Farar is a Pakistani drama streaming television series directed by Mehreen Jabbar, written by Rida Bilal, and based on Jabbar's 1997 eponymous telefilm. It stars Sarwat Gilani, Maha Hasan and Mariam Saleem as the leads. It began to stream on the platform Begin from 21 March 2026.
Sabrina, a widowed salon owner, Natasha, an aspiring athlete, and Mariam, an aspiring actor who struggles with body image issues are friends who navigate their lives by struggle to lead their respective lives in the city of Karachi.
It was reported in 2022 that director Mehreen Jabbar would revive her 1997 telefilm Farar as a web-series, and Sarwat Gilani, Maha Hasan and Mariam Saleem would star as the leads, and the series will be premiered on ZEE5. The principal photography for the series commenced in Karachi in mid 2021 before finishing in October.
Originally produced by the network of Zindagi, the web-series marked the first collaboration of Applause Entertainment and the network, which aimed to create the South Asian content, as reported by Variety.
Writer Rida Bilal told to Arab News that the series has a same premise as of the telefilm but has a different story, and further revealed that the series is about "modern life, especially the life in Karachi [and] our struggles as modern, working women. The dual lives we sometimes live"
Farar had its wolrd premier at the 14th Chicago South Asian Film Festival on September 23, 2023. The first episode of the series was also screened at the London Pakistani Film Festival in on October 2, 2024. The series was then screened at the DC South Asian Film Festival on December 3, where it was the only web series to be screened in the drama category.
In a positive review of the series, Maheen Sabeeh of The News International praised the realistic portrayal of women's experiences, subtle storytelling, and restraint in depicting emotional moments, performances by the cast, particularly Sarwat Gilani, Zahid Ahmed, and Maha Hasan, and notes that the series' technical aspects, such as cinematography and music, effectively contribute to its haunting and atmospheric tone.