‘Qabar mein seedha laitne ki practice ho rahi hai’ has got to be one of the best lines in this serial. Not just the words, but the manner and tone in which they were said was pure genius! Coke Kahani has to be the most refreshing (not to mention insanely hilarious) script on television right now.
All right, on to the review for episodes 10 and 11. Episode 10 starts out with Saad going over to Murtaza’s house to tell him everything he had said about Ruqaiya earlier was a lie. He tells him about how long he and Ruqaiya have been friends and how she pretty much makes his life complete. I like how Saad says all of this so innocently without realizing he is confessing his feelings for her. Even Murtaza knows it as even he says Saad is an idiot. The other thing about that conversation was the hamper like chair in the middle…it was set as a barrier between the two. That entire scene was shot very nicely. I do hope Saad and Ruqaiya get together at the end. Of course first Saad needs to take her to a nicer restaurant and Ruqaiya would have to stop thinking about going abroad for Masters.
Let’s move on to my favorite couple on screen these days…Nusrat Aunty and Mutmaeen Uncle. So one of Nusrat Aunty’s class fellows comes by to work on an assignment with ‘Nusrat’ and Mutmaeen Uncle is not at all mutmaeen about it. He keeps calling him Munne and even makes tea and brings it in to disturb them…after which he takes off his wig. He is so clearly jealous, that it’s actually cute. I love their equation. I love how Mutmaeen Uncle is so insecure all of a sudden, but also very supportive of his wife going back to school at this age. Its refreshing to see a Pakistani play where a mother of someone in his 20s has gone back to the University for education. This is a very strong shift in dynamics and I hope women (and even men) take note and utilize this option of getting education at any age. Instead of sitting at home and doing nothing, sign up for classes and broaden your minds…seek knowledge. I especially like how no one was against this idea…even their son is proud of her for doing this.
Speaking of their son, Rayaan is clearly doing all the finance work for Zoya in regards to the restaurant, so why doesn’t he just work their part time? He could officially do their finances so Zoya doesn’t have to worry about it. I like Rayaan and I like how loyal and supportive he is…whether it’s his mother going back to school, getting sponsors for Zoya’s restaurants, or befriending a complete stranger like Karan. When Rayaan’s car stops working at the end of episode 10, Karan comes by and since he is a mechanic, fixes the car without taking the money Rayaan offers him. Rayaan decides to get his car fixed at Karan’s shop as thanks. First of all, these days in Pakistan, instead of helping someone in distress, people would probably shoot the guy and take his car. Second, if someone did fix it, (that too for free) the person wouldn’t even think of returning that favor. Yet Rayaan not only goes and gets his car fixed there, he sits and chats with them, has lunch and upon finding out that Karan and his co-worker never went to school after 9th grade, thinks of ways to encourage them to go back to school. He even goes to is mum for advice. All these not-so-subtle hints about education are extremely well played in Coke Kahani and one can only hope that people watching learn something.
Let’s move on to Jugno Uncle and Maria asking him to help Beydil become a chef before moving to Germany so they can get married. Bechari Maria…not only does she have to convince Jugno Uncle to teach him, but also Beydil to learn without being badtameez. This would also help the restaurant I guess. Once Jugno Uncle leaves, Beydil can be the chef, but since he is new, he wouldn’t get paid as much, saving the restaurant money and perhaps relieving Asfand from some of his tensions about the restaurant. The banker guy says the restaurant can close anytime and offers to help sell some of the expensive paintings in the house.
Asfand by the way was being mean to Maya for no reason. She is his wife and instead of sharing his problems with her, he was yelling at her. Yeh konsa tareeqa hai? On top of that after the fight Maya is ready to leave? If only these two could talk about the problems calmly it would benefit not just the restaurant, but also their marriage. Sonia and Faisal have fantastic chemistry and are doing great in their respective roles.
In fact the entire cast of Coke Kahani is a great fit for their parts. There is absolutely no one I can say doesn’t suit the part. All the equations have great chemistry with each other and looks like they all had a lot of fun shooting for this. Coke Kahaani is a treat to watch. I’m not the biggest fan of Mehreen Jabbar (sorry) but I give credit where it is due. She has done complete justice to this project. And of course the fabulous script…we all know Syed Mohammed Ahmed is a brilliant writer, but Yasir Rana (the co-writer) is proving to be a force to be reckoned with. These two make a great team. Can’t wait to see what happens next…
Written by Sheeba Khan
