''Meri Behan Maya'' ( ur, , lit=My Sister Maya) is a 2011

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 ...

i TV romantic drama serial broadcast by

Geo TV Geo Television Network is a television channel based in Pakistan. It was established in May 2002 and is owned by the Jang Media Group. The channel began its test transmission on 14 August 2002, with regular transmission beginning on 1 October 2 ...

. It was first aired on 17 September 2011. The serial was directed by ''Azfar Ali'' and the project head was ''Iqbal Ansari''. It was written by

Haseena Moin Haseena Moin (20 November 1941 – 26 March 2021) was a Pakistani dramatist, playwright and scriptwriter. She wrote several plays for stage, radio, and television. She was the recipient of the Pride of Performance award for her services to the ...

and the cast included

Neelam Muneer Neelam Muneer Khan (Pashto/ ur, ; born 20 March 1992) is a Pakistani actress and model who appears in television dramas and films. She is best known for portraying the role of Ulfat in television series ''Dil Mom Ka Diya'' (2018), which earn ...

, Annie Jaffrey, Danish Taimoor and

Javed Sheikh Jawed Sheikh (also spelled Javaid and Javed; born 8 October 1954) is a Pakistani actor, film director and producer who works in Lollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for working in the Hindi films ''Om Shanti Om'', '' My Name Is Anthony Gon ...

. The show was broadcast in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on Zindagi, aired from 12 January 2015, under the title ''Maya''.

Plot

Maya ( Jaffrey) and Zarmeena ( Muneer) are sisters who dearly love each other. Their father Shazeb Khan (

Shaikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

) loves them dearly. Though their stepmother Attiya ( Bindiya) dislikes them both especially Maya. She tries to create problems for Maya as she is not the real daughter of Shazeb Khan. Meanwhile, Zarmeena is in love with Faizar ( Taimoor) and plans to marry him. Things take a turn for the worse when Attiya conspires with her son Rashid (Zarrar Khan) and

kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

s her. Meanwhile, Maya finds Rashid's conspiracy as he is a supplier of girls and sells them to a

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

and when she finds this, she attacks Rashid and runs away. She takes refuge in her friend's house Zeb (Amna Karim). Zeb was also a victim to Rashid's web. She tries to help Maya to face fear. Meanwhile, Faizar's parents break off the engagement with Zarmeena as Faizar's father knows Attiya as a high-class

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

. Angered, Faizar leaves the house after the argument with his father. Rashid gets arrested and interrogated by police on orders of Shazeb. Attiya, who bails out Rashid divorces Shazeb and threatens to destroy him. Maya soon gets a job as a Hotel Manager. After knowing that Maya is Shazeb's illegitimate child she hates him and runs away. Shazeb suffers from a stroke and hospitalized. Soon after recovering, he finds Maya is again kidnapped by Rashid who threats Maya to ruin her face by acid. Attiya wants all cases to withdraw from Rashid. Rashid leaves Maya after Shazeb takes the case away. Rashid gets killed by police after he tried to kill Maya. Maya returns home safely, reconciles with her sister and Faizar's father stops him to go away. Faizar marries Zarmeena and Maya playfully teases Faizar.

Cast

as Zarmeena * Ainy Jaffri as Maya * Danish Taimoor as Faizar *

as Shahzeb Khan * Bindiya as Attiya Shahzeb *

Shamim Hilaly Shameem Hilaly (, born 1947) is a Pakistani actress who has acted in both films and television. She is most famous for acting in PTV Dramas. She is noted for her performance in '' Maigh Malhar'' during the 1990s. She has also acted in Pakista ...

as Khala *

Farah Nadeem Farah Nadeem is a Pakistani actress. She is known for her roles in dramas '' Jaal'', ''Adhoora Bandhan'', '' Tarap'', '' Besharam'', ''Aakhir Kab Tak'', ''Mere Humsafar'' and ''Kam Zarf''. Early life Farah was born on June 3, 1970 in Karachi, Pa ...

as Salma * Zarrar Khan as Rashid * Sanam Khan as Naima * Amna Karim as Zeb

Reception

The drama was written by the legendary scriptwriter Haseena Moin, thus people had a lot of expectations from it. The drama was very well received by the critics and the audience. The fresh story depicting a positive relationship between the two sisters was immensely liked. Annie Jaffry won several accolades for her challenging role as Maya and was appreciated by everyone. The drama was shot at scenic locations in Murre. The drama also received good

TRPs Tunable Resistive Pulse Sensing (TRPS) is a single-particle technique used to measure the size, concentration and zeta potential of particles as they pass through a size-tunable nanopore. The technique adapts the principle of resistive pulse se ...

, the last episode got average TRPs of 4.2, the highest of that month for Geo TV. The drama was also listed in the top 10 drama serials of 2012 by Geo TV. But the makeup of Bindya and Neelam Muneer was heavily criticized.

Soundtrack

Meri Behan Maya's title song ''Tell Me Why'' is sung by

Mehwish Hayat Mehwish Hayat (born 6 January 1988) is an Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu films and former television. She made her debut in film with comedy ''Jawani Phir Nahi Ani'' (2015) and later went on to ''Actor in Law'' (2016). Hayat is ...

, composed by

Waqar Ali Waqar Ali (Urdu: وقار علی) is a Pakistani musician and singer working mostly in Pakistan. Ali has produced many albums and singles for the Pakistan film industry. His father is the classical singer Shafqat Hussein, and Waqar Ali often ...

and lyrics by Muhammad Nasir. The song of this drama serial became immensely popular due to its different lyrics and catchy music. The lines of the song are frequently used during the course of the show.

References

External links

* * {{Programmes broadcast by Zindagi 2012 Pakistani television series debuts Pakistani drama television series Urdu-language television shows Geo TV original programming 2013 Pakistani television series endings Zee Zindagi original programming