abhi Main, Kabhi Tum, one of the biggest blockbusters starring Hania Aamir and Fahd Mustafa ended last week with a bang. The new production on the block is Aye Ishq-i-Junoon, directed by Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Sadia Akhtar.

Sheharyar Munawar Siddiqui stars as Rahim Nawaz, the scion of a wealthy business family, who owns a five star hotel in Karachi. Mahenur Haider plays his fiancé. Veteran actors Irsa Ghazal and Mehmood Aslam star as his parents. With a star-studded cast, the play is off to a promising start.

Rahim’s father is a very sharp and shrewd businessman. He believes that running a successful business is like waging a war and that everything’s fair in love and war. Rahim is the perfect successor: young, handsome, dynamic and energetic. Although his approach to business differs from that of his father’s, the two share a comfortable equation. Much to his father’s delight and pleasure, he is featured on the cover of Forbes magazine.

Enter Aiman, played by actress Ushna Shah. Aiman is a teacher at a school for orphans patronised by Afia Nawaz, Sheharyar’s mother. During a school visit, Afia is greatly impressed by Aiman’s honesty and sincerity. Afia gives her business card to Aiman and asks her to get in touch if she thinks of seeking alternative employment.

As a benefactor, Afia announces her decision to distribute laptops amongst the students of the orphanage. Aiman voices her objection and informs her that the school lacks basic facilities and amenities. She says that funds being donated by Afia are being misused. After this expose, Aiman loses her job at the school.

Aiman needs a job. She is the only breadwinner for her family. Her brother has cancer and needs regular blood transfusions. After she loses her job, the hospital stops treating her brother, asking her to clear the dues first.

Aiman’s sister is married to a first cousin. She and her husband are portrayed as extremely selfish and self-centred people with parasitic tendencies. She is more of a liability than any help. Instead of shouldering the financial burden, she keeps on demanding money from Aiman and her mother.

Aiman is engaged to another first cousin, Jamal, who is unemployed. He hopes that Aiman will help him start a business once they are married. All he does meanwhile is gamble and squander his mother’s hard earned money.

Aiman approaches Afia for work. Afia asks Rahim to accommodate her and he does. Aiman ends up with a job at their hotel. Maheen, Rahim’s fiancé, comes from a privileged family. Her father is an influential politician and a businessman. Rahim’s father hopes that his political connections will help them win a bid for a new business venture but Rahim, unlike his father, has different views and does not want to mix business with familial relationships.

As the sole earning member in her family, Aiman is in no hurry to get married. She wants to work and support her family. Her father’s gratuity was spent by her mother on her elder sister’s wedding and their financial position is precarious. The elder sister and her husband only add to her financial woes.

Here’s an interesting plot with a captivating storyline. The direction is good and so is the acting. All the main and supporting actors do justice to their roles, although the actor playing Sheharyar’s younger brother portrayed as a spoilt brat and his mother’s favourite appears a bit shaky opposite seasoned actors like Mehmood Aslam and Irsa Ghazal.

Afia’s brother is a renowned lawyer. He is constantly bailing her younger son out of trouble who is quite unlike his elder brother and interested only in enjoying life to the fullest with the money his father and brother make. On a visit to the hotel, he spots Aiman and is smitten by her.

There may be trouble brewing. How will the story pan out? Will Aiman be forced to quit because of him? Will he make life difficult for her? How will his elder brother handle the situation? This drama seems to be promising but will it be able to sustain its momentum? Tune in to find out.

The writer is an educationist. She can be reached at gaiteeara @hotmail.com.