Sorry for the late review, but life happens and I watched it late.
This week Saman’s character came clearly into focus cutting a sharp contrast against her sister Saba’s personality. Although Saba and Saman are not polar opposites there is a huge gap between them in terms of maturity, patience and understanding. Only children are often portrayed as spoiled and willful, but there is the flip side, that same isolation can make them very focused, self-motivated and, self-reliant and like Saman.
Saman’s personality is a classic figure in literature, the one who embodies all the feminine virtues the heroine wishes she possessed. I cannot help but be reminded of the long suffering Jane Fairfax in Emma or Cousin Mellie in Gone With The Wind and even Jane Bennet from pride &Prejudice ; all whom seemed to be a silent reproach to their story’s strong-willed more rebellious heroines . It’s just a shame that at times Armeena Rana seems a little lifeless in her delivery. In this episode she had plenty of screen time and to be fair where she was good, like the father – daughter scene or all her scenes with Saba but there was absolutely no spark between her an Irtiza and it almost seemed as if she swallowed half her dialogues whenever he was in the vicinity. Armeena is not the most animated of actresses but she was so much better than this in Janaan; so either Humayoon Saeed is just that overwhelming ( remember Fawad and Sheheryaar Munawer ?), or maybe she was on a learning curve as this serial is good two years old .
The episode belonged to Mahirah Khan as Saba and this is where the other side of those literary allusions comes into play again. Emma, Elizabeth Bennet and Scarlet were all masterpieces in feminine psychology and so is this portrayal of Saba. Farhat Ishtiaq has written some wonderful scenes showing the ebb and flow of this one woman’s feelings so perfectly and the director has translated them so intimately that audience cannot help being on her side. Saba is so wrong to blame her newly orphaned sister, so wrong to be jealous. Like any normal human being she does succumb to her feelings, at times she fights it off, sometimes she rationalizes it but her helplessness against her own feelings is something we can all recognize and empathize with.
I think the best scenes were again of the sister’s reconciling but the very best was Irtiza manaoing Saba after the badminton game. They know each other so well, there is such a sweetness and innocence to their relationship that you cannot help but love them both. In house romances can seem a bit creepy in this day and age but it is because Irtiza doesn’t see Saba in that way, that makes this whole story work. Humayoon and Mahira have the most amazing chemistry in these scenes. I am guessing that the scenes in Pakistan are from director Haissem Hussain and they work perfectly, I could almost taste the feelings of anger and jealousy that Saba felt, her frustration and anger slowly internalizing into a welling bubble of hate. Hussain is well known for his large casts and broad canvasses but the way he has captured this one characters deepest feelings was very powerful. Mahira Khan as Saba is giving audiences yet more proof of what a fabulous actress she is, as usual, jumping into her role without judgment or hesitation.
Again I am guessing from the lighting, the Junaid Khan scenes were director Shehzad Kashmiri’s (or Momina Duraid?). So we now have two new characters in the shape of Safeer and his Indian girlfriend Sonia. I felt bad for Sonia; she is stuck between a rock and a hard place because she fell in love with a person of a different religion. Safeer should have the guts to stand up for Sonia to his parents and the world or let her go, instead sab ko rullay ga , hurting everyone in the process. Junaid Khan was suitably conflicted and is it me or did he look different from his usual scowling self?
For me this was an enthralling episode, and despite knowing the story I tune in slavishly each week. I apologize if I mixed up directors or credited the wrong person.
written by Sadaf
