‘Main Manto Nahi Hoon’ kicked off with the first episode last night and already it has generated buzz on social media because of the gripping plot and the fantastic performances delivered by all the actors, especially Sajal Aly.
The drama stars Sajal Aly, Humayun Saeed, Azaan Sami Khan, Asif Raza Mir, Babar Ali and Saba Hameed in titular roles, and airs on Ary Digital every Friday and Saturday.
Sajal and Humayun star as a student-teacher duo in this drama. Aly plays Mehmal, the daughter of a powerful patriarch who aspires to go to university but is forbidden by her mother who wants her to settle down and get married. Mehmal’s only confidant in the family is her phupoo Suraiya, who lost her husband and son in an on-going war with another powerful clan.
For several social media users, the highlight of the episode was how Suraiya phupoo took Mehmal’s side to persuade her father to let her go to university, and silences her mothers objection to this decision.
Surraiyah ate Naseeba in this scene lmao 😭😭😭😭😭 #mainmantonahihoon pic.twitter.com/JMwHcLpkCy
— ف (@binroyeaansu) July 18, 2025
Several users praised Saima Noor’s ability to control a scene even with several A-list actors present.
‘The first episode was all about her,” a user wrote.
sorry, Saima Noor, i wasn’t familiar with your game. the first episode of manto, for me, is all about her. i’m in awe. #mainmantonahihoon pic.twitter.com/u8i5AJKSzC
— ف (@binroyeaansu) July 18, 2025
‘She ate everyone up,” another user wrote.
The first episode of Manto was overall nice. Opening the episode with two families at each other’s throats was a great idea. We see Mian Sahab. The highlight of the episode was Saima Noor for me. She ate everyone up. #MainMantoNahiHoon
— ف (@binroyeaansu) July 18, 2025
Many other users also commended Sajal’s ability to light up a scene and praised her excellent drama choices.
