We keep mentioning in our articles how well the Pakistani drama industry has progressed over the past few years and Kluchit.com has pledged to promote and/or highlight the achievements of the industry in every way possible. The ‘Hum Tv’ channel also deserves a special mention, as their dramas pay a lot of attention to the selection of locations where the plays are shot, and to how they are presented. After the success of “Diyar-e-Dil”, another drama which has done great justice to its scenic display is “MOL”. A significant portion of this serial has been shot in Sukkur, which is the 14th largest city of Pakistan and the 3rd largest city in the province of Sindh. It is situated on the west bank of the River Indus, and is the capital of the Sukkur division as a whole.
The Lansdowne Bridge and the Ayub Arch, two of the most historically important locations in Sukkur, were selected for the shooting of the drama’s scenes. Both these bridges are parallel to one another, and are great examples of engineering and architecture. They are less than a hundred feet apart, and the two bridges seem like one from a distance. The Lansdowne Bridge was inaugurated by Lord Reay, the Governor of Bombay, on the 25th of March, 1889. The Ayub Arch was inaugurated by the then President, Muhammad Ayub Khan, on the 6th of May, 1962.
When the amazing steel Ayub Arch was constructed, the railway traffic from the Lansdowne Bridge was shifted there. The Ayub Arch became the world’s third longest railway arch span and the first bridge in the world to have “the railway desk slung on coiled wire rope suspenders”. The consulting engineer was David B. Steinman, who belonged to New York, USA.
The second location selected for this serial is the historical Sadhu Bela temple. The walls of the temple are decorated with marble carvings, and sculptures of Hindu gods have been made. Several rooms have been made to facilitate visitors including a library where thousands of books pertaining to Hinduism can be found. Legend has it that a Sadhu by the name of Baba Bankhandi, settled on this island in 1823 to preach Hinduism. Mir Sohrab Khan, the then ruler of the area, gifted the island to him as the Sadhu had impressed him with his wisdom. The island has two creeks, Sadh Belo and Din Belo. In order to visit these places it is mandatory to get prior permission from the department of Auqaf.
The third superb cinematographic location selected for this drama is the Tomb of the Seven Virgin Sisters. It is also widely known as ‘Satian jo asthaan’ (the home of the seven virgins). This place is very unique in nature. There is no striking mausoleum like those of the other saints of Sindh, but just an empty cave. There are no graves, no epitaphs, no inscriptions, no engravings, just some prayer mats and some copies of the Holy Quran. Like all folklores, the story of the seven sisters has many variations too. The most commonly accepted account is that there were seven pious women, probably of Arab origin. They came to Sindh along with a caravan of Arab traders during the reign of Raja Dahir. They had camped on a small hill along the banks of River Indus. As the story goes, their camp was attacked by soldiers of Raja Dahir with the evil intention of dishonoring them. One version says that to save their honor, they drowned after jumping into the River Indus.
The entire production team of ‘Mol’ beautifully captured and presented these three significant locations of Sindh and they should be given full marks for their outstanding efforts. The selection of these three sites is also important due to the fact that it has once again brought the historical and cultural attractions of the city of Sukkur into the limelight, both for the people in and out of Pakistan. The cover photo is also very artistically created, in which the Lansdowne Bridge and the Ayub Arch are brilliantly placed behind the lead cast of the serial. Muhammad Hasnain Deswali, the animator at Hum Network and Muhammad Ibrahim Khan both deserve to be appreciated for their creativity. It is because of all these features of this drama that we are inclined to say that “MOL = Reinstating Sukkur’s True Essence“.
A few names from the production team also deserve to be mentioned, all of whom have done an excellent job in the completion of this serial. Once again the producer of this play, Momina Duraid, along with Satish Anand, must really be appreciated for launching a project which has provided a chance to explore some of the forgotten wonders and tourist attractions in Pakistan. The director Ilyas Kashmiri has again shown his class by perfectly executing the entire direction of this drama. In the end, the art director Mirza Zeeshan Baig, camera operator Shehzad Baloch, assistant cameraman Raja Irfan, and the editors Danish Usmani and Imran Hussain, all worked tirelessly to produce a serial which will surely be remembered for years to come.
Ahmed Raza is a frequent traveler and loves cricket. He is a graduate in Journalism and works as Assistant Travel Editor for Kluchit.com
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