Here's why Mehwish Hayat’s hit Pakistani drama Dayan finale garnered mixed response

Mehwish Hayat led Dayan wound up Tuesday night, with most viewers calling it melodrama. The 58-episode revenge play about Nihaal (Hayat), a good-hearted, bespectacled university student from a small town who is wronged by her filthy rich husband and evil in-laws, initially hooked the audiences, especially after Nihaal’s transformation into the avenging angel Misha. 

But TRPs dipped as Hayat’s character turned too savage, losing audience sympathy. 

It was seen as a major technical flaw in the plot. The audience reaction on social media was unforgiving. An X user wrote, “Wasted 58 Mondays with this BS. If I knew this was the ending, would not even have bothered! This had so much potential… #Dayan @HarPalGeoTv.” 

Another posted, “What a dumb ending. One murder cannot justify so many murders in return. They are spreading the wrong message, the actor and the whole team. #dayan.”

The drama serial, which is directed by Seraj ul Haq — best known for the super successful Tere Bin — marks Hayat’s return to television after a gap of seven years. A day after Dayan’s finale was aired, the Punjab Nahi Jaungi star posted an emotional note on Instagram, in which she called the show “one of the most exhilarating experiences of my career. Playing the complex character of Nihaal/Misha with all her shades, her pain, and her strength truly challenged me in ways I didn’t expect. There were nights I couldn’t sleep, days I lost my appetite after filming certain intense scenes because they moved me so deeply… For me, this story was about exploring the many layers of a woman’s heart, her vulnerability, her scars, her strength and ultimately her will to rise again.”

She also thanked the show producers Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi, the writer’s duo of Fatima Faizan and Amber Azhar; and her costars Ahsan Khan, Hira Mani, Zainab Qayyum, and others.