This week’s episode showed us how far Faraa bibi has come, from the angry, confused little girl who suddenly lost her father to a woman who finally knows what she wants. Obviously there were a lot of tears, (and I mean a lot of tears) but while there was plenty of self-recrimination, there was also a sense of release. It’s as if she has been carrying a burden of hate on her shoulders all these years and she has finally given herself permission to put it down.
Looking at her father’s picture, Faraa is ashamed of how she treated her grandfather, in fact all her father’s family. What hurts the most is the fact that she was forced to come here and only agreed after Wali promised her a divorce. Her heart had become so hard that she would have let her grandfather die. Faced with Wali’s cool withdrawal, Faraa is haunted by the way he once told her he loved her.” Main thumhey yaqeen dilatha hoon , Faraa , tumharee marzi kay khilaaf kuch nahee hoga.Kiyun kay jin sey mohabbat hothi hai,oon se zabardasti nahee kee jaa sakti . Main tum sey mohabbat karta hoon” .This is one of the most beautiful lines spoken in this serial. Indeed, Ishq par zor nahi, love is a gift freely given. There is sudden declaration of love for Wali from Faraa, just the sudden prospect of their separation seems to be unbearable.
I would have said this was mostly another episode built around Faraa’s feelings but Jaha Faraa vaha Wali . However hard Wali is trying to steel himself against Faraa, when he hears her sobbing, he has to ask after her .Disregarding all her self-erected barriers, Faraa seeks comfort in Wali because he is the only one who seems to know her. In her desperation she forgets herself and hugs him, because at a subconscious level Faraa has always felt safe with him. I have to commend Maya Ali and Osman Khalid Butt for their fabulous acting. Maya was great , despite being told to cry , cry and cry again like relentless rain she managed to make it all look natural and watchable.
I think Osman Khalid Butt had the tougher job, because he had less dialogue and had to project Wali’s feelings through his expressions and gestures alone. I am not sure if I was that much of a fan of the “good boy” Wali we saw in the beginning but OKB has carried his role as the adult Wali so well and with so much nuance that it is impossible to imagine anyone else playing this character. The subtle way he shows Wali trying to master his feelings in a situation which is changing moment to moment was done with great skill. Wali would have welcomed this new Faraa before she filed the Khulla papers but how can he trust her now ?After the way he had to drag her here and the contract he had to make with her , he cannot risk getting hurt again . Still despite all reason and resolve Wali cannot help but put his arm around Faraa only to be saved by a random phone call. Faraa will have to walk across this bridge alone and meet him on the other side. He needs proof not words.
If the makers had paid a lot more attention to the horse-riding scene in the beginning i.e giving it context and reason rather than letting it appear randomly this week’s reference might have had more depth. As it is, I will have to sigh and take what I can get. Another sweet moment if only Maya Ali was allowed to stop the crying. There are other ways of expressing regret and the best is sometimes just silence. Throughout this episode it was as if Wali wanted to help Faraa but resisted because she needed to go through this herself in order to grow as a person.
The funniest part of this episode was the way Faraa kept saying Wali and her attempts at catching his attention without being too obvious. This is what I love about Farhat Ishtiaq’s stories, the simplest things take on a new meaning . I remember in Humsafar , no matter how much Asher and Khirad were saying they hated each other their subconscious routines and gestures spoke of a couple very much in sync if not in agreement. Faraa and Wali give off that same vibe, especially their car rides. Like any feuding married couple they sit in the car pretending to ignore each other, while secretly thinking what to say next to each other.
Though her own actions Faraa is the outsider in the Khan family group and realizes the onus is on her to mend fences. Finally Zarminey and Faraa make up the rift between them. Zarminey is very young and innocent enough to forgive and forget easily once she Faraa really does love Agha Jan but empress Arjumand is going to be an entirely different matter. Still like a good Pakistani Bahu, Faraa is suddenly frying up pakoras and making sandwiches because the journey of a thousand steps begins with one.
I think Pakistan needs a fifth amendment, because whenever a member of the Tajamul family speaks they incriminate themselves. Now we learn that Tajamul cheated his sister out of her inheritance by selling her zevar … utterly despicable but these things happen a lot, money brings out the worst in people. The best part though was how easily Faraa friend-zoned Moiz.” Achey dost” and “AAp ki Izzat Karti hoon leykin …” were like death knells, I almost felt sorry for the’ would be Machiavelli’………… almost. I am guessing the cute Kurtas Faraa is now wearing (in a rather obvious attempt to gain Wali’s attention and let the audience know she is now a “good mashriqi larki on the right track”) came from that sad little cardboard box of tricks you sent . So what now, friend Moiz?
Humour aside, why do our drama makers use western clothes verses eastern clothes to denote “bad’ and ‘good ‘? This clumsy and inaccurate device is used in countless dramas and I ask why we cannot educate the audience instead of catering to the lowest common denominator? I am also in favour of breaking the other stereotype that women who wear chaadders are somehow inherently backwards or repressed. We women need to realise we are ALL on the same side .. This whole debate is artificial and silly, Faraa was born and bred in Lahore, unless it is some other city than the one in Pakistan I think salwar qamees is the official uniform there in any case, not jeans and long sweaters. So Faraa has learnt that Wali’s family is not feudal or backwards, perhaps Wali’s family could learn to understand Faraa was under the thrall of her mother and suffering from a complete lack of input from her father about them?
Moiz and his mother Zuhra are two peas in a pod, I am just waiting for Roohi to realise this. I know I should be annoyed at Roohi but she cuts such a sorry figure now. She lost her parents at an early age and has been manipulated by her brother and Bhabi for goodness knows how long. No wonder she is insecure and possessive. Having said that she should prioritize her daughter’s happiness over her ego and use some the intelligence a woman who once studied in the same college as Behroz must have had.
I really liked the flow of this episode, the way each interaction led to another without the usual dragging. I simply loved how Faraa set fire to the agreement, poor thing, if only it was as easy as that. So Faraa has not just gained perspective, she has made a decision that she is going to stay with Wali. She makes it clear to Zarminey that she isn’t leaving so I wonder if Zarminey will tell her mother or brother.Thank you Haseeb Hassan , Farhat Ishtiaq and Team dayar e Dil !
written by Sadaf
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