Lagta hai kissi nai mujhay jholi bhar bhar key Bad Duwein deey hain ….

In another surprising twist to this already intriguing drama, Daud discovers he has liver cancer and all his dreams of a life with Momina are shattered in an instant.  Sheher Bano and Fahad cajole and literally bully Momina into doing the ‘right thing’ so she leaves for Australia with her husband. Fahad had some of the best dialogues this episode and managed to deliver them with just the right amount of gravity:

“dil ka har Fasla teek nahin hota “

“ aik shareef aurat ka dil uskey ikhtiyaar mein hota hai aur aik badnam aurat apney dil kay ikhtiyaar mein hoti hai”

Despite Ahsan Khan’s flawless acting ,I really couldn’t  feel any sympathy for Momina and Daud but, from the beginning of this serial, their characters have been too self-absorbed and selfish to appeal to me. It is a testament to the excellence of script, direction and most of all the actors, that despite the main protagonists far from saintly behavior this story is so fascinating . As a turn in the story , Daud’s cancer diagnosis was definitely satisfying but I think writers to should think twice before using an illness as “ a punishment from God”.It plays into a facile and childlike view of the universe which is  far from the truth. There are plenty of wicked people who carry on their way without a quick retribution from God and Illness does not only come to the wicked. I have seen this before in other serials where the birth of a disabled or special needs child is used as a symbol of punishment. There are other ways a person can come to the self-realization. 

So Momina heads tearfully off to Australia and Daud is left to face the sudden end of his life alone. His doctor lectures him on the importance of his wife and family and Daud begins to realise exactly what he has done. No doubt Daud will head back to Nayab and his mother and I am waiting to see how Nayab will react? I have no doubt she will take him back but how is the question? Despite her desperate situation, Nayab has managed to avoid being “the mazloom aurat” so loved by Pakistani writers and audiences; I hope she won’t turn into a saint either. One of the great strengths of this serial has been the realistic reactions of the protagonists and the nuanced, well balanced characters. I need to see Nayab’s anger as a real woman just as much as I know like any normal woman she will forgive her husband’s unbelievably callous behavior because of his illness.

I hope we get to see more of Saba Hamid soon. I really want to see Gaythi Ara’s character arch progress from the monster she has become and  back to the woman of understanding she should be. Daud has always been the source of Gaythi Ara’s pride and the cause of her arrogance too . Perhaps when she sees how flimsy a foundation such values are ,she too will undergo some self-awakening. Sheher bano ,played so well by Naeyla Jaffry , seems to have grown too . She doesn’t buy Momina’s Tragedy Queen  bit for a minute , telling her that she is ruining her life and Daud’s death . 

Thank you  Owais Khan and team Marasim for keeping hope alive in a very lack luster drama season. Again, it takes a director with vision who can understand and interpret the writers story without losing its essence.

written by Sadaf