Have you ever had a friend who says falls in to bad company? Her behavior becomes rude and erratic, she misses events, she brushes you off with lame excuses and when she does turn up her behavior is abnormal and rude. There comes a point when you don’t call her anymore. You look the other way when you see her walking down the street but the mention of her name makes your ears prick up no matter how badly you want to pretend that you just don’t care… Then you meet your friend and an embarrassed silence follows in which you think of all the bad things that happened but she smiles and suddenly you remember what good times you once shared… Yes I am talking about Ashk . Ashk has that rare qualification of going through at least three reviewers and here I am the fourth. Except, this is less of a review and more of an ‘arzi “for everyone to give our favorite enfant terrible another chance, because it has actually been improving. if we could tear it apart when it was a hot mess we can certainly give it a hand up now it’s coming out of Rehab.

1.  Zaibu has finally shut up..  Poor Zaibu has been able to elicit little or no sympathy from the audience.We were all willing to fight and die for Khirad and Durre Shehwar but Zaibu’s character has not been allowed dignity, patience or even good sense.She is a motherless girl brought up by the likes of Mehru (fasad un nisa to borrow a term) and Ajo the servant whose sage advice on Men is Thoodey pey rakna….What she did to “revenge ‘ herself on Rohail is not right or good but not so far fetched to the mind of an immature teenager who feels she has been basically shamed in front of her entire family. Episode 19 was when Zaibu’s character finally realizes perhaps being quiet and patient might be a better option. Much as I wish she would explain the reasons behind her behavior to Rohail, this new quiet Ziabu is actually more attractive. The result being Rohail ,who was threatening to send her body back to Pakistan now covers her with a quilt while he thinks she is sleeping.
2.  Rohail and his Mother. It was actually quite nice to see a normal human relationship in this maelstrom of emotions that is Ashk. The interaction between Seemi Raheel and Fawad Khan was sweet and you really begin to understand Rohail’s character too .Raised by his widowed mother in a foreign country, he really does not understand how his actions may have hurt Zaibu and why he was even willing to marry Aunty Mehru to please her.
3. Less, Much less of the unbearable Mehru /Bilal -Ajo/Dinga track. I have nothing against their roles which are very necessary to the story. It’s just that it seemed as if they had become the story instead of complimenting it. I have yet to meet servants with such stature in the household as Dinga and Ajo, again this explains Zaibu’s  tarbiyat.
4. The story has actually progressed, we are no longer wandering around the streets of Istanbul like headless chickens but going purposely in and out of actual rooms and reasonably well lit sets in which people have normal conversations.Much as we all enjoyed the truly beautiful sight of an angry Rohail dragging Zaibu through the streets of Istanbul with Madiha looking on aghast…I think they have moved on to real human interactions.
5. Fawad Khan
6. The story is now actually moving at a brisk compelling pace and I am actually excited about what might happen next
7.  Madiha, who I think might be one sandwich short of a picnic. Here is a modern ,independent young woman who doesn’t give a hoot about what society expects from her suddenly turning into an Umera Ahmed Heroine. Shamed by Zaibu and Bedi, she keeps asking sad rhetorical questions about her status in life. The viewer is tempted to reply but held back by a TV screen and good manners.From the earlier episodes I gather she is not a wall flower yet she allows Rohail to abandon her every and any time he sees Zaibu and /or his mother. I think Mehreen Raheel has done a good job with a quite honestly schizophrenic character bringing it some nuance that was. Hardly there…
8.  I actually want to know what happens to Rohail and Zaibu. Despite all the flaws of this serial. Fawad Khan and Neelam actually do work well together.
9.  Last but not least, I have to accept that not everyone lives a conservative lifestyle or is good and wise as they should be. Yes Rohail drinks alcohol, sadly some Muslim men do. Yes he is in a relationship with Madiha that makes my puritan scream each time it appears on screen but some people do that. He is not meant to be an ideal character like dare I say Asher, he is just meant to be A character.

Written by Sadaf~