With any other drama I might be able to catch up on the story in a few lines but PNKK has so much going on in every episode that I fear I will not be able to do justice to it . Still here is a rough outline and my apologies in advance If I left anything pivotal out.
When last I reviewed Shams had been accused of murder and ended up in jail for shooting someone when he went to argue with his brother about their inheritance. The director and writer quite skillfully play on this, slowly revealing what happened and to whom, keeping the audience’s interest without any overt dramatic ploys. It eventually does turn out that Shams was set up by his brother and was sentenced to life in prison. Meanwhile Shagufta has a baby girl Noor al Ayn and is basically left helpless and alone with the one benefit of the house Shams had bought her. She struggles financially and emotionally and is abandoned by her own family who somewhat conveniently blame her for her father’s untimely death. Elyas may have been a sweetheart but he was forever small hearted and quite ruthlessly throws Shagufta out.
Ruthlessness seems to run in the family as Shagufta metes out the same callous and cold treatment to Zarina, Shams’ other wife as if she can make Zarina disappear by acting this way. Zarina is actually the better person and ignores Shagufta bad attitude and tells her about Shams’ brother’s evil plans to get rid of him. The only person who helps Shagufta at all is Soleri Saheb, but even he abandons here and leaves for a hasty trip to England for a while. Before leaving he does put her in touch with a lawyer, a fairly decent sort, who helps Shagufta with a job and helps her study the law. A single mother dependent on the winds of fortune, Shagufta faces much hardship raising her child but manages to get Shams transferred to Lahore and his release is always her main goal.
Shams is shot but lives through a fake encounter and Soleri Saheb returns from England (which seemed like a hasty trip to escape something). Shams insists Shagufta work with Soleri as he sees his political mentor as his last chance for release. Shagufta then becomes involved in politics and gets ready to stand for election .Sadly Shams is sentenced to life in prison and Soleri Saheb seems to be getting to close to Shagufta for comfort.
This serial has all the hallmarks of a fabulous thriller but someone told the team to fit a square peg into a round hole and it is to director Ehtashamuddin great credit that he has somehow managed it. 10 episodes down and this serial has yet to put one foot wrong. The brilliant way this story has been picturized and the great performances are a pleasure to watch. Here we have it ladies & gentleman: that sadly not so common phenomena, when director , writer and cast all on the SAME page. Simple viewers like me don’t have to spend hours trying to understand a character’s motivations or why something happened. All the hard work has been done for the audience by the PNKK team.
There isn’t much of Ahsan Khan in the last three episodes as Shams is mostly seen in Jail but he plays his part exceptionally well and I can only wonder why a man of his talents agrees to do nonsense like Tumharey Siva? Hira Salman delivers a powerhouse performance which does complete justice to Shagufta Shehzadi’s character. She is the lynchpin of this entire serial and if she didn’t make it work the whole thing would fall apart. Saman Ansari as Zarina, everyone’s favourite whipping girl, is a bit hard to swallow but I guess there are such people . Saman Ansari is very competent actress, for my sins I have watched her and the strangely purple hair she has in Saas Bahu on Geo and she holds her end up of the bargain well. In episode 10 we actually saw a flash of defiance from Zarina which went some way to humanizing her strange character.
Amna Mufti draws a sharp contrast between Shams’ two wives. As I have noted before in any other serial, Zarina would have been the heroine. Sad, soft spoken she is desperate to please and seems utterly spineless. Meanwhile Shagufta might well have been the villain, outspoken, determined and self-confident. Shagufta is no saint but she does come across as a normal, flawed human being. Her hatred and treatment of Zarina is cruel .After watching so many dramas I was expecting Shagufta to keep Zarina on as her child’s Ayah in a spirit of compromise or even pity but Ghoshi is made of sterner stuff. She sends poor Zarina off with the message that Shams daughter will make him proud, even if she has to feed her child sleeping medication to work in the evenings. However unworthy and cold her actions are I cannot help but feel a sense of sneaking admiration for Shagufta who won’t give up one inch of her territory. Or maybe I am just so grateful this isn’t sliding into a typical “Dusri Bivi” drama that I am appreciating Ghoshi’s bad behavior?
Meanwhile Adnan Shah Tipu has been fabulous as Shams is villainous brother; I just love him and Farhana Maqsood together. The phrase “the banality of evil “comes to mind. I love the duppattah tied to Farhanas head, the village scenes and Adnan Shah Tipu’s slow burning cunning, all little details that make this whole serial so authentic. Not to forget Rehan Shaikh, who is a fabulous actor and always gives us something worth watching.
Soleri Saheb is a dark horse, though he hasn’t been shown attacking Shagufta overtly but he is shown trying to be unnecessarily familiar with her . He is sponsoring Shagufta to run for a seat in her old mohallah and trying to push Shams into her past. However Shagufta is not the sort to be manipulated by anyone. Next week’s promo shows Elyas waiting to meet Shagufta and I am dying to know what will happen. I doubt Shagufta is one to forgive or forget too easily.
Written By Sadaf
( this post also appears at http://sadafsays.com/2016/01/09/preet-na-karyo-koi-episodes-8-9-10-review/
