Mannat Murad

Mannat Murad (Urdu: منّت مراد, lit. 'Wish and desire') is a Pakistani television series directed by Syed Wajahat Hussain. It stars Iqra Aziz and Talha Chahour in the titular roles. The supporting cast includes Irsa Ghazal, Noor ul Hassan, Rabya Kulsoom and Uzma Hassan.

Mannat Murad
Urdu	منّت مراد
Genre	Drama Romance
Written by	Nadia Akhter
Directed by	Syed Wajahat Hussain
Starring	Iqra Aziz Talha Chahour
Opening theme	"Dil Haara" by Asim Azhar
Country of origin	Pakistan
Original languages	Urdu Punjabi
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	33
Production
Producers	Abdullah Kadwani Asad Qureshi
Running time	Approx. 36-45 Minutes
Production company	7th Sky Entertainment
Original release
Network	Geo Entertainment
Release	26 September 2023 (2023-09-26) – 16 January 2024 (2024-01-16)

Plot

Murad is the only brother of four sisters and the apple of his mother's eye. Murad's mother is a widow and he has two unmarried sisters in the house - he financially supports all three as well as his married sister whose husband does not work and gambles away what little they have. He supports his eldest sister emotionally as well who suffers from depression after her mother refused to allow her to get married of her choice many years ago. The man she was arranged to marry also refused to marry her. Her mother struggles to find a rishta for her, due to her increasing age and she faces a lot of taunts which causes her depression and breakdowns.

Mannat is an independent and intelligent woman with three older brothers and a sister in law who dote on her. Although she is given everything she wants to build a career and be independent so she starts a job in an office.

Murad sees Mannat in the office building – both work for separate companies but share a building. He falls in love at first sight but Mannat does not notice him.

Mannat and Murad meet through an arranged marriage setup but things don't work out because their families end up bickering and quarreling during the meeting.

Eventually, they meet again at work and fall in love while getting to know each other. However, having a love marriage is out of the question for both of them. Murad's mother wants him to marry a girl that she chooses because she thinks that she will have more control over her daughter in law. Mannats eldest brother is also very possessive of her and wants to hand pick her husband.

Without revealing that they are already in a relationship, they trick their families into arranging their marriage in spite of the differences between their class and mindset.

During the marriage ceremonies the class and mindset differences are highlighted when Murad's mother demand gold as gifts for herself and her daughters and also returns Mannats dowry furniture claiming that it was not enough. Mannat seeing her sister in law scrambling to meet their demands wonders if she made the right choice.

Once married, although they have a strong bond, conflict begins to arise between the couple because of Murad's controlling mother and sisters. Murads family expects him to run around for them as he always has done - even on his wedding night when his gambler brother in law is arrested. His sister also taunts him that he cares more for Mannat than his own family making him feel conflicted.

Mannat's possessive elder brother makes the situation worse. Seeing Mannat's care for Murad he experiences jealousy because Mannat no longer has all her attention on her siblings.

The two families eventually figure out that Mannat and Murad were in love before they got married. This knowledge intensifies the existing tension.

Murad also feels jealous meeting Mannats sister in laws brother - Hammad - especially when he finds out that he asked for Mannats hand and was rejected but is now divorced. He compares the cars that they drive when talking with Mannat and his insecurities are evident. Mannats elder brother does not help matters by showing preference to Hammad.

There are many heated arguments between the couple, a lot centered around his married sisters turning up at the house to live adding to the financial strain, Murads refusal to accept a honeymoon as a present from Mannats brothers and Mannat wanting to go back to work.

There is a particular vicious fight instigated by his sister and one thing leads to another and Murad slaps Mannat. She slaps him back and decides to end the marriage.

Mannat's eldest brother starts dropping hints to Hammad that he should move back permanently and rekindle a relationship with Mannat. Meanwhile Murads mother and sister are trying to encourage him to consider marrying his cousin that has always held a torch for him.

While the divorce proceedings are going on, they come face to face at a mutual friend's house. After an angry confrontation, they rekindle their relationship and start seeing each other in secret. Unaware of this development, their families continue to look for new partners for them.

Soon, Mannat gets pregnant and tells her family that she has been seeing Murad behind their back. They invite his family over. When his mother doubts the paternity of the baby, he finally stands up to her and defends his wife in front of everyone. Mannat is impressed with his support, and the two of them officially reconcile.

The series ends with the Mannat's eldest brother marrying Murad's eldest sister. It is implied to the audience that Mannat arranged their marriage.

Cast

• Iqra Aziz as Mannat Chaudhary, Nafees, Adil and Saad's youngest sister, Murad's Wife
• Talha Chahour as Chaudhary Murad Hashmat Ali, Razia's Son, Nudrat, Fazeelat, Naggi and Itrat's Brother, Azra's Friend, Mannat's Husband
• Irsa Ghazal as Razia Chaudhary, Murad, Itrat, Fazeelat, Naggi and Nudrat's Mother
• Noor ul Hassan as Nafees, Adil, Saad & Mannat's elder brother
• Rabya Kulsoom as Azra, Murad and Mannat's Colleague, Murad's Friend
• Uzma Hassan as Sabiha, Adil's Wife, Nafees, Saad & Mannat's Sister-in-law
• Tipu Sharif as Adil, Nafees, Saad and Mannat's Second Brother
• Faiza Gillani as Nudrat, Razia's First Daughter, Itrat, Fazeelat & Murad's Eldest Sister, Shoukat's Cousin & Wife, Pinky's Mother
• Hammad Siddiqui as Razia's Nephew & Son-in-law, Nudrat's Cousin & Husband, Pinky's Father, Itrat, Fazeelat, Naggi & Murad's Brother-in-law
• Mizna Waqas as Fazeelat Chaudhary, Razia's Second Daughter, Nudrat, Itrat, Naggi & Murad's Sister
• Sana Nadir as Naggi Chaudhary, Razia's youngest Daughter, Nudrat, Itrat, Fazeelat & Murad's youngest Sister
• Anam Tanveer as Nisho, Murad's cousin
• Shan Baig as Murad's friend
• Salma Zafar Asim as Shakira
• Rehma Zaman as Itrat Faisal, Razia's Third Daughter, Nudrat, Fazeelat, Naggi & Murad's Sister
• Ali Safina as Faisal, Itrat's Husband, Nudrat, Fazeelat, Naggi & Murad's Brother-in-law
• Parveen Akbar as Shamim Ara, Marriage Bureau of Mannat and Murad
• Mustafa Changazi as Saad, Nafees, Adil & Mannat's Brother
• Sachal Afzal as Athar, Murad's Bestfriend & Colleague
• Kousar Siddiqui as Hajra
• Rahat Ghani as Rida
• Abdul Hadi Khan as Ahad
• Zarlish as Guriya
• Rubab as Pinky, Nudrat's Daughter, Itrat, Fazeelat, Naggi and Murad's Niece, Razia's Grand-Daughter
• Hassan barkat Zahra as mannat brother
• Ali Rehman Khan as Adil mannat brother

Production

In November 2022, there were rumours that Farhan Saeed will appear appear opposite to Iqra Aziz after Suno Chanda in Syed Wajahat Hussain directed Mannat Murad. However, the same month it was confirmed that not Farhan Saeed, but Talha Chahour will play the lead role. It marked Iqra Aziz's second drama directed by Hussain after Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3).

Reception

Gaitee Ara Siddiqi of The News International praised the themes and the narrative of the series, addition of the humour and Irsa Ghazal's performance as a dominant matiarch. A reviewer from The Nation praised the storyline of the series of the initial episodes but cirticised the screenplay of the later episodes noting its inconsistencies.