I had a horribly hectic schedule this week and thought I would review this episode as a double next week .However, at this point I am going to have an aneurysm if I don’t say anything. What is wrong with this family? The episode begins with Umama’s family at the breakfast table and we see the grandmother’s hostility towards her own granddaughters. Umama is all passive aggressive and Murad is worse, as if he lives in cloud cuckoo land and just floats down to earth with the odd dialogue.
The granddaughters kidnap Noreen’s baby boy for a few minutes of play, this is typical of pre-teen children especially girl, who think newborns are like living dolls. Well not surprisingly there is a lot of noise and scolding after Noreen and her mother find the child in the girl’s bedroom. Deeba Baji has gone through some kind of marriage and quick divorce and has the only man in the town aka Murad still in her cross hairs Umama Is heavily pregnant and with her fourth child and the doctors have warned against another pregnancy. Well, surprise it is not a boy and the Mother in law is on the warpath to make Murad marry a second time because being the Nawab of Rathore ( sarcasm) he has to have a male heir.
A lot of people in this episode are in need of a royal slap. This slap is quite different from an ordinary one, as it’s more painful and allows enough oxygen to reach the recipient’s brain to kick start their neurons into producing rational thought.
1. This slap goes to the person singing the OST because that is a weapon of mass destruction. Let us play it in war zones and we will have no need of bullets and guns. The ensuing depression and sheer annoyance at its whining tones will induce the enemy into suicide and total surrender in 3 minutes max.
2. This slap for Murad, grow up, just grow up. Who are you in the grand scheme of things? How could he not go and see his own daughter when she is born and ignore his wife on such an occasion? I know that according to this story he is supposed to love Umama and he shows some reluctance when his mother suggests another marriage but really the entire parcel of blame is on this character’s head. He seems to have little or no relationship with his wife and daughters and wanders in and out of the house as if floating on a cloud. For me this is the real villain of the story and I wish Umama had married someone else, in retrospect Mushtaq is beginning to look like King Solomon in front of this guy.
3. NOT a slap for the mother in law. Yes I know most people will say she deserves one but I disagree. She is just a typical, uneducated old kook who does not know any better. Everyone else should have the good sense to give her a cup of tea and ignore her
So where have 9 episodes got us? My complaint is with the writer. I really enjoyed Sarwat Nazir’s serial Mein Abdul Qadir Hoon, we used to arrange our Sundays around it and my husband refers to Fahad Mustapha simply as AQ, but I have to say I am disappointed this time. All of this could have been dealt with in fewer episodes. At this time I don’t see the point, is this it? What conclusions are we supposed to draw from this, life is difficult and then you die?
Mehar Bano and Fahad Mustapha in particular are such good actors that I feel they are wasted. I loved last week’s confrontation when Umama told Noreen off. It is time Umama grew up and started taking her destiny in her own hands. Next week Murad is going to cave and marry Deeba Baji and I am going to slap my head saying “did not see that coming”. I have to say I like all the actors in this drama not one has let us down, yes the story is train wreck waiting to happen, but gluttons for punishment just like me are watching because it is so well made. I am simply watching to see when Umama stands up to all the villains in her life: her father, her Husband, Deeba, Noreen and really the least villainous is her silly mother in law. I want to see Umama tell them all to go to hell in that cold, clear voice Mehar Bano used in the confrontation by the gate last week. Barring that I want Murad to realize how much he should value his wife. If you are going to have A class actors like Fahad Mustapha, give them a chance to act rather than concentrating on the mother in law.
Written by Sadaf
