Ek zamanay ki baat hai jab ek chottay say jazeeray par bahut makhluq rehtay thay. Unhi kay saath duniya ka har ehsaas: Khushi, Ghum, Ilm, Mohabbat aur bhi kai saaray ehsaas wahan rehtay thay. Ek din khabar aayee kay jazeeray doobnay wala hai aur sab ehsaason nai jor-shor say jaanay ki taiyari kar li siwaye Mohabbat.
Mohabbat nay bada israar kiye ki woh akhari minute tak jazeeray kay saath rahe gi.
Kuch dinoo baad, jab jazeera doobnay hi wala tha, Mohabbat nay soocha ki woh aab madad maang lay. Tab usnay ek baday say jahaz mein Daulat ko jatay dekha aur kaha: “Daulat, mujhe apnay saath lay chalo?” Daulat nay jawab diya: “Nahi, meray jahaz mein sona, chaandi, aur bhi kai tarhan ka khazana hai. Tumharay liye koi jagah nahi.”
Tab Mohabbat nay Ghuroor ko ek aali- shaan jahaz mein jatay dekha aur phir say kaha “Ghuroor, meri madad karo!” Ghuroor nay kaha: “Mein tumhari madad nahi kar sakta tum bheegi-bhaagi meray khoobsurat jahaz ka satyanaas kar do gi.”
Aaisa kai bar hua. Jab Ghum pass say guzara to jawab mila: “Mujhe akelay rehnay do”, jab Khushi pass say guzari to apnay deewanaypan mein usnay Mohabbat ki awaaz bhi nahi suni.
Tab aachanak, ek boozurg ki awaaz aayee: “Idhar aao, Mohabbat, mein tumhe aapnay saath lay chalata hoon.” Mohabbat khushi say jhoom uthi aur apni khushi mein boozurg ka naam poochna bhool gayee. Jahaz kay kinaray pohonchtay hi boozurg chala gaya. Shukarguzaar Mohabbat nay ek aur boozurg, Ilm, say poocha ki mujhe bachnay walay ka naam kya hai.
Ilm nay kha: “Uska naam hai Waqt.”
“Waqt?” Mohabbat nay kaha, “Lekin Waqt nay meri madad kyun kari?”
Ilm nay muskura kar kaha: “Waqt say behtar Mohabbat ko kaun pehchan sakta hai.”
They say all stories have a beginning and an end. Is it any coincidence then ki har mohabbat ki shurwat hoti hai aur “the end” bhi.
When I first started watching BILU I thought it was a the same old journey of a girl who becomes a woman after she’s married to a much older man. Boy was I wrong! Our girl happened to remain exactly that, a girl, our boy on the other hand did become a man. Alas, too little, too late.
From the moment Dania ran over Boy Wonder, I knew their paths were star-crossed, perhaps, one more than the other. To say that there were obstacles on this road would be an understatement. From Amir’s infidelity, to Mehvish’s swift departure, Beenish’s test of love, Zain’s daaghabaazi (let’s hope that’s the only baazi in this picture!), and Seherish’s little game all thrown in a large stockpot with Babaji’s, Kutta’s, detectives, tarkhi buddhas, and a very trusted ADC aka Qutub-u-din, Bunty I Love You was certainly not short on twists or rather steep turns!
Within this game of obsession and double-cross, Patel was my one source of introspection. Like a haunting spectre (quite literally too!) week after week he had me coming back for more of his poetic words of wisdom. From his anguished Dania “To phir tum sisak, sisak kar maar jao gi” to the rather profound “Mohabbat fitratan azaad hoti hai“, his words, right from the beginning of this series were what had me hooked!
In all honesty, I’d given up on BILU after episode ten solely because I couldn’t relate with Dania’s obsession (Allah’Talah ka shukar hai) but the complete 360-degree turn that the writer (Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar) and director (Siraj-ul-Haq) gave me after Beenish’s zahar kha lain tactic caught me completely off-guard, and in a good way!
Endings they say give us the ability to retrospect. Therefore, in retrospect, I much rather sit through the rather mediocre middle few episodes than have changed the course of events.
At this juncture, I’m not craving for more nor am I left with thousands of unanswered questions, in fact, I am happy at a timely end and more importantly how almost every major plot line was neatly tied together without a loose end in sight. We know Beenish is happily married and is living her ever after (at least someone is!), Seherish is engaged and pushes Bunty in the right direction, Zain is enjoying his moolah, Mehvish is probably doing more of the same, and Amir, well, he’s finally been forgotten if not forgiven.
Then, why I am a tad bit sad?
Every sign in this episode pointed to a less than happy ending but I never ever thought it was going to be Boy Wonder! From Qutub’s foreboding “Dinner par miltay hain” to Dania clutching a dibbiya full of poison the scene was set for a tragic conclusion. I won’t go into details solely because I want you to enjoy the episode and come to your own conclusions, but I’ll definitely share mine with you.
Yet another googly! In a series that’s thrown one surprise after another is it any wonder that it goes out with a bang!? And most things about BILU were bang-worthy. The writing, for instance, was simply stellar simultaneously deep and eloquent. Patel’s dialogues will live with me for longer than I hoped they would.
Yet, writing alone cannot make a good series and I was more than satisfied with the actors. Saba Qamar, Abid Ali, and Afzar Rehman were flawless in their roles. Interestingly, in this episode I saw Bunty coming into his own. He didn’t look odd coupled with Dania, I guess, love does have that effect! Actors playing Qutub and Abdul Samad did justice to their respective roles as well. Not once was I left stranded between acting and writing, as has been happening of late.
Then, there’s the music. There were episodes where I wished they would have steered towards silence, yet, even then both the OST and the background score were haunting and left me with a sense of loss and longing, exactly what they were meant to do. Need I say they were well-used too!
Finally, BILU was the first drama I reviewed from start to finish for DramaPakistani. In the process, I’ve made many mistakes and I’ve learnt a lot. A quick browse from the first review through to the more recent ones will show how much I’ve evolved and for the better might I add. This journey would not have been the same without all of you – readers, commentators, my fellow reviewers (shout out to MM, Sadaf, and Kanwal!), and most importantly Faraz. Thank you for the opportunity!
I began with the story of Love and Time in the hopes of stressing that BILU is not a happily ever after, it was never meant to be, rather it’s a tale of the here and now.
As I conclude, I’m reminded that exactly thirteen weeks ago I said “Love always betrays” and indeed it does.
Till we meet again!
This is RB signing off. (Tweet me!)
