My Dil: Pakistan has been operating without CNG, bijli and pani, youtube and now cable tv and zindagi definitely is NOT gulzar
My brain: Dil, agar tum nay apni pessimism itni keep up ki naa, tu tumahara heart failure mujhay bhi lay basay gaa… zindagi definitely is NOT gulzar par Coke Kahani to hai na bahiii! Haina?
Yes of course, Coke Kahani to hai! Just like a cotton candy, its light and fluffy, you consume it without thinking twice about it and yet it manages to last on your taste buds for a long long time. Never thought a little comedy show could manage to topple all the big boys airing on TV and succeed in providing quality entertainment in well under 20 minutes. Thank god it aired today :)
Episode summary:
Narrative wise, today’s episode was more of an extension of the last episode. Asfand has decided that he will put Zoya’s plan in action. Maya is coming to get Zoya, and Asfand informs her “go ahead, come and get her but she is not leaving until restaurant renovations are done!” Rayaan is been given the job to pursue different stakeholders to fund the renovation of the resturant. Being Rayaan, he is quiet unsuccessful, until he in a moment of frustration yells at a lady (brilliant cuts by the editor leading to this moment), who tells him that if he could stop shouting, she could probably help him. She looked like she was wearing vanilla coke print and strangely her office had the coke logo… we can guess where this story is moving, and how “coke” will finally play a bigger part then its guest appearances on the dinner table. :)
Highlight of Episode:
My favorite scene today had to be the conversation Asfand and Zoya in the garden: A small glimpse of how once a strong bond of father daughter and how it had been slowly deteriorating due to distances and worries that Asfand has surrounded himself with. The little Persian quip was adorable. The other scene was when Nusrat Appa is asking Zoya’s opinion about botox and Zoya imagines Appa with botox! Nice chirp at sudden increase of botox use in our media industry personalities. Last but not least Beydil vs Maria scenes where Beydil imagines, however this time beeway and bachay and their shoor sharaba. His optimistic face with a geeky smile facing the camera and the line: “Kita khoofnaaq manzar dekha kar gai hai, yeh nahi soochti meri kisi ameer larki kay saath shadi hogi, jooh jahez main doo tayl kay kowain lay kar aaye gi” is brilliantly shot, delivered and edited.
Reflective Scene:
Rayaan “apni job ko lay kar rootay rehte hoo itni naa pasand hai to chord doo na”
Saad: “jis din doosri job mil gain a to choor do ga”
Saad and Rayaan’s conversation about mardangi and letting go of a job one despises reminded me of my boss who stuck a sign below her name tag on the door:
“Get To Work You’re Not Being Paid To Believe In The Power Of Your Dreams”
I have been contemplating leaving my job because like Saad I have no idea why am I doing it and what am I doing there? When I tell people about my job they are enthralled and go wow, itna bara project, itna zabardast kaam and I? I forlornly sit in my office thinking of possible creative ways to leave my job and open my own photography business and attend film school full time!
Easier said than done, Saad is right. Most of us our stuck with jobs and careers that we do not necessarily appreciate or are fond of, but every time I think about leaving my job I think of thousands of people who are struggling to look for work with so much wealth of experience. For people like Rayaan, the coddled generation, it’s easier said than done! Today’s lesson from Coke Kahani at least for me: be thankful for what you have!
Favorite Lines:
The one liner thrown at the viewers are highlights of coke kahani & have me in tears from laughter. Here are some of my favorite ones:
“ghar main bakra pala wa hai humne, jo cologne laga kaar apnay app ko moor samajhnay lagta hai”
“baqi saray chonchalay Amreeka jaa kar pooray karna, sunah hai wahan par to lota bhi nahi hota, mushaqat bharay kamoon main aik kaam aur kaam ho jai gaa”
“larkiyoon SMS karna hoo to tumhari ungliyaan goliyoon ki tarhan chalti hain, par doo ropay ka hisab karna ho to tumharay hathoon ko falij honay lagta hai”
“tum café ki sponsorship kay liye kisi pharmaceutical company main gai?”
“dil main basa kay pyar tumhara love love you karta hai”
“jo shaq jo mujhay tumhari mardangi par tha who haqeqat main badal raha hai”
A Shutout to:
The Coke Kahni team!
We always praise the director, the producers, the actors and the DOP and they rightly deserve so. I watched a behind the scene video of Coke Kahani’s first scene, one of the most memorable scenes from paksitani dramas in recent times and I was thinking back to April, when we had a continuous 7 minute shoot with 5000 people in one spot. The camera rig used weighs at least 30lbs. That doesn’t sound like a lot, till you think about the shot; it’s like running while balancing a 30lb water jar on top of your head for 7 minutes without stopping. Crazy right! So I also want to praise all the people that work on film sets whose work is not necessarily obvious e.g. the lighting crew, the technicians (gaffers), the makeup crew, the setup crew, the camera crew etc. A good production is a wonderful team effort and every single person from Coke Kahani deserves a pat in the back!
Did you guys have any favorite moments or lines from the show today?…do share!
Written by Maria-
P.S. Guys I wanted to share a wonderful article written by Faraz on Cable Operators Strike and the story behind it! It’s worth a read.
