“Sometimes, all it takes is a slight movement of the eyeball, a subtle lift of the eyebrow and you become a character,” says actor Naumaan Ijaz. He exemplifies this, with a gentle shift in posture, a tilt of his smile, and becomes ‘Shameem’ or Shammo.
‘Shammo’ twirls, a red dupatta over his head. ‘Mundeya dupatta chadh mera’ blares out from the speakers and Saba Qamar as Umaina or Umi plays the hero, grabbing on to a corner of the dupatta. The wedding guests giggle and clap, and fairylights twinkle around them while one particular brother-in-law gets riled, finding it all too scandalous.
It’s a classic desi shaadi scenario.
There’s a lot more that’s utterly indigenous and so relatable in the web-series Mrs and Mr Shameem, and I say this having seen the first two episodes of the series which were made available to me. This is singular privilege, since the series has been released on the OTT platform Zee5 — and is, therefore, inaccessible to Pakistani audiences because of an ongoing ban on the streaming platform owing to its Indian roots.
The Zee5 series Mrs & Mr Shameem is a unique story and, steered by a very fine team, it becomes an exceptional one
Mrs and Mr Shameem is directed by Kashif Nisar and stars Naumaan Ijaz and Saba Qamar. The script has been written by Saji Gul. Those credentials alone are calculated to draw in TV and film buffs, making them yearn to see the series, and explore possible piracy options when straightforward streaming is not available.
And then, there’s the trailer, replete with the colours and the dialect of androon (inner city) Lahore, offering glimpses into the unconventional romance between Shameem and Umi. He is the sole brother of four sisters, and so effeminate that he is often ridiculed and teased of being a transgender. She is a girl who wears her heart on her sleeve and ends up getting impregnated by her boyfriend, who proceeds to dump her. Shammo — her best friend — decides…