All about Farhan Saeed’s new Pakistani serial Shirin Farhad with Kinza Hashmi

Musician-turned-actor Farhan Saeed’s next outing is a Hum TV serial, Shirin Farhad, where his co-star is Kinza Hashmi.

Judging strictly from the trailer, it looks like a period play — consider, for instance, Hashmi’s gorgeous beehive and bouffant hairdos, short kameezes and farshi shalwars; Saeed’s overgrown mane and a moustache to match; and the overall ambience.

This is certainly not ancient Persia where the folklore of Shirin, a royal princess, and Farhad, the poor sculptor, is supposed to have come from.

Writer Syed Ali Moeen admits that the show has “nothing to do with the folk legend.

“It isn’t even a modern retelling [of the legend],” he tells Gulf News. “But, it’s a period play, set in the mid-1970s’ Lahore. It’s about the local film industry.”

No wonder the show originally had a very ‘filmi’ title — Na Chhura Sako Ge Daaman, the opening lines of a popular Noor Jehan ditty from the 60s.

So, Shirin Farhad as the title is just a gimmick? “Haha, you could say that,” Moeen replies.

Talking about the significance of props in world building, Moeen says that he “was born in that era, so I know it like the back of my hand. I have tried to capture [that time] with as much fidelity as possible.”

He is quick to give credit to director Asad Mumtaz: “He worked very hard on the project. In fact, we’ve been working together for the past eight years now, and I believe we make a great team.”

Moeen adds, “More than the props, it’s the spirit of the times that a writer should be able to catch. Shirin Farhad is a reminder of how people used to love back in the day. Indeed, their love was more about sacrifice than lust. I hope this play can show the present generation what true love is, and what miracles it is capable of creating.”

The show is expected to air mid-April.