This week’s episode continued to build on the momentum generated by last week’s fabulous start. Miserable though he was, Taka nonetheless kept his promise to “ladoo.” He sat for his first paper and continued with preparations for the others. I do hope for his sake that the poor guy clears his papers; his wife is not the sort to suffer losers easily. Faraz returned from Dubai and had to immediately deal with an infuriated Naani. I wonder how long before she calms down and seriously considers Bhanji’s proposal. Annie, with her interest in filmmaking, is going to assist Faraz with his latest movie. Being the beautiful, extroverted, self-assured girl that she is, Annie has not only managed to tick Laila off, but also piqued Saima Chaudhry’s interest, who has landed in Karachi especially to meet this latest arrival in the family. And, Sila receives a job offer from an old friend. It remains to be seen if the jobless Azar can continue to be cheerful and not feel threatened by the prospect of seeing his wife work, while he sits at home and takes care of the baby. Phew! An action packed episode indeed!
While the Baraat franchise is often easily dismissed as a frivolous comedy, or described as a shaadi based drama, or remembered solely for Saima Chaudhry’s antics, I have to say that while it certainly is all that, it is also a bit more than that. There are so many issues being addressed in the guise of comedy. For instance, the whole scenario about Taka and his fake degree and then Sukhi reasoning with him and forcing him to sit for the degree exam, is a very well-done commentary on our socio-political set-up. Similarly the issue of Bhanji’s proposal to Naani is a very poignant look at our society. Here’s an elderly widower, with all the riches in the world, but his children are all grown now and living their own lives and he is lonely. Given this scenario, it is perfectly okay for him to propose marriage to a woman close to his age. The open-mindedness with which the family accepts and welcomes this proposal is indeed refreshing. After all, why shouldn’t Naani have a second shot at a happy married life; she has fulfilled all her maternal obligations, and would not be hurting anybody.
Moreover, instead of seeing the typical TV version of family politics being played out, we see the loving manner in which these two admittedly crazy clans operate. An orphaned Azar was brought up by his aunt and uncle, and rather than plotting against him or being nasty towards him, they love him like their own child. Now that Azar is jobless, we don’t see anybody being sarcastic about it or making him feel bad about it. Similarly every new arrival is welcomed with open arms. Apart from a few humorous references, there are no real judgments made about education, social status etc. Subtly addressed as these issues are, there is indeed a lot to learn from these mad-hatter baraatis.
Even though this serial is a brilliant showcase for Bushra Ansari and Samina Ahmed’s acting talents, other cast members cannot be easily overlooked. Ahsan Khan, Alishba Yusuf, Uroosa Siddiqui, Ali Safina, Navin Waqar, Shehryar Zaidi, Saba Hameed, Manzoor Qureshi, Adeel Siddiqui, all shine in their roles. Great job once again by Marina Khan and Nadeem Baig in keeping the narrative moving smoothly, not letting the starry lineup overwhelm the storyline, and most of all for bringing us a clean comedy, with no double entendres or cheap references. Keep it up guys!
Written by SZ~ [email protected]
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