MUMBAI: Zee TV Middle East’s Parwaaz (meaning ‘to take flight’), the first ever Hindi fiction series produced completely in the UAE in the last decade, got an opening rating of 12.52 amongst all South Asians in UAE, the highest registered by any shows across any channels in 2014. Parwaaz airs at a very competitive time band (Every Sat 2130hrs to 2230hrs) where other Hindi GECs air high profile shows like Big Boss (Colors), Everest (Star Plus) and CID (Sony).  Despite stiff competition, Parwaaz managed to top the charts on the back of a UAE-based storyline that expats living away from their home could relate to.

Parwaaz is the story of 2 young men – Adarsh from India and Sikandar from Pakistan, whose lives intersect in Dubai in the early 90’s when they come here for their dream jobs. However, fate plays a cruel hand when they find that they have been duped by their employment agent back home. Their story of struggle, grit and friendship spans over 20 years – from their humble beginnings of doing odd jobs for survival, to the heights of their success, and the trials and tribulations along the way. Their story spanning 2 decades is being showcased in a series of 13 one-hour episodes.

Pakistani actor Noman Habib who was last seen in the lead role of Pakistani movie Main Hoon Shahid Afridi plays Sikander while Devansa Vasan who has been seen in many cameo roles in Hindi series in India plays Adarsh. The two lead actresses are Priyal Gor from India (last seen in Ram Milaye Jodi on Zee TV) and Suzain Fatima who has acted in many dramas in Pakistan.  In another first in Hindi serials, an Emirati, Adel Farooq too was part of the star cast as Alam, the negative lead. Adel also sung the title-track for Parwaaz. The music played a key role in the promotion and has been played by FM stations in the UAE. 4 versions of the title track was recorded, the OST and lounge version sung by Adel Farooq, the sufi version sung by a local talent Ejaz Ahmed and the lounge version by Krishna Beura.