And so it begins. After a rather strong intro we succumb to melodramatic twists of the weird kind. Couldn’t life be simple and we’d just get to watch Dania introducing Bunty to her world one episode at a time. But noooooooo, let’s make it complicated and throw in Handsome Stranger (HS) and Girl in Red (GR). Welcome to the dysfunctional world of Karachi’s elite.
Siraj ul-Haq missed a brilliant opportunity in introducing Bunty to the rich and famous. There are so many different angles the story could have taken that would have developed the plot and characters much better. For instance, he could have had Bunty and Dania out for dinner where they bump into Handsome Stranger or they could have had a huge dinner for their not-so-near-and-dears or better yet he could have introduced Bunty to Surkhab before being dragged to another party with bad music! Waise mujhe uss DJ say to milwa dain zara. Who’s listening to Blue these days?!
Although I must say the sleazy nature of the party worked well with the outdated and somewhat chichora music, which happens to be in-sync with the irada’s of the partiers. From One Love (Blue) to Break Your Heart (Taio Cruz) to Tiesto and finally Jennifer Lopez’s Waiting for Tonight, it seems every man in that room wants to have Dania (all to themselves!) and every woman wants to be her!
This week we know for certain that Dania is a woman in control. From Chauhan telling Mirza: “Aab to yeh bahut akkad kay baat karti hai, Patel nay ussay bahut kuch bata diya hai” to her insistence on answering Bunty’s phone, Lady D isn’t playing this game to lose. From what little we saw of their interaction in this episode it is clear that Dania is the more experienced of the two in almost every aspect (emotional, physical, dare I say sexual).
A moment that reflected this was Bunty’s introduction to the hosts, to Mirza, to Chauhan and his wife (yes, she makes a comeback!). This is my “friend” indeed. Speaking of friends I wonder what company Patel keeps. Mirza with his “zahar ki poodia” and Mrs. Chauhan with the not so subtle raised eyebrows. Seriously, this is a rather one dimensional view of the rich and elite. And why doesn’t HS talk? Why don’t we get to hear him? Oodhar kya baat hai?
What was built up to be a dramatic confrontation between Bunty’s true love and his Madam (side note: who saves numbers as Dania Madam?!) was merely a simple cross connection. I bet you anything they’re saving the theatrics for a mid-season showdown. Bunty’s love interest is just as immature as him and the girl isn’t an impressive actress. She’s pretty and her acting isn’t half bad but the whole mansoom, innocent, bholi look isn’t working for me. J.P., Bunty’s friend, comes with the same mentality as Chauhan and Mirza with “tu to set hai” and “yaar, yeh aunty kay irada sahi nahi lag rage mujhe.”
What caught me off guard was Bunty’s proposal? I didn’t think he’d be so quick in professing his love for GR, but hey aab to paisa hai, gadi hai, makan hai, naukar hain, so why not?!
In terms of camerawork, the two sequences that were shot really well were once again on the staircase. The first as Dania ascends to her room after her workout. The ease with which she climbs those stairs mask the doubts she has about Bunty’s phone call. Second, the crackling chandelier as Dania hears Patel. This scene hits home as Dania is now Patel. Up until now I’ve only noticed Bunty’s transformation but there has been an equal amount of change (if not more) in Dania’s life. She’s become Patel and it is quite evident as she hears him question her motives (ussay mohabbat karna sikha rahee ho?).
The next morning we can feel Dania’s concern. She’s not worried about Bunty in the traditional sense, no, she wants his attention solely for herself and cannot stand any competition. This, I think, is the course the series seems to be taking but we’ll have to wait and watch.
Until then, I’ll leave you with these two screenshots of Mrs. Chauhan and her scandalous gestures!
RB (Tweet me!)
