“Aap uss ladki ko ab tak yaad kartay hain?” Haan, Saman, kyuki woh ladki tum ho!
After twelve long episodes, it seemed Mausam needed a timeout, perhaps, like Bashar Momin (side note: Bye bye Momin, too bad there’s no Goya in that picture).
After gun-gaooing (and there has been a lot of gun-gaooing lately on these boards for all the wrong reasons) left, right, and centre last week, I was beginning to think I might have to bite my words, as the next installment gave us more of exactly the same – rona dhona, bichaday saathi, mazloom begum, uska beygairat shohar aur phalana phalana. Lekin, and thankfully, this state of perpetual limbo is finally over!
What took Mausam thirteen episodes to convey could have easily been done in eight. In fact, I’m willing to forgive them the extra four had it not been for the thirteenth episode, which (truth be told) went no where other than reinforce the misery every major character seems to be engulfed in or by. So, I was a bit hesitant to immediately come back with a review, if only to test the water out one last time.
Also, and I guess this is confession time fellow filmi travelers, there’s hardly anything on TV these days that I’d want to watch let alone review. Are you listening Team Goya? Hurry up and get the series started, please and thanks! Sometimes, as Woody Allen once said, all you need is a good story!
But coming back to our leads and their slow spiral towards despair, I had just about had it. Was Hashir going to go on and on about Saman’s loss? Will Shazia continue her charade just a little bit longer? Would Faisal just give Saman a break, after all, the girl sold her jewellery for his “successful” business?! Hello?! See where I’m going with this…
Just as I was about to fling my remote at Ahsan Khan’s rather pretty face, I was finally given the promised milan between our doomed lovers. Oh wait, is Saman really a pyaar ki deewani, mohabbat ki mastaani? Regardless, Hashir and Saman together were every bit convincing as people in their strained circumstances: one hopelessly in love, the other painfully oblivious, which only makes me wonder if there’s a happy ending in store.
For a series that has been both slow, and lately, repetitive, the narrative has finally picked up its pace. Yes, remember that thing we left behind when Hashir left for England, we’re finally treated to the lives of our ostensibly pretty but actually desolate and dismal leads – Hashir, Saman, and Shazia – in what can only be seen as a welcome sign of what is yet to come.
If Hashir and Saman are living through their excruciating lives one breath at a time, then, Shazia is one conflicted character. The highlight of the thirteenth episode (for me at least) was Shazia’s introspection. A beautifully constructed sequence, the flashbacks with their jump-cuts between a pensive Yumna Zaidi (as she stares into the dark night) and moments that she could have changed, was paired perfectly with a haunting soundtrack. Seeing Shazia reflect on her actions, I couldn’t help but realize that loneliness has finally sunk in. Here is a girl unable to take back the things that she set into motion, the lives she played with at her whim and fancy, the emotions she betrayed all in the hopes of her shazada.
Her illusionary shazada, though, remains but a figment of her imagination for Hashir has eyes for no one other than Saman. In fact, the moment our perpetual bechaari walks into Nigar Aunty’s alishaan drawing room clad in a simple lapis-coloured cotton shalwar kameez – its simplicity accentuated by the peach gota lining – we knew Hashir was a man smitten, and any red blooded man should be! Yes, yes, I agree the dupatta was strategically placed covering just enough of Saman’s hair, that her “simple” suit had a flawless A-line, and that her leather clutch added just the right amount of chic. Madame, madame, madame, vous etes tres elegant. In a day and age where we see more and more of the Wahabi hijabs and niqabs, Western capris and tops, I absolutely loved this brief but visually striking sequence of Pakistani fashion. Was it any surprise that Hashir showed up in a indigo shirt as well? Subliminal messaging, perhaps.
These stunning visuals (an aspect that Mausam impresses on week after week) were accompanied by strong dialogues and flawless acting.
With Shazia slowly coming to terms with her loneliness, Hashir mourning his true love, and Saman worried that she’s always boring, all I see are unfulfilled lives, shattered dreams, and broken promises abound. And for what, I wonder? In all this, the one person for whom I have no sympathy is Faisal. A truly grotesque man made slightly bearable by the very handsome Yasir Mazhar (there’s a reason the saying goes tall, dark, and handsome, ladies), the way he treats Saman is simply despicable. Zulm to uss par ho raha hai, musibaat bhi jhail rahi hai woh, lekin kyun, kisliye, aur kab tak?
With Faisal headed for the three words most men resort to, it remains to be seen who shall triumph: Shaatir Shazia or Sada-mijaz Saman?
Till next week.
This is RB signing off. (Tweet me!)
Rab Rakha
