Will the real Ramin stand up please ? Each episode ,sometimes (each scene) I see a different personality for this character . Last week she was Ms Confidence in a sleeveless sari and long silky hair ,inspecting bedrooms and sleeping arrangements with her rapist brother in law and now we are back to Ramin the victim ,shaking like a leaf when her other innocent brother in law Razi asks her to make a cup of tea . Similarly her impassive mother is mostly well …impassive in front of the man who violently raped her daughter. It is almost as if there are two scripts , one which makes sense and is actually the reason most people are watching while the other is set of forced situations and probabilities to fill stretch this whole story out. I am forced to ask the question would this have been better as a telefilm ? For some reason Yasir Nawaz seems to be missing in action every other episode: yes the editing is slick, the action moves fast and overall the serial makes for compelling viewing but the integrity of the characters seems uneven.
In episode 6 we see a ridiculously contrived situation in which Numair is pawing Ramin while she whispers no no no in a soft voice and finally slaps him . Then Ramin’s awful mother actually asks her rapist son in law what he will do when she leaves .. I suppose we should all be grateful he did not go into any details and merely dismissed her as the idiot she is . Every episode I ask what is wrong with this woman .. she is like a statue , facial expressions barely register on her face and wonders around as if she is in another world. Thank fully the , consistently good acting from Jibran Syed , Feroz Malik/Khan ( someone tell me his last name ) and everyone else is keeping this thing going . I have to put in a special word for whoever are playing Nusrat Appi and Razi Bhai ,since they bring a much needed balance and normalcy to each episode . It is nice to see a caring sister in law in the form of Nusrat Appi , who warns her foolish younger brother not to accept Numair’s gifts so easily .
Numair is a smart guy and the reason he has gotten away with so much for so long is that he is a good judge of human nature . He knows how to stoke his wife’s ego : ” such poocho tho tumhari waja sey kar raha hoon” , He has Ramin convinced no one will believe her over him and keeps lavishing gifts on his needy , hero worshiping cousin Azar . This week there were more gifts , a car , a house allowance and most important of all: a job. Numair has put Azar under his thumb , and now Azar even criticsises Ramin for not responding warmly to Numair’s suggestions . Nusrat Appi and Razi bhai are off for a couple of days and Ramin’s idiot mother has been ..ahem held back by a court case on their house … The scene is set for Numair’s so called revenge for the slap … I am guessing Numair will contrive a some cheap situation where Ramin will look as if she is coming on to him. However it looks difficult asnce both Nusrat Appi , Razi Bhai and Thaee have noticed that something is definately wrong with both mother and daughter.
Episode 7 was a lot better than episode 6 and I can only hope episode 8 is not a filler . As a thriller this is quite a good serial , I just wish it wouldn’t stretch reality to breaking point. They say reality is stranger than fiction but fiction still needs to be plausible .. that is what makes a thought provoking and ultimately memorable serial . Samira Fazal is a formidable scriptwriter but I think she needs to consider another director next time .
written by Sadaf
