The problem with reality is mostly it is improbably strange or just too banal to write about. I think by sticking a little too close to the actual events and allowing for the fact that no serial is commercially viable without at least 22-24 episode Sadkey Tumharey is in real danger of becoming a drag. This week’s episode was mostly a delight to watch but towards the end I felt like the kid who spends too long at the mela and gets sick of the rides and sweets.
Mahira Khan was the star of this episode, the girl can act. Shanno facing Khalil, Shanno facing Bhaa ji Fayaz and then, the best scene, Shanno, facing off with her parents. That one scene between Rasheeda and Shanno gave this entire episode the required depth and anchored it firmly in the audience’s consciousness just as it threatened to float away on a cloud of mushy sentiment and romance. So Khalil is at Shanno’s house to give her a letter proclaiming his love and most importantly he wants an answer. Now here is that rare thing that is often missing from stories these days ….consent. Thank you Khalil ur Rehman Qamar for as usual drawing a portrait of a woman who knows her mind. She is not afraid of Bhaa Ji Fayaz and is not going to be cowed into a corner by anyone, not even Khalil. This girl knows she has a right to say who will be part of her life and if she cannot assert herself openly just like any teenager she tells her mother she will kill herself with a perfectly straight face.
Just like last week, Rasheeda is a cartoon witch who has suddenly woken up one morning and decided to be evil. If she was so against Khalil’s family why did she put this whole engagement idea into her daughter’s mind in the first place? Perhaps we will find out when the “asli ‘Sheeda comes out next week but so far it makes no sense that loving parents would suddenly turn into tyrants.
Forget Shanno, Bhaa ji Fayaz and Khalil look well on their way to being best friends … well maybe not. Their sequence was so funny: Mukarram Kaleem , impresses again with his perfect comedic timing and deadpan responses to Adnan Malik’s chalaqiya. For me Khelu came across as a bit of a jerk facing off with Fayaaz especially the sudden fast bowling scene .Adnan Malik is for the most part very convincing as Khelu but this is his first serial and he is a little shaky here and there. The song could definitely have been pictured more subtly, perhaps with less Shah Rukh Khan and a little more Adnan Malik. Message to Adnan: you have quite a surplus of charm and good looks already stop gilding the lily.
Again a captivating and fun episode but the story really does need to move forward faster. I am beginning to suspect this serial is more than a little geared to the new Indian Market for Pakistani Dramas. There is no harm in that so long as the producers remember the reason that market opened up in the first place : depth and content. India has plenty of good looking actors and actresses and are experts in brightly lit , highly contrived scenes of annoying cuteness already , please Pakistani drama makers don’t fix what isn’t broken .
Written by Sadaf Haider
