We’re all the way up to episode 5 in Mastana Mahi, and yet there has only been 1 review for it. Why? Because it was a review of the first episode, which a lot of people had been awaiting eagerly. Unfortunately, it disappointed. The story was slow, and stayed that way within the passing episodes. Adal (Fahad Mustafa), the character everyone hd been waiting for, seemed to be more a side character, while the whole drama seemed to be centered around Arleen (Mehreen Raheal). I think that what really got people excited for this drama was the promo in which Adal is giving a speech, the speech of none other than Benazir Bhutto herself. This promo is what first got me interested in Mastana Mahi, and perhaps the reason I have been disappointed with it is because this part of Adal’s life hadn’t been shown. But that all changed in this episode.
Adal Saeein comes back to Pakistan! His car drives up at a gorgeous haveli, where his mother (Sakina Sammo) is waiting for him. He’s greeted by flowers and smiles, but he doesn’t have time to chat, for his uncle’s rally is going on right at that very moment. Adal rushes over, with just enough time to catch the end of the speech. And the second he steps into the tent, BOOM!
What happens? A bomb blast, of course. Adal is knocked unconcsious, and wakes up to find himself in the middle of a wreckage. Roomi Insha’s directing and Fahad Mustafa’s acting made this scene incredible. Flames burning everywhere, people running, bodies lying scattered all over the place. The brilliance of the direction can be seen by just looking at the detail put into the scene. When Adal wakes up, somebody is slapping his face to make sure he’s alive, and then runs away again. Just a random citizen who was listening to the speech, making sure his beloved Adal Saeein is alive before running away from the wreckage. Great job Roomi Sahab! And the confusion was clear on Fahad Mustafa’s face as he looked around the burning tent. This expression quickly changes to horror as he sees his uncle lying dead next to the podium.
And his death is the turning point in Adal’s life.
Adal’s mother: Uff, itni jahilana soch? At first I thought that she must be representing a woman growing up in the atmosphere of politics without ever actually learning about them. But then Adal says “Aap itni parh likh ke itni jahil baatein kaise kar sakti hain?”
But his mother is a politician. “Hamara khoon nahin hai, siyasat hai. Hamare seene mein sirf aag hai.” Even after earning so much education, it all comes back to politics. “Hum siyasatdaan hain, phir kuch aur banay hain!” Tou yeh hota hain siyasatdaan. I have to admit, Adal’s mother is firm, fierce, commited to her profession. This is shown in part by Samira Fazal‘s dialogues and Sakina Sammo’s superb acting. She has been a politician since birth, and unlike Adal, loves politics. “Hamari jaanein apni nahin hai, awam ki hain.” This was a simple dialogue, but carried the whole idealogy of these politicians. Awam first, us later. If only every Pakistani politician had this idealogy. In fact, if only ONE Pakistani politian thought like this, it would be a great improvement. But why, if these people care so much about the awam, do they do these disgusting and jahil things behind the awam’s back?
Samira Fazal, it seems that no matter how much praise is given to you, it’ll never be enough. Yes, I thought that the story was slow. But the dialogues have been amazing from the start, and now that the story is at such a high point, they’re extremely riveting. “Life is not fair,” Adal’s mother says. “Yeh aap mujh se keh rahin hai,” Adal replies, “Usse tou fair unfair ka kuch nahin pata!”
I was hoping that Adal would say no, would refuse to ruin the life of an innocent little girl, but he didn’t. He married her, and then ran away. And that’s it. Adal can now go and marry whoever he wants, live his life outside of his mother’s little web of politics. But that poor 10 year old girl who just got married…well, as Adal said himself, “Usse apne gudde guriyon ke khel se fursat mile tou usse ehsaas ho ke uss ke saath kitna bara zulm horaha hai!”
Adal is going to get into more trouble next episode, as his life takes him to yet another chapter. I for one, am waiting impatiently for what’s coming next!
-Noorie
