Although Marasim was on our “must watch “list of dramas for 2014 , I didn’t begin to watch it till it was at least three or four weeks into the story . The prospects for this drama did not seem good; an annoyingly familiar storyline and a cast who seemed to play a revolving circuit of one uninspiring role after another. As far as I was concerned this drama had only one thing going for it ;the writer was Zanjabeel Asim whose” Ek Nazar meri taraf” and “Saat Pardon Mein” were still fresh in my mind. However from the first episode I was completely hooked.
This well-crafted drama was an oasis in a sea of badly made , clumsily pieced together serials that have been our sad fate this year .Zanjabeel Asim has written each character with such depth and nuance ,allowing the audience to understand each protagonist’s perspective and motivation even if we couldn’t like them. This serial had the rare distinction that only Aunn Zara and Durr e Shehwar had of “no filler episodes”. Each week the story moved forward and gave the viewer a new angle from which to view the situation. So many great scripts are ruined by lack of vision in the directors and bad execution but not Marasim .The director, Owais Khan , deserves full credit for the wonderful performances he managed to elicit from the actors , the seamless editing and firm control of the narrative.
This final episode came as a surprise after so much almost criminal..ahem.. ‘stretching’ of perfectly reasonable serials (ARY Digital we are looking at you) that I had forgotten some people actually care about just making a good product. Ahsan Khan was again simply flawless. Daud, slowly dying, pleading with his mother and trying to make up for his mistreatment of Nayab, was played with such subtly brilliant desperation that no one could be failed to be moved . When Daud suddenly finds himself alone among the lights of his wedding anniversary and remembers Momina, His painful realization in the bathroom that his end is near under the flickering light of a ceiling fan had to be the highlights. Thanks to the talented Qasim Ali for those memorable scenes.
Saba Hamid was fabulous as Gaythi Ara: flawed, tragic but not irredeemable. In fact the entire cast; Urwa, Sonya Hussain, Sadia Faisal, Furqan Khan and Naela Jaffrey were also at their best. This was one of the saddest endings I have seen in a long while but it remained true to the characters personalities and motivations. Nayab and Daud were never in love , Gaythi Ara could never quite overcome her wounded , possessive ego and Daud ,poor Daud , could never make up for the pain his mother suffered. Take a bow Team Marasim for one of the best serials this year!
written by SADAF
Written by SADAF
