Episode 2 picks off a little further than I expected. After Patel’s rather predictable demise, I had at least hoped they would give him some hospital screen time trying to save his life but alas no such luck. We open admist a qabaristan with Dania and Chauhan (the creepy lawyer) along with an unidentified old man praying for the departed soul. On a side note, every time I see desi gulabs I am reminded of home, I don’t know why. I guess somethings have a particular memory association, for me desi gulab is home: my nani’s garden, gulokand (which I really don’t like!), roohafza, and dargahs. So the little touch with the wind blown flowers was cinematically perfect! The camera work up to now is very good, the long, sweeping shots of the stairway, the camera placement behind a couch or in front of a window (which gives us the feeling that we’re there in midst of these characters), the darkness that surrounds the study, and the constant play between light and dark, all add to the eerie feeling surrounding our leading lady.
As they leave the qabaristan, the scene is set for a confrontation between Mrs. Patel and her stepchildren, which was not fully explored and, I think, there is more to come on that front. For a woman that’s been married to the now late Patel for twelve years there’s no love lost between her and the other family members. Aisi kya bast hai? Although we did get to see more of the creepy lawyer. Now, perhaps, I’m mistaken but decent men don’t gawk at their friends wives let alone proposition them right after the funeral, which is exactly what Chauhan does. Dania is no bholi masoom and gets his overt concern (aap bahut young hai, akayli hain, etc.) in but one glance and entertains herself at his expense. The clincher for me was when Dania says: “Tum bahut khoobsurat ho, bina kahe kehe daiti ho, I’ll kill you.”
As is very clear our heroine is aware of the affect she has on men, which is trope that both the director and the writer consistently reiterate. First with that handsome stranger (hereafter HS) at the party, the men ogling at her, the lawyer propositioning her, and her own transformation after the funeral. The scene where she changes from her black salwar-kameez to the lapis saree (that saree looks amazing on her!) says so much without a single dialogue. There is no doubt this is a confident girl who’s not going to be packaged into a ghra-ghrasti kind of mould. To top things off as she abandons her kaffan, she keeps her parents waiting and packs them off in a taxi (air-conditioned no less!). Obviously she’s alone in this world. There’s no one to look out for her and she resorts to her strengths to get what she needs, so can one really blame her? A fickle fiancé, greedy parents, a kind but physically/emotionally removed husband (I hope for her sake he was physically removed!) all make for one complex character. This outwardly simple change in clothing is also a signifier of other important changes in her life, a few that we’ll see before the end of this review.
How does she celebrate her newfound freedom? By driving away in gay abandon of course with an accident involved too! As Dania makes her way to a celebratory dinner à la lonesome she once again encounters our mystery man. Again, there is more to come of this interaction or so I think. Otherwise why are we seeing him again and again? Who do you think he is? One thing that surprised me was why is it that when a woman goes to a hotel by herself she’s automatically assumed to be meeting someone as in the interaction between these two: “Yahan kissi say mil nay aayee hain?” but our leading lady’s not taking any of it and retorts right back: “Nazarain zara upar say neeche ki jeeye.” Fazool sawal ka fazool jawab. Again, the camera work right from Dania’s motorway excursion to Chauhan’s entry into the scene is flawless particularly as she makes he way from the car, bumps into HS, and walks into the lobby (Fig. 1 & 2).
If there was a highlight in this episode it was Chauhan’s wife! Didi, baji, or the more emotionless sista, call her what you may, she’s a girl after my own heart. Chaunhan creepiness doesn’t end at propositioning Mrs. Patel, he wines and dines young girls (who happen to be aware of his married status) all under the pretext of meetings in his chambers, last I checked don’t judges have chambers and not lawyers? Eitherway Chauhan is about to get his just desserts and oh does he. His wife has one powerful thappad, so strong that he falls on the sofa with impact, fortunately for him Mrs. Patel calls because of her accident involving Bunty (Noman Hassan). I hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of Chauhan’s leopard-print nightie wearing wife (Fig.3). She was simply amazing!
The following scene set in the hospital is well shot and plays off reasonably well with the rest of the episode. Bunty lies unconscious, Chauhan runs to Dania’s aid, and she spends the evening waiting for the former to gain consciousness. When Bunty finally awakens the next morning all he can think of is his cell phone and he calls Dania a policewoman. This entire sequences was rather slow and I wished they would have momentarily stopped playing the background score (har lamhe, har morh par background music accha nahi lagta). This scene would have worked really well without the music!
The slow pace quickens when we arrive back at the Patel residence. Another beautifully shot scene introduces us to Dania’s bhagaudoo mangater (hereafter BM) aka Amir. The play of light and shadow is perfectly executed in this short scene outside the mansion and continues right to the end. The stairs become the focal point of our conclusion. The camerawork is accompanied by tasteful costumes, good sets (albeit a bit minimalism won’t hurt), and good acting (Saba Qamar does get OTT at times but not here). The image we’re left with at the end is of a confused and scared girl (no, not a woman) framed by a stained glass window as she ascends the stairs. Here the background score worked perfectly! The staircase makes a comeback a second time in this episode, and both those appearances were well shot. I firmly believe that a well placed prop can magnify the emotional quotient of any scene and the director uses this staircase well.
Speaking of direction, it was good, but I hope Siraj ul-Haq will go further and get more realistic portrayals from not just Saba Qamar, Azfar Rehman, and Noman Hassan but also from the supporting characters like Qutub (the butler) or Bunty’s father. Cinematography and editing were pretty good as everything flowed with minimum interruption. All in all a good episode. As I conclude I can’t help but repeat Dania’s words: “Jis par aap aakhein baand kar kay aitbar karo gay woh hameeshan apni aankhein khuli raakhay ga.” Words of wisdom? I’ll let you decide.
Until next time, shabba khair and Rab Rakha!
RB (Tweet me!)
