watan by Ustad Amanat Ali Khan.

Production

Development and background

When asked to choose Razia Butt's novel Bano as the inspiration for Dastaan, Haissam Hussain revealed that, about three years ago, he had directed a telefilm by Umera Ahmad, Mutthi Bhar Mitti, which received a great response. Consequently, he and producer Momina Duraid decided to work on a project based on the theme of Partition. Razia Butt's novel Bano provided the perfect opportunity to pursue this theme.

Duraid revealed that she had read the novel Bano in her childhood and initially wanted to create a play about the Partition era. However, she was discouraged, as many believed it would be unsuccessful due to a perceived lack of interest in Partition-themed dramas. Undeterred, Duraid decided to adapt the novel Bano into a play. She met with Razia Butt, the novel's author, who entrusted Duraid with her work, saying, "I'm giving you my precious thing, make it good."

Production locations

The principal photography takes place at a number of locations, primarily in Lahore. It starts out at a neighborhood of Lahore, which was portrayed as Ludhiana, India. The location changed with every couple of episodes as the story corresponds. Other locations include Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Kapurthala. Other notable locations include the Islamia College, Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Junction railway station.

Release

International broadcast

Dastaan was aired in Middle East on MBC Bollywood under the title حب عبر الحدود (transl. Love Across Borders). It aired in India on Zindagi as Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam from March 23, 2015. Previously, the show was to be titled Lakeerein. In the UK, the show was broadcast on Hum Europe, premiering on September 19, 2015.

Home media and digital release

The show was available for online streaming on Iflix from 2017 to 2019 and on the Indian streaming platform Eros Now. Hum TV uploaded the series on its official YouTube channel in May 2019.

Reception

Critical reception

Dastaan was widely appreciated by the viewers and received positive reviews from critics due to its subject, genre, performances and direction. In a poll by Dawn, Dastaan was rated as the second best drama of 2010, after Dolly ki Ayegi Baraat, which aired on Geo Entertainment, and Sanam Baloch was voted best actress for Dastaan, with Mehreen Raheel in third place, while Samira Fazal was voted third best writer, also for Dastaan. It is among the few dramas to have received 4.5 stars from TV Kahani. The review said: "Please, do yourself a favor and watch this one. You will learn and be entertained at the same time." The News International praised it for illustrating minority representation with sensitivity.

DAWN Images ranked it as most iconic TV drama of Pakistan, praising the direction and for balancing the historical details and political sensitivities. People Magazine Pakistan included it amaong the best work on partition of the Indian subcontinent.

Reaction from India

A notice was issued by Justice Mukul Mudgal against Zindagi on account of complaints received by the Indian Ministry of Broadcasting and Information. It stated that the show had depicted Indians in a bad light.