Hate him all you like, Shereyaar-Mr.Mercurial-Hassan won me over with his defense of his wife. I’m not saying he’s God’s gift to women, although you’d think that were true with the way Zareena and Sajjal are behaving. Shereyaar is sincere towards his commitments and that’s definitely not a trait that we see too often in our drama world. As expected, when he found out that his mother had taken Emaan, he rushed to her rescue- I liked how instinctively protective he is of Emaan. For the most part, Emaan doesn’t seem like someone who needs saving but she’s a completely different person when it comes to her in-laws. She doesn’t want to disrespect them which is why she seems more compliant than Shereyaar expected. Sheryaar’s parents had a grilling session over the dinner table and had no qualms about pointing out their disappointment. They reminded Emaan that it is her duty to live with her in-laws and I was happy to see a man take a stand against this baseless expectation. Pakistani society is heavily influenced by their Indian counterparts and plenty of rasms which play a huge role have no religious value. Shereyaar was completely put off by his Chachi’s behuda goad barhai rasm which was simply a lame attempt at making everyone buy into the superstition that something bad would happen. I’m not an advocate for being disrespectful especially not with one’s parents but I truly admired Shereyaar for confronting his parents and reminding them that they were the ones who chose to severe all ties with him when he married Emaan and even refused to partake in the valima. Given their history, Shereyaar doubts their true intentions because he’s not convinced with their sudden acceptance of their bahu.

I remember in one of my previous review, the mastermind behind this drama, Faysal mentioned that Shereyaar’s family are typical Dehli waleys and with each episode, I’m haunted by how realistically they have been portrayed. I happen to hail from a similar background and my father’s side of the family fits this description to the T. Shereyaar’s parents can’t help themselves from meddling in his life and their newest obsession is Shereyaar’s waris. Till now, Shereyaar wasn’t really planning to start a family but a chance encounter with a roadside kid touched him and he too felt that he’s ready for the next phase. However, I have to mention here that that scene in particular wasn’t done right- they should have used a younger boy instead. It just gave me very negative vibes! Emaan was ecstatic with this welcome change but something tells me there’s trouble brewing in the form of Sajjal.

I was shocked with the way she lashed out at her mother- I don’t entirely hold her accountable. Her mother refuses to let her move on with her life and has simply enabled her addiction. Sajjal never had a personality of her own- she was molded from a young age and told what was expected of her. She was sure that her future was destined with Shereyaar and even though she probably never really loved him, she felt he was the only man for her. This rejection hasn’t gone down well with her and her mother’s constant reminder doesn’t help. I seriously think she needs counselling- breakups are hard and even though this wasn’t technically a break up, Sajjal was supposedly engaged to Shereyaar and before she had had a chance to absorb everything, Shereyaar secretly married Emaan. I would definitely blame Shereyaar for not having the guts to man up and face the music- he should have broken off the engagement or better yet, not allowed it to take place to begin with!

Emaan’s fixation with Rohail’s son is going to create a rift in her life- I understand her passion for children but she’s sensible enough not to waltz in to the bedroom! Also, she spends countless hours over there which are beginning to look forced. If this was a relative or family friend, I could still cut her some slack but the fact that she knows very little about the mysterious single dad Rohail and yet continues going over unannounced is not in line with her character. Sajjal will definitely use this to her advantage because she seems to be a (wo)man with a mission. I really didn’t get what triggered her to go over to Emaan’s house and moreover, I’m seriously tired of seeing servants gossiping carelessly about those that pay their wages! The muft ka mashfaraas are also very annoying. Looking forward to seeing how Emaan deals with Sajjal in the next episode.

Kanwal Murtaza