The popularity of the Pakistani drama Laag can be measured by an extraordinary incident when a woman slapped actor Nayyar Ejaz (who played the character Kaaley Daas) at an airport. She confessed that she had carried the fear created by his powerful performance for over 20 years.
In the drama, Kaaley Daas suspects Sheetal (played by Nirma) of being in love with someone else. As he shaves while humming the song, “Kaun hai jo sapnon mein aaya, Sheetal…” his mood suddenly darkens, and in a fit of rage, he attacks her with a blade.
- Drama Name: Laag (meaning Love/Attachment)
- Telecast Period: 1998-2000
- Episodes: 27
- Writer/Director/Lead Actor: Rauf Khalid
- Cast: Rauf Khalid, Zeba Bakhtiar, Nadia Khan, Sohail Asghar, Nayyar Ejaz, Nirma, Rashid Mahmood, Azra Aftab, and others
I first watched this drama during my childhood in Balakot, where only a few homes owned television sets. On the days Laag aired, people from the neighborhood would gather to watch what they called “the Kailash drama.”
The character of Kailash, known for his distinct hairstyle, became iconic. In the storyline, Kailash loses his siblings to Kaku Lala’s gang and is forced to flee. He ends up being raised by an Indian family in occupied Kashmir, who give him the name Kailash instead of his birth name, Hareera. However, as he grows older, flashes of his past haunt him, leading him on a journey to find his mother. Along the way, he encounters love, conspiracies, misunderstandings, corrupt police officers, and self-centered individuals willing to sell out for personal gain. (I won’t spoil the story for those who haven’t seen it!)
Rarely do dramas have more than a couple of memorable characters, but Laag introduced a range of unforgettable figures—Kaku Lala, Safia, Kailash, Sheetal, and Kaaley Daas—who became part of everyday conversation in homes and neighborhoods.
I vividly remember the sense of sadness when the final episode was announced. The house was bustling with visiting cousins and Eid preparations, but when the show ended, it felt as though we had lost something dear. Those of us watching together in our grandmother’s house dealt with our emotions by starting a cricket match outside, creating makeshift field positions to distract ourselves from the sadness.
Rauf Khalid remains one of my favorite personalities in Pakistani television history. Not only was he a talented writer and stylish actor, but he also directed groundbreaking projects like the movie Laaj. An educated and multi-talented artist, Khalid’s potential seemed limitless. Unfortunately, he passed away in a tragic accident in 2011.
Like John Keats in English literature, Nazia Hassan in music, and Shiv Kumar Batalvi in Punjabi poetry, Rauf Khalid was an artist who left an indelible mark in a short span of time. If he had lived longer, who knows what further brilliance he could have achieved?
What are your memories of Laag? How did this unforgettable drama resonate with you?
