Let me say first of all I had decided against reviewing this serial because the promos  looked slow , annoying and a little too intimate for my taste. However being a Fawad Khan fan,as the moment of truth approached all pretense at rationality finally crumbled and here I am . Fair warning though , if it get’s really bad  then even I might have the strength to drop it .As a first episode this was quite intriguing. From the promos I had been expecting long scenes and actors contemplating their fate, fanned only by the breeze created by their lonely sighs. Happily, the story moved along at a good pace and the basic pillars of the plot were smoothly established without reams of dialogue. Perhaps it’s me but I have a feeling someone has done a good job of editing this, because the look of the promos was very different, much slower.

The story revolves around Fawad Khan and two women; you could have knocked me over with a feather …Quelle surprise… what innovation! I wonder why NO one ever thought of that before. I guess it just takes a special kind of genius. Wali Bakht arrives in, what is by now Fawad Khan’s requisite fancy car, along with a friend presumably from his college in Oxford. Being the Zamindar type he ignores his guest and takes a nap. From Wali’s interaction with the super competent Mahjabeen we can tell not one of them is happy with the zabardasti ka rishta between them. Wali actually seems embarrassed that his friend sees Mahjabeen and to her credit she isn’t exactly bothered by her young husband’s approval or disapproval. I say to her credit because the promos keep showing her in classic doormat formation being ill-treated by his silly younger wife and making simply sickening glances of entreaty at Wali, instead of smacking said younger wife around the head and walking off.Then we are introduced to Wali’s new, very reluctant bride to be. At this point I would like to heave a long drawn out sigh and ask myself the question: why do all of Fawad Khan’s heroines have so many nakhras…will there ever be a play where the bride is actually happy about marrying him? Is this some kind of Freudian revenge the industry is taking out on him because of his unquestionable popularity …? Moving on: I was ready to hate this Neelam character on sight because again from the promos she was acting like a witch and could barely pronounce her dialogues.

However at this point she seems to be the only sensible one. I know that is going to change because in this writer’s Universe the more educated you are the worse a person you become. Wali’s mother is educated: hopeless case locked in a room, Wali is educated: resigned to marry any number of women he has no interest in and damaged by his father’s death, Neelam’s Mother is your typical evil, hypocritical NGO lady beloved of Pakistani dramas: willing to surrender her daughter to a complete stranger, Neelam is convent educated but a witch of the first water and talks to trees etc… But the soft spoken Mahjabeen who has ostensibly been dealt the worst hand in life and cannot remember how to read English anymore, is quite normal. Neelam’s character is established as childish, rude and possessive. I am not sure who she was talking to by the tree when her mother comes to collect her but it seems as if she lives in her own fantasy world. Neelam is braver than Wali and actually tries to get out of this situation; her speech about feudals was actually quite good ,now if she would just enunciate the words more clearly. So far Kanza’s acting leaves a little to be desired but she seems to have put a lot of energy into her acting, perhaps it will improve. It must be hard for any newcomer with proven actors like Sanya Saeed, Fawad Khan etc.. in front of them.

I can only suppose the insular, claustrophobic feeling I am getting from the lighting and the camera angles is deliberate but there must be better ways of doing it. Since watching the promos for this serial I felt it might be similar to ASHK , well  it’s not. The beginning 7-8 episodes of Ashk were actually quite reasonable and beautifully shot compared to this. Things just got crazy in Ashk when the story moved to Turkey.  I am resigned to the fact that this serial is going to be full of regressive themes and utterly degrading to women.The fatalism and inertia of the characters in this episode and all the promos seem to guarantee it. Having said that it is nicely put together by director Ahasan Talish, and  holds the viewer’s interest but as is becoming a familiar refrain, its biggest attraction is Fawad Khan. As usual he is the best thing about the serial   From the moment we see him he  owns the  character of Wali Bakht. Without him it would be eminently missable. Sanya Saeed is of course subtly perfect , her acting skills are undeniable. Usman Peerzada is good as Sekander Baksh or” Barrey saheb” ,  who forces his decisions on the others because as he says he provides the money , for the good life, the cars etc..  Farah Shah  as Umptal ,Wali’s sad and disturbed mother was also good, it was quite a surprise to hear her character  speak such good English despite the Jahalat that has apparently trapped her family. In the beginning she is shown begging her husband played I think by Ahsan Talish( ?), not to take revenge on the people who have murdered his brother. I am assuming that Wali’s forced marriage to Mahjabeen is probably a result of those actions.

Is it just me or shouldn’t we as a people be moving forward from this almost inevitable, fatalistic attitude towards various cruel and jahil practices in our culture?I am going to remain hopeful for this serial and give it a B ( however without Fawad it would be a C because it all looks so old fashioned).After all it has some great actors in it and as a first episode it was engaging. There must be a reason why one of the; if not the highest paid actor in our industry chose to do this instead of the no doubt  myriad offers coming his way. So far I cannot see the reason . I really wish Fawad would move on from this two women fighting over him scenario ,surely there are better stories out there ?

Written By Sadaf

Maria’s thoughts:

Excellent review Sadaf. Thanks for putting it all my thoughts very nicely! I think most of the matter about stereotypical flogging of horse *cough NGO lady cough* almost made me roll my eyes but then layout of excellent script coupled with mysterious characters and some well directed scenes, and F-factor makes Numm something a little more intriguing:

Let me starting by putting some of my favorite dialogues from the episode today:

-Jahalat ka kala rang, apni tarhan aurat kay har rang ko tareek bana deta hai…

-Tum bhi is maqbra hoo..aik kahani ka maqbra ho..

-Baghti Rahay Gi, Baghti Rahay Gi…akhir kahin to rukna parhay ga na!

I have two things to add.

To be quiet honest I never found anything great in Fawad Khan’s acting. He just played himself…He played Fawad Khan! On the other hand, I thought Kinza (Neelum’s) acting was spot on! You could literally feel her heart beating in her eyes at the absurdity of this entire situation. She might seem over the top but she knows her destiny or her fate is not in her hands. Her move to demand speaking to Wali without seeing the repercussions of her act and trying to control a little bit of situation shows that she is trying to make sense of it all. Unlike Mahjabeen who has accepted the stillness and loneliness of the hawlili around her, Neelum is a total storm. Wali on the other hand can pretend to could shoulder Mahjabeen all he wants but he treats her more like a teenage son could shoulder treating their mother who has just scolded him. There is definitely more to their relationship then the two minutes we have seen together.

Numm might seem a story of extremity but I see it more as a metaphor for smaller things in society. All characters are bound by laws and morals, they never choose or can control.  It is a constant battle of love and hate. Neelum can’t stop loving her grandmother yet she is the one who is bounding her to a fate she would rather not have. Numm might not be everyone’s cup of tea but its raw emotions at least have encompassed me for now. Looking forward from the team and more.

– Maria