“Momina , mere sath Zindagi bhar guzarney ki kasme khaney wali larki aik hi raat mein ahsan Zindagi guzarney challee gaee”

This may well have been the best episode of Marasim yet and perhaps one of the best episodes of any drama I have watched this year. In this beautifully crafted episode , Daud picks up the shreds of the life he had torn apart with his own hands  and tries to piece it back together again. This entire episode belonged to Ahsan Khan who bought the agony of Daud’s self-realization and desperate courage to carry on brilliantly to life. With such a sudden and serious twist of fate the temptation to over play is strong but Ahsan carried off each scene with a rare subtlety and nuance. Nayab was not an easily pacified object despite her sad, powerless situation her spirit has not died; still her wall of passivity begins to crumble when Gaythi Ara calls her ‘ghair zaroori’ or unwanted. Urwa Hocain caught my heart in just that scene trembling between maintaining her pride and the pain of those words.. Like any normal woman Nayab is angry, hurt and withdrawn, reluctant to trust a man who betrayed her so easily before. Daud has to work at getting her back even as he is suffering from his own sudden loss. I loved how Nayab goes to sit outside the kitchen to avoid him.

I am still not in favour using a terminal illness as a ‘punishment’ but as plot device it works as an artful turn in the narrative bringing the characters full circle. Fate or circumstance; call it what you will, defies any attempt to bend to the human will . Zanjabeel Asim’s dialogues were again the stars of the show instilling each scene with power and depth. Daud’s dialogues in particular were so memorable : “yateem ki baaz pursi Karney walla Allah hota hai” and “ Dunya mein sab sey barri taqleef hai mowth, jis key agey har takleef choti par jati hai…bewafii ki bhi”.

Daud scans his phone for some message from Momina but she allows herself to be pushed back to Fahad just as easily as she had allowed Daud to persuade her to leave him.I have often said that I find Momina’s character fascinating. From the beginning I had pegged her as a self-absorbed, egoist whose charm and beauty had allowed her to rule the roost in every situation and have yet to see any change in her. There has yet to be one moment where this woman recognized the pain and cruelty she inflicted on Nayab or her son. True to her nature she leaves her “one true love” Daud, to die alone. In such a situation there are few ideal moral choices but if her intentions had been a little purer perhaps it might have lent her leaving a little grace. Sonya Hussain has done an otherwise outstanding job but this week and last week we got a little overdose of tears.

While Daud faces Death, I hope the story arch swings back to Gaythi Ara and her own self-realization. Daud’s poignant request, that Gaythi Ara respects the mother of his child, made for another powerful scene between Ahsan Khan and Saba Hameed. Their on screen chemistry is a pleasure to watch. Gaythi Ara is about to be handed the biggest loss in a game she thought she had long ago won. Why does it take something like imminent death to remind us of the rights of other people …?

Thanks again to Owais Khan for this great episode. The performances elicited are always a testament to the director’s skills. Take a bow team Marasim, the applause is well deserved!!

PS hope we get to see a new and improved Deeba and Abdullah next week .

written by SADAF