Last week I commented on the pace being too slow – but boy oh boy did the narrative pick up speed today! As if making up for the inaction in the previous episode, Soha and Sultan went from being barely friends to almost nikah-o-fied; Anjuman went from trying to convince her parents, to accept Faraz, to eloping; from being completely oblivious to the going-ons around her, Sobia confronted Farrukh, questioning if he’d said anything to Soha; Inayat went from talking about nazranas to stealing Bilqees’ necklace to finance his offering for his beloved Deedar; Bilqees went from praising herself for being a good mother, who had raised her children well and knew them inside out, to lamenting about Anjuman’s thoughtless actions and how they would affect her standing in the community; and, last but not the least, Hassan got married – phew!
Even as so much happened, the pacing was just perfect. I never felt rushed or lost; rather, I savored every minute of the episode – excellent storytelling by Faiza Iftikhar and Adnan Ahmed.
For me, the highlight today was the Soha-Sultan track. I appreciate the way Soha is shown as an empowered young woman. Even though she’s an orphan, this girl is no run of the mill bechari bin maa baap ki bacchi. She can stand up for her self-respect and is not afraid to speak up in her defense. When Farrukh makes his move on her, she is not one to waste time worrying about the random duniya-waley. Rather, she shocks Sultan by calmly accepting his proposal, and later opens up and honestly discusses her dilemma with Hassan’s family. What I absolutely loved here was that Hassan and his family pay heed to her concerns and without dispensing the usual, you must be mistaken, he’s your brother-in-law, he’s like your father, he bears no ill-will towards you, etc, they believe Soha and try to convince Sobia into accepting Sultan’s proposal. How refreshing!
An unexpected development in this episode was Anjuman’s running away in the middle of the night. Faraz’s reaction, as he opened the door to her was absolutely classic. It’s one thing to talk about love and marriage and elopements in the abstract, and a whole other thing when the girl in question just ups and leaves her parents’ house and shows up unannounced on your doorstep. Can’t wait to see how this track pans out next week.
In terms of acting, all, whether they have big or small roles, are leaving their mark. Syra Yousuf is superb as the spirited Soha – I can hardly wait to see her go head to head with Bilqees. Fawad Jalal has made Hassan into such a memorable character. Shazia Afgan and Saleem Shaikh are perfectly matched as the dysfunctional sister and brother-in-law couple. Finally, Khalid Ahmed was hilarious today as he calmly peeled vegetables while listening to his wife’s rants and raves against her children and when he is able to get in a word edgewise, he impassively reminded Bilqees of her own elopement – wow! the man has guts!!
Written by SZ~ [email protected]
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