Bari Apa is one of those very few plays on air nowadays that keep you glued to the TV screen right from the get go, very happening indeed. Zubeida has turned into a very typical, jealous and insecure pehli biwi and she seemed more like a drama queen today with all her rona dhona and silly politics. The jah o jalal that she once had seems to have disappeared but Farman sahib still does not have the courage to go against Zubeida’s will. We saw Zubeida trying every possible trick in the book from emotional blackmail to blaming Neelam of ulterior motives to have her way and she is slowly losing my vote. Savera Nadeem was exceptionally brilliant today just like all the previous episodes and Nauman Ijaz plays the “lover boy” with perfection. Ayesha Khan was also superb all through today’s episode. Neelam decides to stand up for herself but it does not take much to make her back off. I did feel for her today for the first time because the poor girl does not have an ounce of courage and she knows only too well that Farman may not even think twice before leaving her if she gives him a tough time.
Farman realizes that he should be giving Neelam more attention and time but that is not going to happen without Zubeida’s approval. When will Neelam ever see Farman for what he is; a coward man who can never take a stand for her. Zubeida kicks Farman out of the room and he feels like an embarrassed toddler. I was hoping that Neelam would be able to make Farman stay in the room at least but I guess that is not happening anytime soon. Until now I have always liked Zubeida’s character despite of all her arrogance and selfishness but all that she did today really did not seem like Zubeida at all but it seemed like something that any typical woman would do in order to get her husband’s attention. Zubeida is acting more like a controlling mother at this point than a wife and Farman sahib is the perfect “mama’s boy” who can be manipulated easily.
Sharmeen’s opinion about Eesa changes when he comes to ‘rescue’ her but her mother tries her best to convince her that Eesa’s feelings for her are not genuine. Zubeida obviously does not care about anyone’s happiness and only wants things her way. People like that can never be happy or satisfied with life because you cannot possibly control everyone and everything in your life. I do not live in Karachi so I have absolutely no idea but I always wonder if all the couples go to the sea view for “outings” since that is where all the couples end up in our plays.
The next episode promises more drama and I have to say that I am enjoying every minute of this play. The twist and turns come at the right time, the story is very engaging and the direction is perfect. It is also interesting how all the different characters and tracks are linked to each other. Today’s dialogue of the day had to be the one when Farman tells Zubeida “apna dil nikal ke ap ke qadmo mei daal du”, when just a few minutes back he was telling Neelam how he was looking forward to happier times with her once Zubeida gets a little less insecure! Every character in this play is one in a million. I am eagerly looking forward to where the story goes from here.
Fatima Awan.
