The story of a woman scorned, who lived with self imposed restrictions, suppressed emotions and desires for 12 years…but is by no means a baychari. She is one strong, determined and dominating character, who gets what she wants…by hook or by crook. This woman demands control, respect, obedience and she will get it…anyone who dares to oppose her or question her authority, will pay. It is not everyday that we get to see such refreshingly strong and evil characters who you love to hate but at the same time can’t get enough of.
While viewers keep coming back to some dramas week after week to watch ” two people in love ” , ” mohabbat Aag si ” is addictive cause you just can’t ignore Rukhsana a.k.a aapa ji. Love her, hate her, side with or against her but you simply cannot ignore her…she won’t have it. She is brutal and selfish to the core, as long as she is obeyed, she will be an angel but as soon as anyone dares to disobey she will not leave any stone unturn in making their life Hell. She has the ability of being both a Saint and Satin at the same time.
It was after a long time that we got to see the very talented Iffat Omer in what I would say is a ” role of a life time ” . She had been playing ” the bay-chari, mazloom, rooti-dhooti, zamanay Ki sataie aur shohar Ki thukraie aurat ” and I was so disappointed to see her being typecast for the longest period but then came ” MAS” and we got a chance to see Iffat in a whole new avatar. The away she has interpreted this role, made it her own and delivered it, is simply fabulous.
In the initial episodes, although we knew she used and manipulated her brothers and their wives, despite of that point certain audiences could still feel for her as she was a woman whose heart had been broken. Her parents were dead and at a young age, she was left to take care of her two younger brothers. It was sad, she was doing what she had to do to survive in a male dominated society. She didn’t want to be treated as an outcast shun by society cause she was a spinster. She refused to be taken pity upon, felt sorry for, she didn’t want anyone’s sympathy…rather she wanted, demanded and acquired ” Power “. At first glance she came across as a survivor but this character has layers, to say it is a complicated character would be an understatement.
This character has been developed so intelligently, she is the heart and soul of the show. Take away any other character and the show will go on but take away ” Appa Ji ” and there will be nothing left to talk about. The transformation of Rukhsana into Appa Ji is fascinating. How this average girl next door turned into a cold, heartless , calculating woman, who is evil personified, is an interesting tale. Her journey has been very convincingly depicted. The girl who was once in love and was even afraid to face the wrath of the boy’s mother gradually turned into a monster, who destroyed the lives of those who cared about her the most, she destroyed the love, happiness and hope in their lives and took away what they cherished the most. She is a survivor, she uses everyone she claims to love but her love is just another word for control, it all comes down to ” unchallenged rule ” , everyone from her beloved Wahajhat to the lifelong faithful Shreefaan are ” acceptable looses ” , they are nothing more than scape goats. While she does shed some tears after offering sacrificial rituals but deep down she cares for no one but herself. Not even Arshad, the so called love of her life.
Her double lives are fascinating. While she is a pious, modest, God fearing woman by day, at night she takes a completely opposite turn from her day job. She has a lust for life, she loves to dress up, listen to music, she wants to fall in love and have someone love her back…something which is very natural but what makes things complicated and makes us question her intentions is that nobody forced her into adopting this lifestyle, this was her own choice and a very clever choice. The writer has brilliantly made a very good point as to how how religion is manipulated by ordinary people, in order to command importance, respect and obedience. If Appa Ji was not using religion as a mask and tool, she would have very easily come across as a dictator and her means and motives would have been questioned and perhaps she would have been disobeyed but since she is using religion, no one can dare to question her.
Rukhsana is not bounded by any rules or restrictions of religion or morality, she will cross all limits to get what she wants and will be able to justify her means to herself without effort. It was after she was able to marry Arshad, her one true love that audiences were expecting to see a change in this character. Apparently, loosing the love of her life was the only factor that made her bitter, angry and manipulative, so when finally she was reunited with her true love, things were suppose to change but they didn’t. Credit goes to the writer and director of ” Mohabbat Aag Si ” for keeping this character real and true to herself. A woman who has enjoyed absolute obedience, control and power for 12 years wasn’t gonna become docile, humble and subservient overnight. That’s just not how it works in real life. Her nature cannot be changed, she is who she is, circumstances can change our mood, even our habits but not our nature and if you have been in the habit of practicing one simple rule, ” it’s my way or the high way ” , then chances are you will never change.
Her marriage didn’t change her, she is still the same person she was at the beginning of the drama. It is interesting that when a lady from her old neighborhood comes to her, Rokhsana is disappointed to hear that she has come to ask her husband Arshad for a favor and not ask Appa Ji to make ” DUA ” for her. While normal women might enjoy this second hand influence and power, that’s not who Appa Ji is, she wants to be the center of attention, she wants to enjoy first hand power.
This character is a welcome relief from all the routine, stereotypical female characters we get to see, all the girls next door and the vamps whom we have seen so many times, we cannot tell one from another. It is complicated characters like Appa gi that are remembered in the long run, people may forget ” MAS ” in a few months but this character will definitely be referred to whenever we discuss strong, meaningful female characters in the recent times, that actually contributed to the drama, without whom the drama would just be yet another NAND-Bhabi, Doosri biwi scenario that has been done to death. Credit goes to writer Imran Nazeer for creating this complex character that we can’t get enough of and to the director Syed Kamran Ahmed for revolving the story around this character so brilliantly that we get to see the conspiracies, planning and plotting done by her but at the same time we get to see things from her point of view as well.
