Alif Noon

Alif Noon is a classical comedy series written by Kamal Ahmad Rizvi. The first season was telecast by PTV in 1965. It’s old yet it remains fresh even today. Several situations depicted in this series are applicable even to the modern times—something which is common between Alif Noon and the equally great Fifty-fifty.

The name Alif and Noon stood for Allan and Nannha, the two characters around which the whole series is based. Each episode is usually be about a business plan created by Allan, in which Nannha is used as a stooge. Allan is clever to think of ways to make quick bucks and he needs an innocent front-man for his plans, for which Nannha is suitable but sometimes he is too innocent to be of any good.

Main Cast

Kamal Ahmad Rizvi and Rafi Khawar

1. Allan played by Kamal Ahmad Rizvi is a devious businessman with least regard to ethical values in business. He starts one business after another with the hope to get rich as quickly as possible. In each endeavour, he needs an innocent front-man to assist him. The choice is always Nannha. Unfortunately, none of his get-rich-quick schemes actually work.
2. Nannha played by Rafi Khawar is a simple-minded friend of Allan. Sometimes he knows the devious nature of their business and sometimes he is kept completely in the dark. Even when he knows the actual plan, he has only good wishes for Allah but then his natural instincts and the desire to be an honest man overpower his desire to run a successful business. It’s usually one of the silly mistakes of Nannha which reveal the reality of their business to their customers, and thus each business they start is eventually doomed. 

Trailer

Trivia

1. The initial episodes of this TV series were broadcast live as PTV didn’t use to have a recording system in 1965.
2. Kamal Ahmad Rizvi was born in Bihar in 1930. He migrated to Pakistan in 1951. His other relatives never moved to Pakistan.
3. Rafi Khawar worked in a financial institution before he tried his luck with movies but he could never make it into the film industry directly. Luckily, he was selected for the role of Nannha in the TV series, which opened the path to the big screen for him.

Shahnaz Khawaja

Shahnaz Khawaja rose to fame with the PTV Drama Series Alpha Bravo Charlie. Little is known about this actress as she soon got married and left the country after this drama series.

She now lives as a single mother of an 8 year old daughter. She is settled in the US since her marriage in 1998. Amongst other things, she is director of counselling services at Greensboro College.

Shahnaz was born in 1978 in Uganda. She studied at OPF and went to ICG for her inter-mediate. She completed her bachelors and masters from the US.

Interestingly, Alpha Bravo Charlie was not her first drama serial. She started her acting career on TV with Jamal Shah’s production “Kal”. She was later signed for another drama serial “Uraan” which was shot in different countries. However, it was really the 1998 drama serial Alpha Bravo Charlie which made her face known to almost everyone in Pakistan. When this drama was aired, she was 19 years old. Nobody could say that she was a beginner in acting.

Shahnaz Khawaja’s Interview by Nadia Khan

Shahnaz Khawaja was seen in Nadia Khan Show in 2010 as part of Nadia Khan’s interview of Alpha Bravo Charlie’s cast.

Shahnaz Khawaja’s Acting Career

Shahnaz appeared in the music video of the song “Let’s go get lost”.

Ankahi (the unsaid)

Ankahi PTV Drama SerialAnkahi (انکہی), which literally means “unsaid” is one of the most well-known drama serials of the 80’s. Like several other PTV drama serials of its era, the popularity of Ankahi grew out of Pakistan to all parts of the world where Urdu is spoken or at least understood.

The drama was broadcast by PTV in 1982. The play was written by Haseena Moeen and directed jointly by Shoaib Mansoor and Mohsin Ali.

Ankahi is a story of Sana Murad, a young girl with a mediocre background, who has big dreams. Her father dies when she is young, and that adds more to her problems, and consequently her desire to become rich gets even stronger. As luck would have it, she finally gets a job in a company. But she is not skilled in anything. Various hilarious situations arise due to her major blunders.

While attending a wedding, she gets liked by a young fellow who follows her to her office, and in order to get closer to her, finds a job in the same office.

Meanwhile, her aunt arrives from the US, while looking for a suitable match for her son. Sana and her family had boasted about themselves being well-off, and this causes several humorous situations when they have to live up to their claims during the aunt’s visit.

As the story unfolds, Sana has to make difficult decisions as marriage proposals start coming. The last few episodes revolve around these decisions and the complexity in human relationships which arise due to the “untold”.

Main Cast

Shehnaz Sheikh, Shakeel, Javed Sheikh, Jamshed Ansari, Badar Khalil, Salim Nasir, Behroze Sabzwari and others

1. Sana Murad played by Shehnaz Sheikh is the lead character of the TV serial.
2. Jibran, played by Faisal Ansari is Sana’s little brother who is a prodigy. He suffers from heart problems, and it’s partly because of his heart operation, Sana has a desire to become rich and afford his medical treatment to be carried out in the US.
3. Taimoor, played by Shakeel is a middle-aged. He is Sana’s boss.
4. Faraz, played by Javed Sheikh, gets to see Sana at a wedding. He falls for her, and later gets a job in the same company where Sana is working.
5. Timmy, played by Jamshed Ansari, is Sana’s neighbour. He adds a quite humorous touch to the serial. When Sana’s aunt visits from the US, in order to impress the aunt, Timmy is convinced to play the role of a butler for the family.
6. Zakia, played by Badar Khalil, is Sana’s aunt. She also happens to be the mother of Moby. She arrives from the US looking for a suitable match for her son.
7. The role of Sana’s Mamoon (uncle) is played by Saleem Nasir. You might also know him due to his excellent performance in Aangan Tehra.
8. Moby, played by Behroze Sabzwari, is Sana’s cousin. He is raised in the US and finds it difficult to adjust to Pakistani values. He has no desire to get married to Sana, yet his mother wishes the opposite.

Can I watch it online?

The drama is available in several parts on Youtube. Below is the first part of the series.