And so it begins- our young lovebirds were just starting to grow confident of their feelings for one another but unfortunately for them, the timing wasn’t right. After Salahuddin’s father cautioned him against falling for Mannu’s bachpana, Salahuddin thought he could buy some time by making an excuse of moving to Karachi. His delay tactics may have worked had Mannu’s parents not walked in on them. Mannu’s Chachi created a huge fuss over Mannu and Salahuddin- As much as I hate her, Mannu’s Chachi is the kind of woman every family is familiar with. Although Mannu’s father wasn’t overjoyed at the thought of marrying his daughter off to Salahuddin, I really liked his down-to-earth mentality and his rationale. Javed Sahab is a practical man who loves his daughter and wants her to be happy. I liked the point he made about Takabbur– he was ready to look beyond Salahuddin’s financial background and give him a chance.

Salahuddin’s parents felt trapped in an awkward situation and though they came to Mannu’s home, his father couldn’t face Javed Sahab and left in a hurry. Javed Saheb understood that Salahuddin’s parents realized that this would not be an ideal match and didn’t want to risk humiliation. Seeing Mannu’s junoon and restlessness, he permitted her to go after Salahuddin. Despite all the odds stacked against them, Mannu was confident that she would succeed in being with the only man she has ever loved but in the end it was Salahuddin who let her down for her own good. Salahuddin couldn’t live under the shadow of Mannu’s status and knew it would continue to haunt him and cast a shadow of gloom on their future. Hamza Ali Abbassi is an exceptionally talented performer who manages to convince you of his pain. The sincerity with which he has portrayed Afzal and now Salahuddin is commendable. The journey from humsaaya to humsafar wasn’t meant to be and Mannu was let down in the most painful way by the one man she thought would always be there for her.

Mannu has a lot of growing up to do and Salahuddin fears that once she realizes life isn’t a bed of roses, she will regret her decision. To avoid her from throwing her life away, Salahuddin is willing to be the bad guy and conceal his pain. He genuinely loves Mannu but is practical enough to understand that she won’t die without him. When a man loves a woman with sincerity, he finds it impossible to get her out of his head. However, he knows that in Mannu’s case, her family will find a suitable match and they will marry her off and she will move on. Salahuddin had no choice but to suppress his emotions for the sake of the greater good.

This episode was high on emotion. Individually, both Hamza Ali Abbassi and Maya Ali have given a strong performance. I still feel they aren’t as believable as a couple but they both did a splendid job in expressing their heartache. I really liked the sound logic of Salauddin’s father- not only did he advice his son to take a step back, he also warned him of being cautious since Mannu’s reputation was at stake. I also appreciated Mannu’s father for his reasoning. Sometimes, you just need to let fate take its course.

A much better episode than the previous one and I’m looking forward to the next.

Kanwal Murtaza