''Churails'' () is a 2020 ZEE5 exclusive and Zindagi Original

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

. It is written and directed by

Asim Abbasi Asim Abbasi is a British-Pakistani film director, screenwriter and producer. He also has his own production company, ''Indus Talkies''. Career In 2012, he made the short film ''Anathema''. In 2013, he made two more short films, ''Once A Man' ...

. The web series stars

Sarwat Gilani Sarwat Gilani ( ur, ; born 22 December 1982) is a Pakistani model, film, television and voice actress. Film career Gilani made her movie debut in '' Jawani Phir Nahi Aani'' where she played a pregnant Pashtun woman opposite Vasay Chaudhary. ...

Mehar Bano Mehar Bano ( ur, ) is a Pakistani actress. She has played the role of Umama in social-drama '' Daagh'' for which she received a nomination for Best Actress at Lux Style Awards. She also played the roles of Batool in ARY Digital's '' Balaa'' ( ...

Nimra Bucha Nimra Bucha ( ur, ) is a Pakistani actress who has appeared in variety of TV serials, films, web-series and has also worked in theatre. She played a role of Saadat Hassan Manto's muse in Sarmad Khoosat's ''Manto (2015 film), Manto'' which earne ...

and

Yasra Rizvi Yasra Rizvi is a Pakistani actress and writer. She played the female lead in a number of television productions, including '' Mann Ke Moti'' (2012), ''Woh Dobara'' (2014), '' Thora Sa Aasman'' (2016) and '' Ustani Jee'' (2018). In her acting caree ...

in lead roles. It is produced by

along with Mo Azmi and Shailja Kejriwal. It revolves around Karachi's secret detectives whose mission it is to expose the city's unfaithful, elite husbands. It became available for streaming on the OTT platform

ZEE5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Androi ...

on 11 August 2020.

Premise

The series focuses on the lives of four women: Sara (

), a lawyer that gave her career up to be the "perfect wife", Jugnu (

), a wedding planner, Zubaida (

), a boxer seeking independence and love, and Batool (

), an ex-convict who was sentenced to twenty years in prison for murder. Their lives become intertwined when Sara discovers her husband cheating on her, after which the four decide to set up an agency to catch cheating husbands in action. They run this agency covertly under the guise of a retail burka store called "Halal Designs", and call themselves Churails. When one of them goes missing, their investigation leads them to something much bigger than themselves, dominated by Karachi's most powerful.

Cast

Main cast

as Sara Khan *

as Zubaida *

as Batool Jan *

as Jugnu Chaudhry

Recurring cast

* Meher Jaffri as Laila *

Omair Rana Omair Rana (born January 31, 1978) is a Pakistani actor and theatre director. He also directs plays in educational institutes, notably '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'' (2014) and ''Life of Galileo'' (2013) at Lahore Grammar School Johar To ...

as Jamil Khan *

Adnan Malik Adnan Malik ( ur, ) is a Pakistani film and television actor, director, and producer under his own company's banner, AMP. He is also WWF Pakistan's goodwill ambassador and an Asia Society, Asia 21 Fellow and Young Leader of the World. Malik ...

as KK *

Eman Suleman Eman Suleman (born 1 January 1992) is a Pakistani model and actress. She started her modeling career in 2017 and since then appeared in ramps and advertisements. She is also known for her role as Yasmeen in Sarmad Khoosat's ''Aakhri Station'' (20 ...

as Mehak Hussain * Dimeji Ewuoso as Jackson *

Sarmad Sultan Khoosat Sarmad Sultan Khoosat (born May 7, 1979) is a Pakistani actor, film/TV director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing the super-hit TV dramas ''Humsafar'' and ''Shehr-e-Zaat''. He is considered to be one of the best South Asian fi ...

as Ehtisham Khalid *

Sania Saeed Sania Saeed (born 28 August 1972) is a Pakistani actress and television host. Works mainly in television and theatre, Saeed is the recipient of numerous accolades including two PTV Awards, three Hum Awards and four Lux Style Awards. She first ...

as Shehnaz Khalid * Shabana Hassan as Resham * Mareeha Safdar as Sheila * Amtul Baweja as Munni * Zara Khan as Baby Doll * Bakhtawar Mazhar as Pinky * Sameena Nazir as Babli *

Hina Khawaja Bayat Hina Khawaja Bayat ( ur, ) is a Pakistani actress whose appearances include ''Uraan, Ishq Gumshuda, Aunn Zara, Humsafar, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Muqaddas'' and ''Shehr-e-Zaat'' and '' Baaghi''. Early life Hina is ethnically Kashmiri and lives i ...

as Sherry * Kashif Hussain as Shams *

Fawad Khan Fawad Afzal Khan ( ur, ) (born 29 November 1981) is a Pakistani actor, producer, screenwriter, model and singer having received several awards including a Filmfare Award, two Lux Style Awards and six Hum Awards. Khan began his acting caree ...

as Inspector Jamshed * Sarmed Aftab Jadraan as Dilbar *

Adnan Shah Tipu Adnan Shah, well known as Adnan Shah Tipu or simply Tipu is a Pakistani actor known for his comic and villainary roles. Career Adnan Shah started his career in 1999 as a television actor and gained popularity through a sitcom titled "Sub Set Hai" ...

Guest appearances

Mahira Khan Mahira Hafeez Khan (; born 21 December 1984) is a Pakistani actress. She started her career as a VJ in 2006. Khan is best known for portraying the role of Khirad Hussain in the romantic-drama '' Humsafar'' for which she received numerous acc ...

as Shagufta (Arms Dealer) *

Anoushay Abbasi Anoushay Abbasi is a Pakistani television actress and model. She started her career as a child artist at PTV. In her acting career, she is widely known for her leading roles in the television series ''Mera Saaein 2'' (2012), ''Meri Saheli Meri ...

Fahad Mirza Fahad Mirza ( ur, ) is a Pakistani actor, model, plastic surgeon and sculptor. He is best known for his debut role as Essa in 2012 drama serial ''Bari Aapa''. He has also appeared in '' Mutthi Bhar Mitti'' (2008), '' Main Deewani'' (2014) and ' ...

Frieha Altaf Frieha Altaf is a Pakistani actress, former model, host, film director, producer and human rights activist. She is the CEO of her own Catwalk Event Management and Sahil which she founded in 1989. She also worked in classic dramas '' Rozi'' and ' ...

as Botox Lady (Party Lady) *

Nadia Afgan Nadia Afgan is a Pakistani actress who appears in Urdu films and television and films. She is known for her work in theatre and television. Her numerous work in television includes a series of plays in both Urdu and Punjabi. She rose to promin ...

Faiza Gillani Faiza Gillani is a Pakistani television, theatre and film actress known for her character roles. Made her on-screen debut in 2010, and her notable supporting roles were in ''Ullu Baraye Farokht Nahi'', ''Sannata'', ''Deewangi'' and ''Prem Gali'' ...

Alycia Dias Alycia Dias is a Pakistani playback singer, who is best known for singing the Urdu language serials. Her career began with her participation in the reality show '' LG Awaaz Banaye Star'', where she became the semi-finalist at the age of 17. She ...

Tara Mahmood Tara may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *Tara (1992 film), ''Tara'' (1992 film), an Indian film directed by Bijaya Jena *Tara (2001 film), ''Tara'' (2001 film), an American film, also known as ''Hood Rat'', directed by Lesl ...

as Shumailla

Episodes

Season 1

Production

Development

The web series was announced in the first quarter of 2019 to be directed by

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

commenced with the lead actors

and they had been spotted shooting in summer 2019. Director

announced the wrap up of web series "Churails" using his Instagram post on 4 September 2019.

Marketing and release

Promotion

The official trailer of the web series was launched on 31 July 2020 by

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Release

''Churails'' was released on

, an Indian streaming platform available to audiences across the world. The series started streaming from 11 August 2020.

Reception

''Churails'' has received widespread critical acclaim. It has been hailed as a groundbreaking series that breaks stereotypes about Pakistanis and abandons oft-used tropes in Pakistani television. It has been lauded for its portrayal of three-dimensional women as well as for exploring social dynamics in a diverse city like Karachi, portraying women across social classes and backgrounds. Furthermore, it has been praised for its sensitive and nuanced depictions of LGBTQ characters, with gay men, lesbian women and transgender characters. Abbasi said, "Because we are showing such a diverse range of women, it was important to show the entire spectrum of sexuality. It would have been wrong if they were all straight because not all women in Pakistan are straight." Shaheera Anwar at ''The Express Tribune'' gave the series 4.5/5 stars, writing "Without compromising on the storytelling, Churails is a feminist masterpiece." Shubhra Gupta at ''The Indian Express'' wrote: "To watch free-spirited, cussing-out-loud, hockey-sticks and rifle-toting, burqa-clad women beating the bejesus out of violent, murderous men, is one of the high points of ''Churails''".

Streaming removal and reinstatement

In October 2020, the series was briefly removed from streaming on ZEE5 without explanation, reportedly in response to complaints from the

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ( ur, ) is an independent and constitutionally established federal institution responsible for regulating and issuing channel licenses for establishment of the mass media culture, print a ...

(PEMRA) and

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) ( ur, ) is the telecommunication regulator of Pakistan, responsible for the establishment, operation and maintenance of telecommunication systems and the provision of telecommunication services in ...

(PTA). However, the series returned to the streaming platform within a day or two. ZEE5 released a statement regarding the removal and reinstatement: "The show was taken off the platform in Pakistan purely in compliance with a directive that we received. We have now addressed the matter and reinstated the show on our platform."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 12803682
Churails
on

Zee5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Androi ...

2020 web series debuts 2020 Pakistani television series debuts Pakistani drama television series Zee Zindagi original programming Urdu-language television shows Pakistani mystery films