“Is umer mein her shareef aadmi apni biwi ke saamne hathyar daalta hai…tum bhi yehi karo,” words of wisdom from Mutmaeen Uncle to Asfand in the last episode of Coke Kahani, and what an amazing episode it was. Coke Kahani gave us all an insight into the intertwined relationships between the younger and older generations…it showed us the healthy part of their relationships and proved that having confidence in your kids and supporting them unconditionally, while trusting their judgments is not at all an inconceivable concept. And it further proved that you can show all of this in less than 30 minutes a week for only 13 weeks!
The last episode starts out with Saad getting advice from Zoya on how to stop Ruqaiyya from going abroad. The audience gets another dream sequence where Saad says “Mumma, Ruqaiyya ki shaadi mujh se karado warna ‘bhai’ utha ke le jaega” and obviously Mumma slaps ‘bhai.’ Zoya gives Saad a warning and says that whatever he has to do or say, he must do it after the dinner that has been arranged for Ruqaiyya. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Shariq (Saad) in any other play and I’m wondering why? This guy is a bloody genius! Who else can so confidently refer to himself as ‘Bhai’ (without having the ‘bhai’ demeanor) and that too in reference to female prospects, and get away with it? Pure genius!
During Ruqaiyya’s goodbye dinner, Saad starts to say something again…thank God Rayaan was there to stop him. Ruqiayya’s dinner is also the auspicious occasion where we see Mutmaeen Uncle without his handy friend, the wig. I am so going to miss Nusrat Aunty and Mutmaeen Uncle. We should all have such people in our lives. Mutmaeen Uncle also tells Asfand to hand over the reins of the restaurant to Zoya and go to the States with Maya if she is leaving. We finally see Asfand and Maya actually talk when they get home. He tells her about the financial issues with the restaurant and how he sold some paintings to fulfill those obligations. They decide to give the relationship another chance after an honest realization that they aren’t going to change and perhaps that is ok. It’s not really the end of the world since they aren’t actually bad people. They also talked about Rayaan and Zoya. Maya thinks they are interested in each other and Asfand thinks they are just friends. Maya reminds him that they too were ‘just friends’ for the longest time without realizing what the relationship actually was. Asfand does confess that he actually knew the first time J Aaaahhh…the cuteness of simple and innocent confessions. Are other directors and writers listening??? This is how it is actually done!!!! Faisal Rehman and Sonia were excellent picks for the roles of Asfand and Maya. I have a whole new respect for Faisal Rehman and his acting abilities.
Back at the restaurant Zoya and Rayaan are talking and Rayaan is really happy. He has finally found his calling…to educate kids. The mobile education concept is actually a great one. He wants to go to different areas and educate kids and play video games as a motivation tool. I wish this was not a script and an actual reality and I wish I could be part of this project. Again, the importance of education is emphasized at the right moments. It’s not in your face all the time and it’s not lectured. Ahmed Zeb does great justice to his role as Rayaan. His expressions and delivery are very natural and the softness of his tone, (especially when he is speaking to his parents) is in par with his character. He evolves from a lazy graduate looking (halfheartedly) for a job to someone who realizes the enormous need for education and has become tenacious to get this project rolling. Syra Yousef, whether playing Zoya, Serena, or Nadia completely submerges herself in her roles and does it in a way that the audience can’t seem to imagine any other actor in that character.
Let’s talk about Beydil and Maria…He finally gives her the 30 thousand he owes her once he sees her stressed about paying the fees for her brother’s education. I wish we got to hear some more of Beydil’s shayeri in the last episode. I don’t know why, but it kind of feels like their story was left incomplete. But acting wise, these two were superb!!
My absolute favorite scenes of this episode were when Nusrat Aunty and Mutmaeen Uncle were grilling Rayaan about Zoya, while Asfand and Maya were simultaneously grilling Zoya about Rayaan (after Maya informs she is staying, making Zoya oh so happy.) They both realize that whereas they may never have thought about this, it’s not actually a bad idea. Wow, it’s that simple…no need for 3-7 episodes of both of them contemplating about this in the midst of many unnecessary misunderstandings…who knew! Direction wise, I haven’t been the biggest fan of Mehreen Jabbar…But Coke Kahani has changed that…especially scenes like this one. The back and forth and the ‘two against one across the table’ scene was very artistically shot.
The last and final scene was of Ruqaiyya, Rayaan, Saad, and Zoya just before Ruqaiyya is taken to the airport. Saad is trying to stop Ruqaiyya from leaving and says she can’t go before she marries him. Clearly that wasn’t going to happen but he does get down on his knees and puts a ring on her finger after Zoya tells him to propose to her in front of all of them. It ends with him turning around and screaming “Mumma…” Almas is great as Ruqaiyya and I’m glad she actually goes to get her Masters done. Love really has no bounds and one’s goals should not be lost for the sake of it. A year is not a long time to wait, but at least her personal goals will have been fulfilled. Again emphasis on education and trust :)
With that Ck ends. Coke Kahani (in my opinion) will go down in history as one of the best plays ever. Everyone, young and old, should watch it as it has a lesson for all. If ever there was a script, direction, dialogue delivery, editing, acting that could be called flawless, Coke Kahani was it. It was simple, fresh, and crisp in its script, which is a norm in all of Syed Mohammad’s scripts. This one was however was co-written by Yasir Rana and if he keeps writing like this, he will absolutely be a force to be reckoned with. Direction wise, Mehreen Jabbar deserves all the accolades that she is getting. I will definitely be watching out for more of her plays. Acting wise there were absolutely no mistakes in the cast…they all fit their roles like a hand in glove, especially Shamim Hilali, who is grace personified!! I hope to see Nusrat Aunty and Mutmaeen Uncle again on screen.
Thank You Team CK for not insulting the audiences’ intelligence and giving us a brilliant play to watch!
Written by Sheeba Khan
