When her husband Hidayatullah dies in his early seventies, Mehrunissa feels as a free spirit and recalls the bitter memories of her past when her dying father decided to marry her off at 16 years of age to Hidayatullah, who was 36 at the time. At the time of her husband's funeral Mehrunissa does not seem emotionally affected by his death. Mahir is a next-door carefree boy who is a tennis player and in search of a job.
The project was first announced on 8 July 2021. Osman Khalid Butt was first approached to portray the leading role of Mahir, however due to his other commitments he could not do it. Later, Bilal Abbas Khan was cast in the role.[6] With Khan, singer-turned-actress Hadiqa Kiani was selected to portray the other leading role. It marked her second series after her debut in poetic-romamce Raqeeb Se. She revealed in an interview that Mehru [Dobara] is her attempt to break some norms as an actor regarding age.[7]
Reception
Television rating
It led the rating charts for its 6th episode with 6.2 trps.[8] It again led the slot in 11th episode by achieving 6.5 trps.[9] The 13th episode of the serial received ratings of 7.2 TRPs.[10] 15th episode received 6.7 TRPs.[11] The 16th episode saw a boost and it led the slot with 7.6 TRPs.[12] The 17th episode saw another boost and the serial achieved the whopping 8.8 TRPs.[13] 25th episode received 6.1 TRPs.[14] In the month of Ramadan, Dobara was continuously leading its slot with 5-6 TRPs and became No 1 drama of the week. After Ramadan, it received tough competition from rivals but still managed to receive decent ratings of 4-5 TRPs and ended on 6.5.[15]
Critical reception
Critically, the series received acclaim and praise for storyline and performances especially for the performance of the lead cast.[16][17][18]DAWN Images lauded its diversified and plot and strong narrative against the societal stereotypes.[19] Maliha Rehman of Dawn gave mixed review to its narrative stating, "Most of the time, Dobara is narrated with great sensitivity and attention to detail."[20]
With the introduction of false allegations of sexual harassment, social media users criticized the script.[21] Due to weak characterization of the male lead, the series' conclusion received mixed reviews from social media users.[22][23]
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