Why Pakistani drama Meem Se Mohabbat led by Ahad Raza Mir has become a ratings juggernaut

Meem Se Mohabbat, led by Ahad Raza Mir, is on a winning streak. Twenty-seven episodes in, this Hum TV drama — also starring the viral “Pawri ho rahi hai” girl Dananeer Mobeen — continues to rake in high TRPs for the network.

On YouTube, each episode averages a staggering 15 million views.

Interestingly, while audiences are hooked, critics are divided. Some have praised the show, while others note familiar shades of Hasina Moin’s iconic PTV drama Ankahi, particularly in the dynamic between Talha Ahmed (Mir) and Ayat, aka Roshi (Mobeen), in the early episodes. Their charmingly awkward encounters seem to echo scenes from Moin’s classics like Ankahi, Dhoop Kinare, and Kiran Kahani — a deliberate homage by writer Farhat Ishtiaq, according to critics.

Ayat, portrayed as a simple, endearingly clumsy young woman who constantly clashes with her ultra-disciplined boss, eventually begins to fall for him — a storyline that bears Moin’s unmistakable stamp. Even the sweet interactions between Ayat and Talha’s affectionate father (played by Asif Raza) recall the heartwarming exchanges between Sana Murad (Shahnaz Sheikh) and Siddiqi Saheb (Qazi Wajid) in Ankahi.

Yet, Meem Se Mohabbat doesn’t just rely on nostalgia. It carves out its own narrative, packed with unexpected twists and emotional beats. The latest shocker? (Spoiler alert!) Ayat agrees to marry her.