Guest House

About This Drama

Guest House (1991–1995) was one of the most sustained and consistently entertaining comedy series in the history of Pakistani television — a fifty-two-episode run that kept its central premise fresh across four years by the discipline of its writing and the quality of its ensemble. Set in the Welcome Guest House in Islamabad, run by the perpetually flustered Mr. Shameem and his devoted staff, the series derived its comedy from the endless variety of guests who passed through and the complications their arrival inevitably created. Written by Qaiser Farooq, Muhammad Nisar, and Shakir Uzair and directed by Rauf Khalid, the drama achieved the difficult balance between broad accessibility and genuine wit that the best Pakistani comedy has always required. It was known affectionately among young viewers as 'Rambo Wala Drama' — a measure of how completely the series had embedded itself in the domestic viewing culture of the time.