At this point the whole linear narrative seems to be a mistake and quite frankly a drag because every decision and turn of events has to be justified under the bright lights of the present. This is the biggest weakness in the execution so far. I now wish the novel’s original structure had been maintained. The Nikkah would have been better presented as a fait accompli, and then perhaps some backtracking to the roots of the couple’s differences. Of course that would mean fewer episodes which would upset the channel but serials would be much better with meaningful, concentrated, content heavy episodes. I positively yearn for the days of 15 to 16 episodes.

On the bright side Osman Khalid Butt has become the Wali we want, no more awkwardness just great, seamless acting which together with the other performances is keeping us hooked to a story that is being spread thin. OKB ‘s best scene so far was with Hareem Farooq , I loved how  Wali pulled himself together just before he faced his mother and the strength he shows for his sister Zarminey . Lovely scenes that show us Wali really is Suhaib’s son, always putting his family first. His agreement to the Nikkah is a little more  reasonable than anyone else’s because it is simply Wali’s nature to please his family and this is a deeply emotional time in his life , when anything connected to his dead father is hyper important to him. I felt bad for him; he is essentially making a selfless decision but will ultimately pay for his foolishness.

The contrast between Roohi and Arjumand could not have been greater. Arjumand agreed to her son’s Nikkah with daughter of someone she hated out of gratitude and love for her husband, for whom she had nothing but praise despite the circumstances of their marriage . The whole plot point would have had more impact if some of those moments had been shown in the earlier episodes (or even in flash back in this episode) while Arjumand considered her decision. If there really did have to be so many episodes perhaps the time would have been better spent on Arjumand’s decision making , it really should not have been so easy or so quick , it really should have taken a lot more to convince her. She seemed more annoyed at having to share space with Roohi than giving her son to Roohi’s daughter. In fact that whole cut and paste between Arjumand sitting with Agha Jan and then considering the situation alone looked a little confusing.  Still, I liked her speech, it was the speech of a woman of integrity and honour . Not those meesni good girls we see in every other serial but the kind of female character I expect from Farhat Ishtiaq: women whose principles are stronger than all the twists and turns that fate throws at them .

Roohi however has all the maturity of five year old whose teddy bear has been taken away. Although I can understand her reservations, her complete lack of understanding and callousness is wearing and tiresome. Despite all the care and attention Behroz has given this woman over the last twenty years she still doesn’t trust him farther than she can throw him. It’s as if these two just met: surely Behroz knows how his wife will react and surely Roohi should be able to trust her “true love” by now? If only people like her were figments of our writer’s imagination, sadly they are all too common. To be fair her biggest enabler is Behroz, who has spoilt her so much that she just hasn’t grown as a person. Behroz may have persuaded his side of the family into agreeing to this Nikkah but I am waiting with baited breath to see how he will persuade Roohi .

This really was an episode were good acting alone kept the whole show afloat. OKB came into his own especially in his scenes with the Mariam Nafees, who is  also a doing an excellent job. Maya Ali was also much better this time as she wasn’t pretending to be five; in fact she actually did a good job of portraying a sensible young girl worried about her oversensitive, almost hostile mother. Mikaal Zulfikaar, Abid Ali, Hareem Farooq and Sanam Saeed are all keeping up the high standards they set from the beginning. I am guessing form next week’s promo, Roohi is just going to be whiny, insecure and batamees forever.  A special word for Roohi’s Bhabie … I so want to slap her .. My hands are itching … being the nonviolent sort it’s purely metaphorical

PS Mikaal and Osman’s hair are causing Gel shortages in Pakistan :)

Written by Sadaf

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