Diyar-e-Dil

Diyar-e-Dil ( ; lit. "The Valley of the Heart") (also known as "Dayar-e-Dil") is a Pakistani television drama serial, that originally aired on the Hum TV from 17 March 2015 to 27 October 2015, consisting of a total of 33 episodes. "Diyar-e-Dil" follows the lives of a dysfunctional family led by Agha Jaan and his grandchildren, Wali and Farah. The story is told in a heavily serialized manner. It revolves around the lives of Wali and Faarah, who were forced to commit with each-other for the cause of reuniting their family, that fell apart long ago because of Agha Jaan's eldest son Behroze, when he called off his long engagement to marry his late-love interest.
"Diyar-e-Dil" features an ensemble cast with Abid Ali as Agha Jaan, Osman Khalid Butt and Maya Ali as his grandchildren, Meekal Zulfiqar, Ali Rehman Khan as his children and Sanam Saeed, Hareem Farooq as his daughters-in-law. It also stars Behroze Sabzwari, Tara Mahmood, Ahmad Zeb and Mariyam Nafees in recurring roles. It was created by Momina Duraid, and aired on Hum TV as part of a night programming all under Duraid's production company. It was written by Farhat Ishtiaq based on her novel of the same name and it is directed by Haseeb Hassan. The show is set in Skardo, Gilgit–Baltistan and Lahore, Punjab. "Diyar-e-Dil" premiered in Pakistan, UK, USA and UAE on 17 March 2015, with prime slot on Tuesdays.
"Diyar-e-Dil" was 2015's highest rated and most acclaimed program of Pakistan.
 It received critical appraisal for being visually-appealing for the male audience, due to the maintenance of their relationships in the story, and was praised for its direction, cinematography and visuals. It was also the most awarded show of 2015, and won awards for Best Drama Serial - Jury and Best Drama Serial - Popular.
Premise.
"Diyar-e-Dil" depicted the story of Bakhtiyar Khan / Agha Jan (Abid Ali)'s family, It is the story of two brothers (Agha Jan's sons) and their emotional bond, the story depicts their journey of how they separate from each other and suffer without each other's presence. Agha Jan's family which apart long ago due to the rebelliousness of his son Behroze Bakhtiyar Khan (Mekal Zulfiqar) when he refused to marry his father's choice (and his paternal cousin) Arjumand Bedar Khan (Hareem Farooq) to marry Ruhina Arsalan (Sanam Saeed) instead. After getting disowned by his father, Behroze left his house to marry Ruhina, without the consent of Agha Jaan, while Arjumand was forced to marry Behroze's younger brother, Suhaib Bakhtiyar Khan (Ali Rehman Khan). Behroze and Ruhi were insulted by Agha Jan when Behroze came back for apology, Agha Jan chose Suhaib and Arjumand over them, the two were banished forever, they left and decided to start a new life in Lahore whereas Arjumand and Suhaib decided not to grow more close. Both the couples faced different situations, with one in love and the other in depression. The series then focused on their life after marriage and showed how Suhaib and Arjumand grew more closer after giving birth to Wali Suhaib Khan (Osman Khalid Butt), and fell in love, whereas afterwards Ruhi and Behroze's daughter, Faarah Behroze Khan (Maya Ali) was born as well. After twenty-years, Behroze became a successful business man, both the couples were settled and satisfied. It was also shown how Suhaib never stopped looking after his older brother, in hope to get him back home until his death after which Behroze reunited with his family. Their children were married, fulfilling Suhaib last wish to reunite the family. However, Ruhina opposed this decision and left Behroze in anger due to her brother's manipulation As a result, Behroze died of her umbrage.
With the grief of her father's death, and the constant persuasion of her maternal uncle and cousin, Faraah demanded for a divorce from Wali along with her inheritance, which further increased tension in the family and became the cause of Agha Jaan's developing illness. Faarah told her mother she did not want her inheritance, and that it was added to her divorce agreements without her choice, due to which Ruhi left the house in anger and her daughter alone. After Agha Jaan's second heart attack, Wali kidnapped Faarah from her house and drove her to his summer resort, locking her in a room so she would not be able to escape. Once Faarah calmed down, Wali made an agreement with her; that if she agreed to live with Agha Jaan for three months, he would give her a divorce so she could marry her cousin Moeez (Ahmad Zeb) whom which he thought she loved. Following the agreement Faarah developed affection towards Agha Jaan when she realizes the mistakes and lies told by her uncle Tajamul Arsalan (Behroze Sabzwari) and mother, and eventually develops a soft corner for Wali. Tajamul and Moeez's truth was revealed to Ruhi after which she regretted her doings and was locked up by Moeez. He kidnapped Faarah to retain her inheritance to invest in his business, where Wali saved Faarah and gets wounded of gun shot. Moeez ended up in jail, while Ruhi breaks all ties from her brother and reunites with Agha Jaan and her in-laws apologizing for her doings. Faarah admits her love for Wali the day her contract was due, and the two reconciled removing all the misconceptions they had in their hearts and complete the valley of heart (Diyar-e-Dil).
Background and production.
Concept and development.
"Diyar-e-Dil" was developed by Hum TV's senior producer Momina Duraid of MD Productions, the channel hired the award-winning director Haseeb Hassan to direct the series. Story of serial is based on award-winning writer Farhat Ishtiaq's novel of the same name "Dayar-e-Dil" with few variations. Screenplay is also written by Ishtiaq while script composing is done by Muhammad Wasi-ul-Din. Farhat has previously worked twice with Momina, when she wrote mega-hit drama serial in Pakistan television history "Humsafar" and "Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu".
Song composition is done by Shany Haider while background music is given by Bilal Allah Ditta, who chose Zeb Bangash and Momin Durrani for singing. The show approximately airs weekly episode for 35–40 minutes (minus commercials) every Tuesday.
There were several discussions laid on its time slot, previously it was announced that the show will air on Friday's replacing "Sadqay Tumhare", and was also reported that the series will originally start its airing in April or May. However, due to promotional reasons the show was given a time slot of Tuesday, 8:00 pm and the pilot episode was released on 17 March 2015, replacing channel's drama series "Zid" to Sundays.
Writing.
The drama serial screenplay is also written by Ishtiaq. She explained that Momina Duraid gave her a full freedom of writing, while writing she discuss the story-line with Duraid and with mutual ideas and aspects Farhat wrote the scripts and made changes in several drafts of screenplay. Farhat said, "I did everything I wanted to and as I wanted to. I had the havelis [hilly] scenes planned out but was a bit scared "ke" it might be too much, but Momina made it happen and exactly like I had imagined it." Farhat wrote thirty plus episodes which she explained that "it isn't because it was the demand of the channel or producer, it is because that’s how I wrote it. You will see that it will not drag. But to do justice to the story (which revolves around 3 generations), the characters and their feelings, thirty plus episodes had to be written, otherwise "bohut kuch reh jata"."
In an interview with "Hum TV" Farhat states that, "Diyar-e-Dil as a novel was not my best thing. It could have been written better which I tried to do in the script. I personally feel "Diyar-e-Dil"s script is far better than the original novel. I'm planning to rewrite "Diyar-e-Dil" novel with all the additions that I've made for the script. In my opinion "Diyar e-Dil" script is my best script till date. "Diyar e Dil" critics can disagree with me." Commenting on characters, she emphasized that they are based on, "Family ties, relationships and love. It was a journey which my characters took to find out whether love is enough for us or do we need blood relations also? Can a person survive without his/her parents, siblings and family? My characters chose different paths and some of them later regret their decisions. How one generation's mistakes bring troubles to the next generation was also a big problem which my characters faced."
Novella.
The entire story of the series is based on Ishtiaq's novella. While developing screenplay Farhat made several changes, in an interview she said, "There are some differences, but they are very positive. I wrote several drafts of this novel back in 2006. While adapting I took some scenes and situations from my earlier drafts of the novel. Interestingly Momina and I think on the same wavelength. She came up to me once and said Farhat, it would be great if the story had this and this and I said, that is what I had written in the earlier drafts and we just used those. In the novel, there were flashbacks here the story is very linear. Now we have a very strong linear story and I have strengthened the characters even more. I have really enjoyed this script and it was very difficult for me. There are so many characters and each with their feelings that I had to do justice to the feelings of all the characters. I Enjoyed the difficulty as I had also challenged myself." Few characters were added, who only introduced namely in novel. Characters like, Laila, Ibrahim Feroze and parents of Arjumand, Yasmin and Bedar were expanded. Arjumand’s character itself had an less appearance in book while in serial it is one of leading character. Ruhina's miscarriage was also not written in the novel.
Casting.
Producer Momina Duraid, writer Farhat Ishtiaq and director Haseeb Hassan mutually chose the cast which includes Abid Ali, Sanam Saeed, Maya Ali, Osman Khalid Butt, Mikaal Zulfiqar, Hareem Farooq and Ali Rehman Khan, for the portrayal of leading characters.
Abid Ali was selected to play Bakhtiyar Khan. Actress Maya Ali and actor Osman Khalid Butt marked their third appearance together as a couple having previously acted in "Aik Nayee Cinderella" and "Aunn Zara". The actors received overwhelming appraisal for their third appearance together as a couple in Diyar-e-Dil. According to Maya Ali, the role of Faarah was the most difficult role she had portrayed.
On 12 October 2014, actress Sanam Saeed joined the ongoing filming thereby confirming her role for "Diyar-e-Dil". Saeed was offered the role of Ruhina after the success of her role of Kashaf Murtaza in channel’s series "Zindagi Gulzar Hai. " Alongside Saeed, Mikaal Zulfiqar was cast to play the role of Behroze. Both marked their second appearance together as a couple after their TV Series Ek Kasak Reh Gayi. Actors Ali Rehman Khan and Hareem Farooq were cast to portray the roles of Arjumand and Suhaib after their success in shows "Rishtay Kuch Adhooray Se" and "Mausam". It was their first appearance together as a couple. Production also chose Behroze Sabzwari, Tara Mehmood, Azra Mansoor, Rasheed Naz, Ahmed Zeb and Eshita Mehboob for the supporting roles of Tajamul, Zuhra, Yasmeen, Beddar, Moeez and Laila respectively.
Filming, locations and setting.
Principal photography and filming began in late September 2014 and finishes in early April 2015 with approximately 33 episodes. Shooting was extensively done in hilly areas of Pakistan, production house choose Khaplu Palace for pivotal shooting location, in Skardo, Gilgit–Baltistan which was set as a Mansion. Episodes were also shot in Shangrila Resort and Shangrila Lake was shown in drop up scenes. 
In early March, channel released promos of serial which were heavily praised for their shooting locations and cast. Series’s original sound track (OST) was recorded in January and was released in March 2015. The series was officially set to premier in May with Friday as prime time-slot. Teasers were released in February along with the OST of serial.
Music and original soundtrack.
The title song of "Diyar-e-Dil" was composed by musician Shani Arshad who also did background music with Bilal Allah Ditta.The soundtrack consists of two songs, one in Urdu language and the other in Persian language. Lyrics for songs were written by Sabir Zafar. The lines of the song are frequently used during the course of the show. The songs are sung by Zebunnisa Bangash of duo Zeb and Haniya and Momin Durrani. The original sound track was released on 14 March 2015 with the teaser trailer of serial. The song along with production is produced by Momina Duraid under her production company M.D Productions.
Release and distribution.
Broadcast.
Hum TV originally scheduled the series for Fridays slot, but "Diyar-e-Dil" aired an hourly episode on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m (Pakistan Standard Time). During Ramadan the show timings were shifted to 9:00 pm. Series has also aired internationally, for North America, New Zealand, Australia and Middle East on Hum TV World. It aired on Hum Europe in UK and Europe, on Hum TV USA in USA and Hum TV Mena on UAE. All International broadcasting aired with same slot and day, In Ramadan, time slots were shifted to 21:00. It was released on Hum TV's sister channel Hum Sitaray on 14 January 2016 airing two episodes (Thursday and Friday) a week.
Digital release and availability.
"Diyar-e-Dil's" episodes went available on Hum TV's YouTube channel till its syndication. Furthermore In January 2017, it had its digital release on the iflix app, but was taken off the same year. It was made available on Eros Now. The series was digitally released again on August 16, 2020 by Hum TV, the same month, it began streaming under Zee Zindagi on ZEE5.
Reception.
Television ratings.
BARB Asian broadcast reported that drama serial's pilot premiered with 82 thousands viewers on Hum Europe. While according to BizAsia it premiered with a viewership of 67.3 thousands according to Bizasia. 30th episode of "Diyar-e-Dil" received the highest ratings to date starting with 1.13 million and peaking at 1.47 million viewership. In UK it received 1.19 million viewership. This was followed by episode 32nd with 1.31 million viewers, episode 31st with 92.3 thousand viewers and episode 27th with 89 thousands viewers.
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Critical reception.
Actors Abid Ali and Osman Khalid Butt received immense appraisal for their portrayals. Sadaf Haider of the "Dawn News" praised the series' direction, cinematography, characterisation and production saying, "As with any excellent start the only fear is whether team "Diyar-e-Dil" can maintain the standards it has now set. This serial is a must watch for any drama fan. Farhat Ishtiaq is a great storyteller but this time she has honed her script-writing skills too and Haseeb Hassan has managed to translate this with seamless ease to our screens." She said that, "In many dramas we are shown protagonists, especially women who adapt with unnatural ease to each change of fortune. Director Haseeb Hassan has done a fabulous job of weaving this inter-generational story together combining beautiful cinematography and a fast paced, well-edited narrative to make a highly entertaining serial thus far." In an issue of "Dawn" June 25, Sadaf said, "As a story, "Diyar-e-Dil" covers very traditional grounds: the honour and obedience we owe to our parents and the importance of family. These values are deeply ingrained in our culture, something the writer never questions but reinforces with each turn."
Aruba Adil of "Aaj News" praises it storyline and consensus that, ""Diyar-e-Dil" is different from other soap drama serials". She went to state five reasons that makes it different including, location, cast, realistic relationships, subtle love stories and unpredictable ending. After the premier of series first episode it was listed among the top eleven drama serials of 2015 on place four. It has been ranked on many media outlets of top list drama serials of twenty-fifteen. Sheeba Khan of "HIP" states the serial is, "As great as the script was, the direction was equally fantastic. Haseeb Hassan took the script and visualized it for us with absolute perfection. The cinematography and presentation was beautiful and it was nice to see the beauty of Pakistan, rather than the US or UK." 
Commenting on the leads of serial she said, " We got to see more of Wali and Faara along with the dining table in the haveli. It was nice to see the lead pair's banter. With all the hatred Wali says he has of Faara, you can see how completely he is in love with her. In their last scene together, you could see how the hurt in his eyes when Faara tells him off, again!". Writing for "BrandSynario", Ghazal Sulaiman praises the chemistry between Sanam and Meekal and said, "All praises for "Diyar-e-Dil", this drama seems to have all the elements to be HUM TV’s next hit. With an outstanding entry in the season, the drama is pacing fast and is successfully keeping the viewers hooked. Moreover, the drama’s crisp editing and exceptional direction will make you head over heels in love with the natural scenic beauty of Baltistan."
Almas Akhtar of "The Express Tribune" praised the series story line, setting, location, casting and concept saying, ""Diyar-e-dil" the only drama portraying the true dynamics of a tribal family in Pakistan" she further added that the series also portray Male bonding thus attracting male viewers . With the popularity of serial, the portrayal of Wali by Osman was declared the best character of the year alongside Kashaf Murtaza by Sanam Saeed in 2012 drama serial "Zindagi Gulzar Hai". Buraq Shabbir of "The News" also lauded the serial and said, "The themes of love, respect, and family values are recurrent through "Diyar-e-Dil". The show does a neat job of exploring various emotions and how damaging it can be if one is arrogant and angry and spends time in a negative structure."
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