Bakhtawar

Bakhtawar is a Pakistani drama television series directed by Shahid Shafaat and first broadcast on Hum TV from 17 July 2022. It is produced by Momina Duraid under banner MD Productions. It features Yumna Zaidi in the title role as a young headstrong girl who wants escape from her difficulties and create a better tomorrow for herself. It ended on 29 January 2023, after 25 episodes.

Zaidi's performance in the series was praised for which she won Best TV Actress and Best TV Actress - Critics' choice awards at 22nd Lux Style Awards.

Plot
Living in a small village, Bakhtawar is an ambitious student living in a family of five with a mother, a disabled brother, and an elder sister. Her gambler father forcefully sends her older sister in a forced marriage, and himself goes leaving the house. Due to poverty her brother dies on which her uncle tries to get her married to his mentally challenged son, forcefully. She doesn't let her uncle do so and flees to Karachi with her mother.

There, they live in Sakina's house who lives with her husband and is Shareefa's friend. Bakhtawar tries to get a job but gets rejected from everywhere until she gets a job of bus conductor. However, it becomes difficult for her to pursue the job due to the behaviour of male passengers and her friend's murder. Sakina tells her husband that she will sell out them to Hameed as now she is jobless, unable to pay them. Bakhtawar hears it and leaves her house and rents a room from Haji Nazar, a shady man who lives with his wife and is not in the favour of women's freedom. She eventually has to disguise herself as a man so she can try to get a job. Bakhtawar then works in a restaurant as a waiter and witnesses someone getting shot. She stays behind to help him and later, he hires her for his job.

Cast

 * Yumna Zaidi as Bakhtawar, The only daughter of a poor mother and a greedy fugitive father who runs away from the village to the city to avoid marrying her psycho cousin and works various jobs to make ends meet.
 * Zaviyar Nauman Ijaz as Malik Dilawar, son of famous politician Malik Sher Zaman, who studied abroad before returning to Pakistan.
 * Ali Wasi Kazmi as Ahad, Son of a middle-class landlord and brother of Bakhtawar's friend who loved Bakhtawar and wanted to marry her and helped Bakhtawar leave the village and flee to the city.
 * Adnan Shah Tipu as Amin, Shareefa's brother and Bakhtawar's uncle
 * Huma Nawab as Shareefa, Bakhtawar's Mother
 * Saqib Sumeer as Haji Nazar
 * Mizna Waqas as Naveeda (Haji Nazar's wife)
 * Salma Asim as Sakina, Shareefa's friend
 * Aslam Sheikh as Ghaffar, Sakina's husband
 * Qaiser Khan Nizamani as Malik Sher Zaman
 * Fazila Qazi as Malik Sher Zaman's wife
 * Sachal Afzal as Salar, Huriya's elder brother
 * Ayesha Sohail as Nazneen, Huriya's friend
 * Noreen Gulwani as Huriya, Malik Dilawar's fiancé
 * Babar Ali as Malik Dastageer, Huriya's father
 * Sunil Shankar as Sheeda
 * Shamoon Abbasi as Mohsin, Malik Dilawar's friend

Guest

 * Noor ul Hassan as Bakhtawar's father (Episode 1)
 * Rizwan Arshad Abbasi as Job interviewer (Episode 3)

Production
The details about the project were first reported in May 2022, with Sajal Aly was first selected for the title role but later she left the project after shooting some days and eventually replaced by Yumna Zaidi. It was also reported that Zaidi will pair opposite Arslan Nasser.

The first look of the series was unveiled on 4 July 2022.

Critical reception
The drama received critical acclaim instantly right after its first episode. It was praised for its fast pace and close-to-reality plot. Yumna Zaidi is being continuously praised for her performance as Bakhtawar. While reviewing the first episode, a reviewer from The News International praised the direction for depiction of issues and rural Pakistan, cinematography and Zaidi's performance. Another reviewer of the same newspaper was appreciative of the performances of the actors, strong characters and unusual storyline.

Television ratings
Bakhtawar was highest rated Hum TV program of 2022.