Eight weeks down, I can safely say that Kankar has gone from “mild interest” to “keen interest” to “drop-everything-and-watch” material! The story has finally picked up and apart from a few glitches here and there, it has certainly been an entertaining three episodes.

Since past three weeks, I have been mentally comparing the different styles of parenting (read, “mothering”) portrayed and contrasted so excellently on the screen, each one with its set of weaknesses. We have:

1. “My way or the highway” parenting: Faiqa (Sabahat Bukhari).
2. “The son is king” parenting: Shaista (Laila Zuberi).
3. “I am totally helpless” parenting: Apa (Humera Ali)
4. “Parents know best” parenting: Aisha (Ismat Zaidi) and Jamal (Behroze Sabzwari)

Faiqa’s character is well-written and well-played. Perhaps the only problem I have is the amount of screen time she has been given in the past three episodes. It is not only getting annoying, it’s very repetitive as well. Surprisingly, some of the scenes which should have been shown and which probably went out at the editing stage were:

1. Aisha’s confrontation with Kiran over Sikander. We see Kiran crying about it, but we never saw that particular sequence.
2. Faiqa and Apa go to Aisha’s for Kiran’s proposal and find out she is already engaged. This was one confrontation I REALLY wanted to watch over all those sequences of Aarzoo shedding tears and having futile conversations with her mother. I am not sure why we saw the scene before and after, but not THE scene itself. This was a classic case of poor editing.
3. When Jamal accepts Sikander’s proposal and Aisha informs him that Kiran is very upset, he promises to have a talk with her. What talk? We never really see that conversation and there is no hint of it having taken place either. Jamal and Aisha may have raised lovely daughters but honestly, it is very strange the way they won’t discuss any prospective proposal with them and simply expect them to go along with what they have decided.

A note to whoever has edited this serial: A little less of Faiqa and Kamal, a little less of pointless discussion over the non-entity of Shoaib, and a little less of Aarzoo being an emotional wreck would have left plenty of time to give to scenes that are more relevant to the main story line.

Now to more enjoyable parts, the following scenes, mainly in the 8th episode, made for quality entertainment:

1. Sikander’s attempts to charm Kiran: The scenes in the car and restaurant and even over the phone were commendably shot and excellently acted. One could sense that Sikander is desperate to win over Kiran and Kiran, despite her early irritation, is definitely finding it harder to maintain a cold demeanour. And how can she, when Sikander so overtly professes that he “fell in love” with her?
2. The brothers’ confrontation: Two thums up for Jamal! I had wondered if he would bring up Iram’s engagement and Faiqa’s involvement in its breakup and the way he did gave me goosebumps. I still do not wholeheartedly agree with Jamal’s vengeance in the form of Kiran and Sikander’s match but then human beings are prone to mistakes, and this is what I have loved about this serial so far. Every character has some shades of gray and we see an underlying logic behind the actions of each.
3. Adnan’s reaction to Kiran’s engagement: I have to say Hasan Niazi has portrayed Adnan’s heartbreak to near-perfection. Even though you feel like banging your head against the wall at his helpless attitude, you do feel some level of satisfaction when he gives a cold should to Rukhsar. Somehow, his love and care for Kiran comes across more apparently on the screen than Sikander’s very open verbal confessions. The scene in which he gives her the gift was as poignant as were his dialogues with double meaning. Excellent work by Umera Ahmed and of course, by the entire team!

So even though there is more talking than action and repetitive discussions, Kankar has become a must-watch for Fridays. The story is slowly but surely getting back on track and hopefully the lead pair will have more screen time! I only WISH that the very first promo of the serial had not given away the crux of the problems Kiran and Sikander will face in their married life. This, for the most part, has totally destroyed the suspense. However, I am still intrigued to watch it unfold mainly because of excellent acting, a sincere portrayl of roles by the cast, and of course, Umera Ahmed’s story-telling at its best. Once again, good effort by Aabis Raza and his team.

Written by Drama Buff ([email protected])

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