Let me begin by saying this is not a review, most of us know the story and there have already been some simply fabulous reviews which I simply dare not compete with. These are just my thoughts, their purpose is to introduce the episode and facilitate the discussion. Having said that with Humsafar, any and I mean any excuse will do ….:)

As first episodes go, this had to be one of the most impressive ones I have ever seen. It managed to intrigue without confusing the viewer. The entire premise of the story was laid out seamlessly from scene to scene while each character and his or her motivations were nicely defined. I simply loved Khirad’s scenes: making tea, talking to her mother even dusting the windows looked interesting. The contrast between Khirad’s simple day to day life and Asher’s lifestyle of the wealthy urban elite was beautifully, subtly done. There were no long scenes or obscure metaphors nor were there pretentious dialogues or significant glances for us to decipher. Every time I watch this I say a little thank you to Sarmad Khoosat and his team for doing the hard work for us. Many serials these days require so much effort to understand, simply because the director and writer have failed to do the hard work of creating one definitive vision of the narrative they are presenting. Sarmad Khoosat has done complete justice to Farhat Ishtiaq’s beautifully written story bridging the gap between written word and the more three dimensional medium of television.

The character which stood out the most for me was Khirad. Mahirah Khan is so beautiful (as in “stops traffic”) that no one could fail to notice her in any role but Khirad had more than just good looks to recommend her .I was immediately impressed by her strength and dignity .Khirad is always polite and respectful but she refuses to pretend anything, she avoids speaking to a Mamu who has ignored her family for most of their lives and will not lie once, not even to please their neighbor and close friend Batoola Khala. In a few short scenes  we can tell that she is not impressed by her Mamu’s wealth and ignores her impossibly good looking ,”every woman’s dream” cousin Asher with a steadfast coolness that had me beating my head against my luckily well carpeted floor.

In contrast, the supposedly more modern, presumably better educated and equally lovely Sara has checked her independence and common sense in at some storage facility while she does her best to be “pleasing”. Around Asher she is constantly smiling, toning down her reactions, her thoughts to something he might agree with. She has absolutely no interest in Khirad or her mother but when she sees Asher’s concern, like a good corporate representative she feels it’s her duty to visit them in hospital too. I think Navein Waqar portrayed this post-feminist type to perfection.

I have to admit when I first watched this episode on my TV screen I couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong with Farida’s character. She sounded reasonable enough, most women have a certain antagonism towards their in laws and her fierce protectiveness towards Asher was understandable. After watching it again, I realise that the slight feeling of unease about her character was because of her complete lack of any genuine empathy for anyone. Baseerat Hussain is another strong character who is a basically a good person so racked with guilt over neglecting his needy sister that he literally blackmails his only son Asher into marriage with his niece. The sudden offer to his dying sister was dramatic but considering the circumstances not so surprising.

I think I am going to shock everyone by admitting to being unimpressed by Asher in this episode, even when I watched it the first time. I have been a fan of Fawad Khan since we first met across a TV screen in Jutt and Bond but it took a few episodes of Humsafar before I liked Asher Hussain. His character seemed as snobbish and to a certain extent as proud as his mother’s. His sympathy was reserved for his father and he seemed a little cold and indifferent to his not so wealthy cousin and Aunt. His relationship with Sara was perhaps the coldest thing about him. It couldn’t be more obvious that she cared deeply for him yet he was strangely ignorant of this. The only positive I could see apart from the visuals was that he was to all intents and purposes a very dutiful and sincere son.

Written by Sadaf