Umr-o-Ayyar is everything I could not have imagined: badly written fanfic and a thrilling display of VFX-laden action unknown to Pakistani films. Invited to the premier on behalf of The Current, I recalled all I had ever known about the character of Umr-o-Ayyar. Having been an avid reader of the legendary series of Dastaan-e-Ameer-i-Hamza and Talism Hoshruba, I was a fan of the conniving, quirky character of Umr-o-Ayyar, a friend and close confidant of the protagonist, Ameer-i-Hamza, but a legend in himself.

The expectations were a little too high. The reality was a bit of a downer. It was a marriage of convenience between the magical world of Harry Potter and the legendary period drama of Ertugrul.

My father, a master in Arabic language and literature, always told me that the name’s correct pronunciation was Ammar-Ayyar and not Umr-o-Ayyar, as per the rules of the Arabic language. Ammar, the protagonist played by Usman Mukhtar, really marked the right box with the name, but unfortunately, that’s about it. His portrayal of the ‘clueless chosen one’ who remained true to character till the end made him look stupid more than likeable.

Just like it was said about Harry Potter that magic still surprised him, Usman embodied the same traits, keeping his quintessential baffled expression intact whether it was his Schrodinger phase or him as an Ayyar. The hero’s entourage, comprised of Ali Kazmi Salman Shaukat and Sanam Saeed, did leave their mark. It was the story that let .