Over the last 10 days, at 11pm every night, I have a date with Zaroon and Kashaf. Through my TV.

Will sparks fly between Kashaf and Zaroon? Will the two realise that beneath the friction and fights, there exists a strong underlying attraction? Will they bury their differences and get together for what promises to be a tempestuous yet touching love story?

Yes, I am hooked to Zindagi Gulzar Hai, the flagship show on Zee Zindagi, the new channel on the block that just airs Pakistani content .

Alpha Bravo Charlie to Kankar, for years I have heard friends and family talk about how engaging Pakistani serials are. When it played on television sets in Pakistan in 2012, many YouTube links of Zindagi Gulzar Hai made its way to my Facebook and Twitter feed. Then a week ago, I reached for my remote to catch the first episode on Zee Zindagi, just to see what the fuss was about. I haven’t missed a single episode since.

Here’s why Zindagi Gulzar Hai scores bigger than what is playing on our screens right now…

THE PLOT: Pride and Prejudice-meets-Mills & Boon

From its very first frame, Zindagi Gulzar Hai plays out from the point of view of Kashaf Murtaza, an independent and headstrong young woman from a lower-middle-class background, whose family — comprising her mother and two younger sisters — has been abandoned by her father because he wanted a son. Kashaf helplessly watches her mother scrape together a living as the principal of a government school, with the Murtazas hardly able to afford the bare necessities of life. As a result, Kashaf finds herself questioning the existence of God and growing increasingly resentful of the privileged. In tone and temperament, Kashaf is very much a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet, the most mature voice within the family and its decision-maker. When she gets admitted into one of the country’s top universities, Kashaf looks at it as a stepping stone to a better life for her and her family.

At university, she meets her Darcy: Zaroon Junaid, the most popular guy on campus, whose good looks and charming personality act as an instant girl magnet. For Kashaf, Zaroon is a privileged brat who hasn’t had to struggle a day. Zaroon, a topper in school and college till Kashaf comes in, can’t tolerate her habit of calling a spade a spade, his ego hurt by the fact that she doesn’t really warm up to him. The resentment between the two is manifested through heated debates in the classroom, where Kashaf openly taunts Zaroon’s privileged upbringing. But even as they argue, they look out for each other — library to canteen, Zaroon’s eyes search for Kashaf; even as she pores over her class notes in the college lawns, Kashaf steals glances at Zaroon playing his guitar and serenading his many female fans.

But, the two, seeming so different, are bound together by a fractured personal life: Kashaf and her family are forced to abandon their ancestral home after she refuses to marry her cousin; Zaroon’s socialite mother is too busy with her numerous parties to really pay attention to her family. And then there is Zaroon’s classmate Asmara who he’s been dating for years, but isn’t sure if she’s the one for him. The twist in the tale this week? Zaroon has got engaged to Ashmara under family pressure, but on one condition: he won’t get married in the next two years.

Though the plot is regular and the twists pedestrian, Zindagi Gulzar Hai works because everyone loves a love story. You enjoy the constant fights between Zaroon and Kashaf and yet root for the two to come together. Plus, the socio-economic background of a Pakistani family and the culture of a country not very different from ours makes for interesting viewing.

THE PLAYERS: Flawed yet endearing

Zaroon (played by Fawad Afzal Khan) is the reason for Zindagi Gulzar Hai’s ever-swelling female viewership. Handsome and with an arresting screen presence, Fawad makes Zaroon a curious and irresistible combination of the modern young Pakistani with a global world view, who, however, is often myopic enough to demand that his girl dress “according to tradition” and that she not attend late-night parties. When he meets his match in Kashaf, Zaroon finds many of his chauvinistic thoughts crumbling, a fact that makes him uncomfortable. And fret not girls: Fawad, who we first saw in the breakthrough Pakistani film Khuda Kay Liye and is currently Pakistan’s highest-paid actor, will remain with us even beyond the show — the looker with the killer smile stars opposite Sonam Kapoor in the remake of Khoobsurat and has just signed a Yash Raj film.

Acting as the perfect foil to Fawad’s Zaroon is Sanam Saeed who plays Kashaf. Looking like a younger version of Hina Rabbani Khar, Sanam brings Kashaf alive: the emancipated and educated young Pakistani, who, however, has to contend with the prejudices that still plague the society she lives in: chauvinism to discrimination against women. Kashaf is real enough to be flawed: more often than not, she exasperates the viewer with her cold and unreasonable behaviour towards Zaroon.

The side players, each well cast, contribute to making Zindagi Gulzar Hai an interesting watch, the most impactful being Mehreen Raheel as Asmara and Javed Shaikh — who played Shah Rukh Khan’s dad in Om Shanti Om — as Zaroon’s liberal dad Junaid.

What works best about Zindagi Gulzar Hai: It airs everyday, Monday to Sunday. Also, just 26 episodes at its disposal means that every episode packs in enough drama, action and romance to make you look forward to the next day.

Case in point: at last count, Balika Vadhu was touching 1,700 episodes!

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