The average viewer might be forgiven for thinking that story line in Ghao is a little melodramatic and beyond reason, but it only takes a regular glance at the little stories in newspapers and cable news to realize that anything is possible.
It starts quite simply: A woman called Naseema, lives with her two daughters, Alizey and Areeshey. Alizey works and though not wealthy the family seems to lead a fairly happy middle class life marred only by what seems to be the mother’s touch of mental illness. The mother is afraid of knives and her anxiety attacks are marked with flashbacks of sadistic mistreatment by her husband, the girls’ father. It is in the midst of one of these anxiety attacks that Alizey stands outside her house desperately looking for a taxi. Enter handsome young Psychiatrist played by Sami Khan who is conveniently driving by and offers them a ride. Dr Mohid is a very nice man who lives in an exceptionally nice house with his not so nice mother, Zarqa and nice but disturbed sister Shaanzey. Also lurking in the darkness of one the rooms of the very nice house is Mohid’s stepfather Sajjad, a victim of some paralyzing accident who can barely move or communicate. If that is not unnerving enough, the relationships in Dr Mohid’s family are utterly dysfunctional. His beautiful mother played with an over the top relish by the ever wonderful Samina Peerzada is a cruel, cold, materialistic woman, hated by her husband and daughter Shanzey.
The director, Amir Yousuf deserves full credit for making this into such a gripping thriller. Bar a few complaints with the constant tilting of the camera angles and the odd long scene he has done a fantastic job. Faiza ifthikhar has written an absolutely intriguing serial which grips the viewer from the first episode. The entire cast is doing great. I have to mention the wonderful job done by the actress playing Naseema who has made a difficult role look easy. Sami Khan is great as Dr Mohid, but somehow the character is looking less believable as the play progresses. As a psychiatrist surely he must realize how disturbed Alizey is and the borderline personality disorder in his mother Zarqa. The chemistry between him and Alizey is great and now the story has gotten darker, I miss the little scenes of sweet, almost comic romance they had in the beginning. I think his character may pick up as the story’s focus moves back to him.
The lynchpin of the serial is the amazing character of Alizey and Fiza Ali has done it complete justice. The whole story would fall apart if she were not so believable. When Alizey realizes that Zarqa is her own step mother, the one responsible for her family’s ruin, she takes the opportunity to extract vengeance. Her character shows how the lust for retaliation, no matter how justified, can warp a person’s personality.The younger sister Areesha, played by Sanya Samshad, has annoyed the life out of me in ten episodes. If ever there was a candidate for a good shake it’s this girl. How old are you that you are discussing “Mohabbut” like it’s some life or death situation with a boy you hardly know? This is the parallel track to Alizey and Dr Mohid’s romance and these were the scenes I wished had been cut to the bare minimum. Areesha is being fooled in a nasty game of dangerous liaisons by her well to do friend Rosy and her lafanga type boyfriend, Rohan. I just loved the way the writer has shown how Alizey’s quest for revenge has set her sister Areesha on a course for self-destruction , neither could have previously imagined. This is definitely recommended viewing.
By Sadaf
