A girl is being taken in an ambulance, gasping for breath, in pain, with froth coming out of her mouth; the girl most likely is Pakeeza. The story then starts with a boy meets girl in college, they are in love and the girl belongs to a family that does not “love marriage.” Sounds cliché? Well, there is more to the story. Sami Khan is playing Hamza who is from a rich family and is in love with Pakeeza who is played by Sonya Hussyn. Pakeeza is a happy go lucky girl, who any girl can identify with, kind of a girl next door. She has an older sister, Kinza, performed very well by Nadia Khan who is making her re-debut after almost a decade to acting. She was apparently engaged once by her choice, and he fiancé ditched her after 4 years, which did not settle well with her mother Saba Hameed who is a widow and is therefore naturally concerned about her daughters’ marriage, respect and dignity. Then there is “school friends,” one of whom is Ramsha who is a mutual friend of Hamza and Pakeeza and is interested in Hamza despite being aware that Hamza has no such intentions. This was the prelude of the story.
The first two episodes set the story for the upcoming dramatic scenes. The first scene of the drama took my breath away. It was the intensity of the scene and the way it was filmed that made it so real that I felt for Pakeeza’s character right away. My heart was beating fast while I anticipated the upcoming scenes that were shown in the promo. I had a lump in my throat when Hamza brought Pakeeza to the hospital and was waiting on her, worried for her, and wanted to see her just once. The love shown between Hamza and Pakeeza was cute, realistic and well performed by both Sami Khan and Sonya Hussyn. It was refreshing to see Hamza visit Pakeeza’s mother and clear his stance on their relationship, and made her understand that he is serious about marrying Pakeeza. It was very sweet the way Hamza mentioned that he has never once tried to take advantage of Pakeeza since they have known each other.
This episode also made it apparent that a little misunderstanding between two people can create an enormous problem, from which sometimes it might be difficult to come out. It started with a classmate committing suicide that led to an argument about “trust issues” that prompted Pakeeza to take the step of taking inappropriate pictures of herself on her phone (I am assuming) and presenting to Hamza to “prove” that she trusts him. That phone, due to a mishap, went into the hands of the wrong people, and the pictures will probably be uploaded on a social website for the entire world to see. How Hamza must have been wishing that he had never got into an argument with Pakeeza; that he had not been persistent about asking about whether she trusts him or not? Wasn’t it proof enough that she was with him for the last four years for Hamza? That she covers her head when outside, comes from a conservative family, yet hangs out with him on his bike without thinking who might see her? Actions speak louder than words, and Pakeeza’s actions clearly showed that she entrusted herself with Hamza and did not need any other validation. If he had not made a mountain out of a molehill, all of this would have never happened.
Sami Khan has performed his role brilliantly and all of his scenes with Sonya were flawless and cute to boot! This is my first serial of Sonya Hussyn that I am watching, and she was amazing as well. Nadia Khan was good as well in her role as the older sister, and Saba Hameed’s performance as the mother worried about her daughters was appropriate and she brought a vulnerability to her character despite being “strict.” Next episodes will give more insight into Hamza’s household and the traumatic aftermath of Pakeeza’s one mistake; and my heart is beating way too fast, for Pakeeza’s sake!
