Sorry for the late review. I had been delaying it cause frankly speaking there wasn’t much going on after the 31st episode. So I decided to wait and before I knew it, the last episode went on air. I will try to cover all the major developments in these 5 episodes, hope I don’t miss much.
First thing that I wish someone could clear once and for all, is that if one party ( girl or guy ) isn’t willing to get married but for some reason they are convinced into saying ” qabool hai ” at the time of the nikkah, with the notion that the nikkah won’t be completed cause the other party will say no…is such a nikkah Jaiz ? Because Ifra only said yes, thinking that Ashraf will say no and therefore she will not be married to him, so it makes me wonder, was this marriage legit ?
I was also wondering what if Ifra and Ashraf had been married in the first place, instead of marrying Ifra first to Hammad, then killing him and then tricking her into marrying Ashraf; what if the writer had come up with some other twist as a result of which Ifra’s parents had accepted Ashraf’s proposal in the first place. I was frankly not convinced how and why Ifra accepted her marriage ( within a few minutes of Ashraf getting shot ) and was then praying for his life. Wouldn’t it be better if they had been married all along and now, after seeing so much improvement in his behavior, she was finally convinced of his love for her ? The flashbacks at this point didn’t make much sense. Ifra was remembering the times Ashraf was harassing her in the streets with his unwanted attention, I think it would have been better if she would have remembered the times he asked for forgiveness, when he was defending her infront of his mother, taking a stand for her. That would have made more sense.
After Hammad’s death, the change in Ashraf’s behavior was remarkable, he became the son and brother his family had always hoped for. The new Ashraf was an amazing person, they changed him just the right amount. He didn’t become cultured and groom overnight, he was still the same person only he was nicer. I loved how considerate he became, thinking of his sisters, his wife and parents, taking care of everyone and not letting anyone down. His relationship with Saira blossomed, she was his lil sister but she also became his teacher :). It was good to see a grown man going back to school, I do however wish his reasons were not to impress his wife but to improve his own qualification.
Ifra’s behavior after her marriage to Ashraf was understandable, she wasn’t given much time to recover after Hammad’s death. She had gone through one traumatic situation after another and then she was married off against her wishes. I did have a problem with her mother’s reaction. She was trying to explain their situation to Ifra, that they didn’t have much choice, Asharf was their only hope but the way she kept blaming Ifra during the hospital scene, that was unnecessary. Why blame her when she had nothing to do with it ?
It was so good to finally see Khadija and Rubab getting married and Saira and Sufiyaan getting along. While in other dramas the young characters donot let go of their heartbreaks so easily and hold grudges for ages, it was refreshing to see a very young Saira, acting sensibly and moving on. The same can be said for Khadija, she accepted the reality and decided to move on with her life.
Whatever happened to Ashraf’s phoppo ? She was sick right before Khadija’s nikkah and then we didn’t hear from her and what happened to Shibly ? Was he arrested or shot dead by Ashraf’s friends ? I still don’t understand why did Ashraf bring Shibly to his house and asked Ifra to shoot him ? What was the logic behind that ? Ifra is no murderer and why kill him infront of so many witnesses ?
It was a good idea to show the brief interviews of the cast at the end and the behind the scenes footage. Their thoughts and experiences about the play and about their co-stars were interesting , I only wish they had interviewed all the major characters and not just a few.
” Bhai ” was a good project, well written and directed, with a talented cast, wonderful performances and yes being shot in the interior city did add to the charm of the story. I particularly loved the bonds that were shared by the the sisters in this drama. They had no secrets, no malicious intents, they loved eachother and only wished to see eachother happy. The star of the show was of course Nauman Ijaz but the supporting cast delivered at every point, the team work made it a success. The last few episodes were a little stretched but other than that, it was a good serial to watch. Hope I covered most of the points :)
