Canteen Kahani

“Majae abhi tak yaad hai, mujhae apni pehli muhabat… choothi jamath mae, apni teacher sae hoi thee.“

Following up on the previous post about dramatics and the TIP Drama Society, the above quote is from ARY Digital‘s new sitcom Canteen Kahani. The show is a glossy reflection on college life in Pakistan. One of the main characters is [ahem] called Hira (played by Taalia Shahbaz). Her character is aptly described in the unofficial fan site:

Hira, the perpetual philosopher, she seems to have her own strong views on just about everything. very few people can win an argument against her because she uses logic and rational such that the opponent wonders why it didn’t occur to them in the first place. She has managed to silent the slick Sarmad at many a times even.

The characters are Shehroze Sabzwari as Sarmad is the “Hero,” and Danish Taimoor as Jasim his ‘sidekick,’ and Syra Yousaf as Saira. Adeel Hussain as Sultan is another of the main characters and works in the canteen. Referring to a ‘stray’ boy hanging out in the canteen, Sultan has this to say; “Jaap teen soh uqalmand apni apni classon ko jaatain hain, toh aik pagal zaroor bahar nikal ahta hai.” The Canteen Kahani unofficial fan-tast-tic site! has episode synopsis and cast bios. Other characters include Sarah Wasti as Miss Rehman, and Behroze Sabzwari as The Principal.

Nicely filmed with static cameras and colourful sets, complete with colourful posters saying “Don’t write on the walls,” the setting is the Institute of Business Management, Karachi. The script and the storyline is funny enough, if one can ignore the Wall’s Cornetto plugs. The show is produced as a branded sitcom by Rola, a corporate creative house, for Wall’s Pakistan (that explains the Cornetto plugs). Whats really amazing is that the branding goes so far as to having character blogs, Sarmad’s World and Jasim’s Thoughts of a Psycho and Hira’s Inner Muse to further the plot! Worth a watch.

Hat tip: Malaika’s blog. Photo credits: illuxon’s photos and the Canteen Kahani unofficial fan-tast-tic site!