I feel like someone with good news and bad news. Being the optimist let’s get the good news out of the way. Sadkey Tumharey is a really entertaining way to pass a Friday evening. The story is warming up, it is generally beautifully shot and the actors play their parts with dedication and sincerity. Adnan Malik is just too cute: all that swagger and “Man Up” talk is typical of a young man in his early twenties. The real strength of Sadkey Tumharey is of course Mahira Khan; her Shanno is so endearing and the heart of the each episode. In each scene we see how Shanno is being torn apart by her duty to her parents and her teenage romance with Khelu. Mahira’s expressions, her body language capture it all perfectly. Out of all the other good performances I have to put a word in for the actor playing Dr Maqsood and Farhan Agha as Khelu’s father who are upping the charm quotient with in every episode. Sammiya Mumtaz is usually a good actress but she is hamming it up for Rasheeda Khala but I am guessing that is how the character is written

While Khelu is waiting for Shanno’s reply to the letter he left last episode  ,his parents go to meet Shanno’s parents in order to ask for her hand formally . Rasheeda meets them well enough but allows her husband to reject the rishta. Khalu Amin brings his elder brother (father of Bah ji Fayaz ) to do the honours and insult Khelu’s family .Meanwhile Shanno has some questions for the local molvie which may explain some of the fraying family ties .I have to say the way Khelu and Shanno’s rishta is a matter for the whole Khandan is both amusing and so true to life. I just loved the seen when Mohammed Buta and Beyji came barging in to Shanno’s house .Again the scenes of Shanno’s Thaya ji and father rejecting the proposal were nicely done without resorting to melodramatic music so I suppose the director had to balance all he got right with a few mistakes this episode …. ..Just to keep it all fair ?

Now the bad news. First we are treated to some badly arranged dubbing for Shanno as she explains the situation to her friend. I understand some times technical difficulties happen and perhaps the sound was lost, things happen but at least make an effort to get someone with a similar style of speaking. Such regionally accented Urdu for a simple Punjabi girl from an out of the way village beggars belief. Then we are treated to recap scenes in which Shanno and Khelu repeat everything that happened a few scenes back to their respective friends. Again I understand that these days a serial isn’t commercially viable unless it is so many episodes long and a few fillers have to be a put in now and then. At least Khalil Ur Rehman knows how to write the fillers well.

The real shocker this week was the badly arranged scene where Shanno exposes her mother’s (for want of a proper word) “Badkari” to the village molvie. Surely such an Alim who was explaining Sharia to her should have mentioned a few Hadith about covering other people’s sins so Allah would cover ours or perhaps some mention of honouring our mother’s might have been more to the point. So Rasheeda really paid for those slaps she keeps handing out to Shanno. Moral outrage aside, this was a really badly conceived scene. Such a monologue might work in a book but it is incredibly confusing on screen. A few flashbacks or at least some different camera angles might have broken it up to something more digestible. If Hum TV could provide a chart, I would be immensely grateful. So far all I have managed to pick up on is that Shanno’s mother was 15 and was caught in inappropriately close situations with her brother in law at least twice. The rest was very confusing, so Sadkey Tumharey joins the dubious ranks of Numm and Dil Mohalley ki Haveli which also had strange, complicated back stories badly explained.

As far as I know Pakistani culture and especially the Punjab have a strong, set beliefs about genetics. How many rishta’s are rejected simply because the boy’s mother thinks the girl’s mother talks a lot an might be a little chalaq, so how did Khelu’s parents overlook such a strong character defect in Rasheeda and ask for Shanno in the first place?

After 5 great episodes which were fun to watch even if they were a little light on content this episode was a little disappointing. I am so hoping this was a temporary aberration and we get back to the fun , sweet well-made romance this was promising to be.

P.S Thank God I am not related to a writer ;)

Written by Sadaf Haider