Just when we were getting sick of the usual saas-bahu soap operas, Pakistani Dramas came to us like a prince in shining armor. With swoon-worthy actors like Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, and Saba Qamar and moving storylines, these shows became our favorites in no time. Excellent content, deep plots, acting par perfection provided these shows an advantage over the daily soaps that were destroying our brain cells.
Check out these Pakistani Dramas that you can binge-watch and we are sure that you will love them too.
Pakistani Dramas That You Should Watch
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Humsafar (2011)
Available on: Netflix
IMDb Rating: 9/10
Humsafar is apparently one of the most famous Pakistani Dramas that achieved tremendous success when it aired on television in India. The story revolves around Khirad (Mahira) and Ashar (Fawad) who are forced to marry each other to meet the choices of their parents. They ultimately fall in love and have the most wonderful bond. Sara (Naveen Waqar) had always dreamed of her life with Ashar but when that fails to happen, she makes it her top priority to separate the couple. This classic love saga is aptly cast and each episode is better than the previous.
Daam (2010)
Available on: YouTube
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Zara (Sanam Baloch) and Maleeha (Aamina Sheikh) are best friends notwithstanding the enormous class differentiation between them. When Maleeha’s brother Junaid (Adeel Hussain) returns to Pakistan, he displays an interest in wedding Zara. Maleeha gets very upset with this arrangement as she thinks her best friend has manipulated her all these years just so she could experience their extravagant lifestyle. Daam is a story of friendship that shows that the egotistical choices we make can affect many lives and the loss is irreversible.
Mora Piya (2011)
Faisal (Adeel Hussain) is a journalist who has been working on the criminal activities of the land mafia. On the night of his wedding to Ujala (Aamina Sheikh), she is raped by a gangster who is out to get vengeance on Faisal. Shortly, she gets pregnant. Their relationship goes through confusion as Faisal cannot take this child as his own, and Ujala being his mother, cannot live without him. Once a loving couple who had wonderful hopes about their future, it now has to redefine their relationship.
Kankar (2013)
IMDb Rating: 8/10
Kankar was a culturally important drama that dealt with the dilemma of domestic violence. Kiran (Sanam Baloch) and Sikandar (Fahad Mustafa) fall in love and marry each other. Though Sikandar keeps declaring his love regularly, he is also a short-tempered guy who gets furious with her often. Kiran decides to change Sikandar but to no avail. She eventually chooses to leave him when she experiences a tragic loss because of him. Kiran’s character is a hero for many women who continue to experience abuse and are hesitant to raise their voices.
Zindagi Gulzar Hai (2012)
Available on: Netflix
IMDb Rating: 8.9/10
This is one of my favorite Pakistani Dramas, starring Fawad Khan in the lead. The Pakistani show is about two individuals who are totally opposite to each other and from diverse family backgrounds. When they get married, they start getting closer to each other and find various similarities between them.
Shehr-e-Zaat (2012)
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Falak (Mahira Khan) has had a pleasurable life and has never been refused anything. She falls in love with Salman (Mikaal Zulfiqar) and persuades him to marry her. Salman accepts but Falak’s world begins falling apart when she hears of Salman’s cheating. The series elegantly captures one’s relationship with greater power as Falak soon discovers that she has just worried about material things all her life. She begins seeing the actual meaning of life and begins steering her anger towards constructive work. Mahira Khan’s performance in this show particularly was just excellent!
Dastaan (2010)
Available on:Â YouTube
IMDb Rating: 8.8/10
This love triangle is set during the partition period of India and Pakistan. Bano (Sanam Baloch) and Hassan (Fawad Khan) fall in love but are separated due to the partition. Bano is abducted by a man in India whom she thinks will take her to Pakistan one day. In their time apart, Hassan gets engaged to Rabia (Mehreen Raheel). When Bano returns, she seems depressed by the state of Pakistan as someone attempts to rape her. The show wonderfully shows the misfortune of those who underwent heavy losses during the partition.
Durr-e-Shehwar (2012)
Available on: YouTube
IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
Durr-e-Shehwar’s (Samina Peerzada) daughter, Shandana (Nadia Jamil) has been married for about a decade but her marriage hits a rocky patch and she chooses to live at her parents’ house for some time. When Shandana begins considering divorce, her mother tells her about the initial years of her marriage. She explains how her husband wasn’t as friendly and did not pay much heed to her in the beginning. The drama tells about the endurance that is needed to have relationships and the work it takes to sustain them.
Jackson Heights (2014)
Available on: YouTube
IMDb Rating: 9/10
This drama is placed in the Jackson Heights neighborhood in Queens, New York City. It deals with the difficulties that Pakistanis face while residing abroad. The four main characters of the show are bound by obstacles and their relationships that appear as a restraint for them to bear in a rough world. The sparkling life they thought of when they moved turns out to be a cautionary story for those who think that relocating abroad can solve their financial problems.
Thakan (2012)
Sadaf (Saba Qamar) has worked tirelessly for years to help her family and being the only earning member, she copes with undesirable experiences at work. Although her family doesn’t appreciate her and just uses the money she earns. Her mother even rejects the proposals that come for Sadaf as there will be no one to earn once she goes. After hearing this and feeling disappointed, Sadaf chooses to get married and leave the house. She ends up getting married to an older man with three kids. Sadaf’s fight in a traditional society is very heartbreaking to watch but she stands tall in the face of whatever challenges she encounters.
Mere Qatil Mere Dildar (2011)
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
Maham (Mehwish Hayat) and Umar (Ahsan Khan) are in love and marry each other. Shortly, Maham realizes that Bakhtyar (Adnan Siddiqui), Umar’s elder brother was the stalker who had been bothering her for a while. The family desired Umar to marry another girl, Shifa, and therefore her life in this household becomes very hard. Due to some confusion, Umar ends up divorcing Maham but she doesn’t take it silently. She sets out to get vengeance on this family and rises victorious.
Maat (2011)
Available on: YouTube
Aiman (Aamina Sheikh) and Saman (Saba Qamar) are sisters but have drastically distinctive approaches towards life. While Aiman believes in contentment and sacrifice, Saman desires a rich husband who can afford for her. Their ways guide them to a complex matrimonial life with Saman’s son being brought up by Aiman. Saman’s eagerness to get more and manipulating people along the way leads to her fall, while Aiman, who has been patient all her life gets peace with her son.
Khuda Aur Mohabbat (2011)
IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
This tale is about the clashing beliefs of love and religiosity in Pakistani society. Hammad (Imran Abbas Naqvi), who comes from an elite family falls in love with Imaan (Sadia Khan), who is a maulvi’s daughter. Their class inequality drives Hammad to leave his house so he can get regard from Imaad’s father.
Diyar-e-Dil (2015)
Available on: YouTube
IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
This family drama shows a joint family headed by the patriarch Agha Jaan (Abid Ali) and elegantly examines the relationships between parents and children. Events lead the older son of the family to marry by his own choice, while the younger son marries as per his parents’ wish. The show also examines the Pakistani custom of engaging kids while they’re still young. The joint family faces many ups and downs in this 33 episode series but the cost of staying with your family is highlighted everywhere.
Chup Raho (2014)
This innovative drama shows the story of Rameen (Sajal Ali) who is raped regularly by her sister’s husband, Numair (Syed Jibran). While she mentions this to the rest of her family members, she is asked to not say a word as this can harm her sister’s marriage. Her husband, who is also Numair’s brother, denies believing this as well. Rameen is made to live in the servant quarters as her family now begins thinking that she is psychologically ill and is just making up stories. The drama highlights how families normally prefer to overlook the hard reality only to keep their name in society.
Ishq Gumshuda (2010)
Ali (Humayun Saeed) loves Alizeh (Sarwat Gilani) greatly and desires to marry her but she has always seen him as a friend and therefore prefers to reject the proposal. He later weds Neha (Aamina Sheikh) yet continually cares for Alizeh. This results in extreme distress in his marital life. Neha also sees it to be hard to remain with a man who is in love with another woman. The relationship dynamics, which are already in flames are more inflamed when Alizeh chooses to marry a man who is much older than her.
Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishaan (2009)
Available on: YouTube
IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
This one of the most renowned family Pakistani dramas shows the story of Saba (Samiya Mumtaz) who marries her love Arfeen (Faisal Qureshi) but his family is against the match. It is claimed that Saba slept with another man which hurts her honor in front of her in-laws, driving her husband to divorce her. Years later, Saba’s daughter from her second marriage with a wicked husband, Sara, arrives looking for Arfeen to get more information regarding her mother. The show examines a woman’s situation in a traditional family setup.
Kahi Unkahi (2012)
This drama is one of the most revolutionary Pakistani Dramas and offers a great explanation of the class difference in Pakistani society. Sherry (Sheharyar Munawar Siddique) who comes from a wealthy family is influenced by the simple nature of Zoya (Ayeza Khan). Though he is engaged to someone else, it is Zoya’s gentle nature that pulls him towards her. Incidents play a significant role and it is not simple for them to get married to each other as his family is rigidly against this match.
Badi Aapa (2012)
Available on: Eros Now/ZEE5
The primary character of this drama, Zubeida (Savera Nadeem), is greeted by everyone as Badi Aapa. She is the one who makes all the big decisions for her family. Conditions change dramatically when her husband marries another woman and she chooses to marry her old lover. Her plans go astray fast and she is left at a crossroad.
Gul-e-Rana (2015)
Available on: Eros Now
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Gul-e-Rana’s (Sajal Ali) eternal effort to improve the mindset of a traditional society forms the structure of this show. She strives for the rights of women and the sacrifices they are required to do once they are married. By matter of circumstances, she is married to a narcissist, chauvinist man who denies changing his ways.
Sadqay Tumharay (2014)
Available on: Netflix
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Mahira Khan conquered hearts with her heavenly performance in Sadqay Tumharay. She essays the role of a small-town girl who firmly believes in child marriages and falls in love with her cousin. It’s not the typical love story, but a dark-plot with sad connotations.
Qaid-e-Tanhai (2010)
Available on: YouTube
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
It is one of the top Pakistani Dramas with an emotional plot. It’s the tale of a couple who encounters problems in their marriage when the husband chooses to leave the country without his wife and daughter to earn more money. He marries another woman there, but when his wife chooses to move on too, she is considered to be a sinner in the eyes of society.
We hope that you enjoy watching these Pakistani Dramas. If you also planning to watch Korean Drama, then click here to check out our suggestions.
