I thoroughly enjoyed today’s episode. It had to be the most well-balanced one so far, we saw just as much of Shafique, Arham, Milli , Sakina and Najma as we did of Rafique. I must hand it to Babar Javed, the director, for doing such a commendable job. Whenever I watch SPLK I feel like I have been transformed into another world and Shafique’s fears and Arham’s worries become as much of my concern as theirs. The past two episodes have made me fall in love with the Milli-Arham track, so definitely no more quibbles with that. The performances by all the actors are absolutely fascinating and enthralling. The only problem I have is with the script, the dialogues can sometimes be uninspiring and the language too plain. I especially feel that way when it comes to Milli’s and Sakina’s dialogues. And I can’t help but wonder why Arham speaks so much English? It’s almost as if he is uncomfortable conversing in Urdu.
In my opinion today’s episode was more about Shafique and Arham’s story than that of Rafique. Milli lost her baby and it is all Arham’s fault or so she would like to believe. Yes Arham is a drug-addict no doubt and being one he has weak nerves and fails to deal with the issues at hand. But Milli Is not exactly being fair too, I would have blamed Milli’s reaction to everything happening with her on the “drugs” that Kareema is giving her but as far as I can recall Milli was never the compromising/understanding sort. She was quick to believe Najma but won’t trust her husband for a second. Part of the problem also is that Arham’s mother never let the two develop their relationship with each other and now they have come to the point where they have nothing to say to each other except arguing. Sometimes I wonder if Milli even loves Arham or maybe it is her larger-than-life ego that won’t allow her to show her love for him.
Shafique and Najma did not get into much of a fight after all. Najma, unlike Milli is easy- going and can let go of things more easily. Shafique’s conversations with his ‘friend’ are always a delight to watch. Dhama (I think that is what the name is) is someone who has been through a lot and always renders sincere advice to Shafique, without being fearful that as a consequence he may lose his friend. The only advice I would not like him to give Shafique is that of him constantly telling Shafique to earn a living the way most transgenders do. Today again while he gives Shafique the accurate advice of thinking about getting married at the same time he told him that it is the season for shadis, therefore Shafique should make the most of it and collect some money for the rickshaw he wants to buy for Najma. I think the rickshaw farmaish is just too cute, it gives you an insight into what girls like Najma would wish for, she does not want her man to buy a car or a bike but a rickshaw!
Anjay continued to impress Sakina with his well-planned tactics. Sakina, obviously is easily impressed by all the rashan that Anjay brings and has absolutely no clue that it is this man who is behind everything that goes wrong in her life. Mohib Mirza is beyond brilliant as Anjay, the man has so many faces and facets to him. Anjay has his eyes on Najma and Safique is no match for him, I wonder where the story is going to go from here. While, I am quite certain that Najma has her heart set on Shafique, Anjay is not the one to back-off easily. The sheer glee on Najma’s face when Anjay gives her the locket suggests she may not be that difficult to convince!
There were two new important developments in the Rafique-Sakina track, one we found out that Sakina was engaged to Shafique initially but since he never planned to marry, she was married to Rafique. Sakina shared this ‘family secret’ with Anjay, which in my opinion was not a very good move. Second, the peer sb once again forbids Rafique from going near his wife and Anjay suggests they sleep in separate rooms. I think asking Rafique to do so maybe part of a bigger conspiracy. Rafique continued to be as gullible as usual and is just getting more desperate to meet his Sabz Pari thanks to the hype created by Anjay and the fake peer. In my opinion, Sakina’s character could have been more aptly portrayed. Nimra Bucha is a brilliant actress but this character is not bringing out the best in her. She is doing a great job of playing the simpleton Sakina, who can’t do much except complaint every now and then but i want to feel more for her, I want to feel her pain and shed a few tears for her.
SPLK definitely deserves more praise, appreciation and viewership than it is getting at the moment. It has a cohesive storyline, the direction is spot-on and the riveting performances are bound to leave you spell-bound. A special thanks to A&B productions for always coming up with something different and looking out for public interest while making plays more than following the general trends being followed on television.
Author: Fatima Awan.
