Pinjra

Released: 1998; on 4 cassettes, 13 episodes
Starring: Abid Ali, Zara Farooqi, Sikandar, Ayub Khoso, and a lot of people that acted in Abid Ali's previous production on the life in Dubai. Directed by Abid Ali.
It's a story about cops, politicians, and the innocent citizens. A bright young man gets accepted into an American university on a scholarship but because of certain circumstances he's charged of a drug smuggler's brother's murder. He and his friend are on a run from the crooked police and the even more crooked politicians. Again Abid Ali brings out a good topic, but the audience is tired of the feudal-cum political plays. Abid Ali plays the good cop in all of this mess trying to save the leftmenu students with the help of their lawyer Zara Farooqi. I must say that Abid Ali does bring out strong female protagonists in his plays. In Dasht we had Atiqa Odho and in Pinjra we have Zara Farooqi. Finally the matters are resolved (which usually doesn't happen in real life), but in 13 episodes too long! The drama could have been greatly shortened to 8-10 episodes. I think Abid Ali needs to hire a new editor. Sikandar (a newcomer perhaps) as the college student shows some good acting skills and I would definitely like to see more of him in meaningful roles. Overall I'll give it afor good effort.