Intense drama with a fast pace – I like it. The story covers a variety of issues and has been beautifully layered and has shown cohesiveness at least in the first 4 episodes. The benefit that this drama has which others sometime lack is a great cast. The line- up is brilliant, Noman Eijaz, Savera Nadeem, Sunita Marshal, Beenish Chauhan, Amina Sheikh, Faisal Qureshi… it goes on.
In case you missed the first 4 episodes, here is what has happened so far: Noman Eijaz ie Malik Shahab who is a politician alongside being a rich zameendar is desperate to have a son; yes not a child, just a SON. He has a wife, very beautifully played by Savera who has had 6 still births, none of which resulted in a live child. Malik’s grievance is that he needs a child to not only carry forward his lineage but to ensure that his zameen and jaidad doesn’t get written off to his wife’s brothers (who happen to be his cousins). Issue: He cannot take a second wife as that is what he promised to his chacha (wife’s father). It gets a little complicated because Mr Playboy Malik has had 3 other marriages on the side (in the city) without his wife’s knowledge and has written off those marriages because none resulted in a son. Simultaneously, Sunita Marshal, Amina Sheikh and Faisal Qureshi ki apni khichri pak rahi hoti hai in Turkey… (which I didn’t honestly enjoy- a bit stretched). In any case, Shazmeen comes to Pakistan from Turkey, to find Malik… Meantime, Mr Playboy has an ongoing affair with his wife’s maid (Beenish Chauhan) whom he promises to marry once she gives him the good news that she is having a son.
Disgusted? Yeah, me too! But let’s face it, this happens. Men kill their daughters (before and after they are born) simply because of their gender. Our society is dominated by the ideology that the male gender is a far superior one. Jis ghar mein beti paida hoti hai us ghar mein itni khushi nahi hoti hai compared to the family who has had a baby boy. Bachi nahi Bacha chahiye! The woman – aurat ki zindagi ka maqsad sirif bachay paida karna hai. Tehzeen, Malik’s city wife (not known to first wife), was a symbol of the reality that aurat ki zindagi aik khel hai – it’s just to produce SONS.
Babar Javed has yet to impress me. The direction is dull; the cast is a super talented one especially Noman Eijaz. I feel that Babar J could have taken this to a different level especially given that the story is a great one. In any case, agay bohot baqi hai, let’s see how it goes from here.
Samira Fazal – well written. I feel that Turkey and its incidents were far too stretched. Also, some of the scenes with Amina Sheikh were just too dry. This may be in part due to poor direction, but I felt that some more chemistry and enthusiasm from the cast may have done the trick.
You have focused in this drama on a very important issue that plagues our society. It is found throughout the social structure; from the poorest to the richest, the illiterate to the most educated… everyone since the beginning of time needs a son. I would be interested to see how this drama turns out and what the consequence of Malik’s ill behavior and his disgusting attitude towards women leads him to. I won’t be surprised if he gets away with all of this crap because really, people like him get away with anything! I just hope that Shazmeen is not stupid enough to marry him and screw up her life.
I will keep watching – you have me interested! Good stuff!
Desigirl
