Sameer or Sameera? When it comes to Ishq Zahe Naseeb, there are several great actors in it that have nailed their characters and made the show something that is the highlight of our Friday nights. But the star of the show is definitely Zahid Ahmed. While we, and the entire country, sit in anticipation of the clock to strike 8 so we can finally see Zahid Ahmed perform one of the most challenging roles we have seen so far, the storyline continues to get more riveting.
Be it the role of a successful business man with a cold air about him (the contact lenses along with that deep, husky voice of it add to the mystique) or the reincarnation of his childhood nanny, Zahid Ahmed nails both the characters. To play two characters in one show and to have to dress differently for them, channels a level of talent and brilliance we have seldom seen on tv. We live for the moments that we see Zahid Ahmed channel Shakira as he puts on that rouge noir lipstick with an eyeliner so on point, that it puts most women’s eyeliner skills to shame. And yes yes, while there are many that can pull off a winged eyeliner, we have never seen any man pull it with such grace and femininity. To execute such different roles that sit wide apart on the spectrum truly makes you wonder on how much more Zahid Ahmed has to offer.
With his elegance and grace (the more befitting word would be “adaein”), we squealed the moment we saw Zahid Ahmed turn into Sameera for the first time. And even though the drama has been well received by viewers, there are those that misunderstand Sameer’s Dissociative Personality Disorder/Split Personality Disorder for his sexual orientation. Sameer is a man that lives with two personalities – and it just happens to be that one of those personalities is that of a woman. The story has nothing to do with sexual orientation. And we also think it’s commendable that the show doesn’t highlight the medical aspects of the disorder and only sticks to showing how it affects him and those around him – leaving little room for error in its execution.
We applaud Zahid Ahmed’s choice to take up such a bold and different character and to do it with such excellence (can you see we’re big fans?). We can’t wait to see him on screen again, especially since Ishq Zahe Naseeb did not air last Friday (how painful it was to sit and wait for the show to air only to realise that it wasn’t going to, haha!). Here’s hoping this Friday’s episode makes up for a missed weekend.