“ When the Gods wish to punish us they answer our prayers “ with due apologies to Oscar Wild ,it might be more accurate to say : they punish us by giving us exactly what we ask for .Faraa has been trying her best to get Agha Jaan and especially Wali out of her life but now ,when it seems as if she just might have succeeded ,she is the unhappiest she has ever been. Poor Faraa , her life has been in a tailspin since her father died . Roohi and Behroz may have loved their daughter but both used her as a pawn without thinking of the consequences. Faraa now realises the one person who has loved her unconditionally throughout this time of trouble and confusion has been Agha Jaan, who made allowances for her at every point, who took care of her needs and made sure she was protected while expecting nothing in return.
Agha Jaan takes Faraa to the additional portion of the Haveli he had made for Faraa and Roohi ,only to fall ill as he offers to free Faraa from Wali. However hard the makers have tried to make it not look like emotional black mail, it is what it is : Faraa is finally pushed over to her Grandfather’s way of thinking by her love for him . If just the discussion of a divorce can land him in hospital what will the final decree do? Although Abid Ali and Maya Ali were fabulous to watch I couldn’t help thinking shorter might have been sweeter.
We hadn’t seen much of Zarminey, but this week she was out in full force as avenging angel. I think Maryam Nafees is simply brilliant, she is so natural. There was so much scope for her to go over the top but she kept Zarminey’s rage under control and said all the things the audience has been dying to say to Faraa for some time. “Tum akhir Chahtee kiya Ho?” she demands of a by now broken Faraa.I know Faraa deserved every word but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her, just like Asher, her biggest mistake has been trusting her mother. That hospital scene in itself was a very interesting, however angry Wali is with Faraa I notice he always comes to (however obliquely) to her defense. He steps between Faraa and Zarminey, shepherding his sister away to comfort her in a corner.
The most pivotal scene this episode was Faraa’s confession of guilt and love for Agha Jaan after she sees Wali praying in the hospital. In the novel Faraa finally understands how much Wali has sacrificed to take care of his grandfather and what a truly good person he is. This realization wasn’t as strong as I would have liked in this week’s episode because the focus seemed more on Agha Jaan than Wali. I had been waiting for this point in the story because this is also where Faraa goes through an awakening , she finally sees that she is the cause of Agha Jaan’s bad health and that Wali had to plot and plan to get her here because he could see no other way to save his grandfather. She is deeply ashamed and full of self-recrimination but Wali Suhaib Khan has had enough and is no mood to offer her any hand of friendship or solace. Even if he does let out a sigh of relief that at least Faraa has come this far he is not ready to take her at her word . As I said earlier there are so many subconscious ways Wali takes care of Faraa and this is a credit to both Osman Khalid Butt acting skills and Farhat Ishtiaq’s writing both manage to show the complexity of Wali’s feelings with each little nuance. Wali may not offer Faraa a shoulder to cry on but he doesn’t want her sitting on the cold hospital floor , nor does he want her to go hungry or without rest. Even when Agha Jaan’s doctor asks who Faraa is , I almost expected him to explain she his wife instead he went for the safer Taya Jan ki beti.
Beychari Faraa is not a mind reader and her misery at Wali’s cold words and even colder attitude is quite evident. It never occurred to Faraa that she might actually have to convince Wali to like her, in her mind it’s been a given that he never wanted out of the marriage. Has Wali really changed his mind and lost all wish of reconciliation with Faraa? Or is he waiting to see if Faraa’s change of heart is real or even worse, is he just enjoying watching Faraa squirm. Either way OKB makes the perfect pathar kay Sanam : icy formality takes the place of all that passion and anger. After so many annoying breakfast scenes, this one was actually quite funny and sweet. It is high time Wali showed some self-respect, I am just wondering exactly how long it will last.
Meanwhile Moiz is relying on a cardboard box to further his nefarious plans. At this point I can only feel the deepest pity for our Moiz, evil Machiavelli that he claims to be , his attempts at mind control have been comical at best . I was trying hard not to laugh, but gave up in the end. I mean what can be in that box? Chocolates? A kurta from Khaddi? Knowing the Tajamul family’s cheap tendencies I am guessing it’s a card and possibly same biscuits. I hate to be Moiz’s adviser but wouldn’t he have been better off reminding Faraa of all the times he helped her after her father died? Was there a need to demonize him in the first place , why couldn’t Faraa just choose Wali .. it wouldn’t be that difficult . Tajamul uncle has suddenly found out that Roohi and Faraa are not just ATM’s but real human beings with feelings and that Moiz may have overreached himself with the BIG business deal . This really is the weakest part of the plot in my eyes . Oh , I nearly forgot Roohi remembered she has a daughter , for exactly five minutes and then went back upstairs ..
After having heard the original story , I wish again and again that Farhat Ishtiaq would trust her original creative vision .Despite that the thing that is keeping this serial head and shoulders above every other serial is OKB and Maya Ali’s on screen chemistry . Even these two ignoring each other while eating breakfast makes for a more captivating scene compared to the dozens of contrived declarations of true and undying love we see flitting across our screens each day .
Ok is it just me but Wali praying at the hospital looked like Khirad praying at the hospital ? In both cases there was big moment of self awareness or recognition for the other protagonist .
written by Sadaf
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