And it keeps getting better and better. Last week I said this drama is very well written , well the writer has maintained that standard in the second installment as well. The story is progressing, the first episode mainly introduced us to Aurng, his family and the rest of the cast; while the second episode provided us with a much needed insight into the culture in which the story is set.
The references to ” kala Jaadoo ” and ” bachoan ki bemari ka Asar “, the long chadder, aurtoon ka waqt on the river, cock fighting, Shireen’s friend marriage proposal with a 50 year old and her brother’s only concern is to raise the bride price. The men focusing on the girl’s heels, The importance and frequent use of the terms ” bay-haya ” and “, ” bay-gairat ” revealed a lot about the culture and mindset of the characters.
The writer and director have a strong grip on the drama. Last week the episode was dominated by Aurang and Shameem, this week we only watched them in one scene. More screen time was given to the equally important supporting cast, which goes in the favor of the drama as more and more aspects of the story are being revealed, it is becoming more intriguing.
Sania Saeed and Nouman Ijaz are the backbone of the story. Shameem had only one scene but the wash she walked, her body language, dialogue delivery, it was superb. Gulistan Khan is one complicated character. He prays regularly but at the same time deals in Interest ( sood ), so much so that he is not afraid of disrespecting the dead and their graves to acquire his money. There is still so much about his past that we are not aware of, he sees flashbacks about his father’s painful last days and death, we don’t know why that haunts him.
Aurang’s Bhabi is sick but taking her to the city to see a doctor is unthinkable, it’s something unheard of. Again he is the only voice of reason in the entire household, he can see what’s really going on and he wants to fix it but the chains of jahalat will not be easy to break.
In the previous episode I had concluded that Gohar was emotional, immature and eager to prove himself. This week we saw many new shades to his personality and I didn’t like any one of them. He is the devil himself. He is trapping Shireen’s friend, deceiving her, convincing her that he is in love with her only so he can use her. His ” love letters ” are full of lies, he is generously showering her with presents and his writing skills show he has had some experience in the field. He knows what the girls want to hear. His Devilish ways are in complete contrast with the innocence and naive ways of his chosen victim. She is convinced he is a Namazi, Parhaizgar, shareef, Sacha Aashiq. It is also important to note that if her brother had not been planning her marriage with a much older man, maybe she would not get involved with Gohar. Now she knows what the future holds for her and this just might be her last chance at finding ” true love” and leading a ” happy life “. Having said that, I have to admit I could not keep a straight face while the ” love letters ” were being read …it was brilliant the way the writer had come up with those letters. It was like Romeo meets ” Urdu Insha “. The letters were clearly inspired or copied from Urdu Grammer text books, classic piece of writing .
Like in every other case where the men are too busy defending their honor and proving themselves to be respected by putting restrictions on their women, Shireen and her friend have been brought up in a very restricted environment. In the age of CD players, IPods and downloads Shireen dosen’t even know how to make a cassette player. They live in a different world, where men can enjoy live music, cockfighting and play card openly but women don’t even have access to TVs or cassette players.
Tora is keeping tabs on Gohar. Yes he has a score to settle with him but I have a feeling he also wants to get back at his inlaws family and this might provide him with an opportunity to do that. His servant is a true manipulator, he knows how to use this opportunity in his favor, apparently he is not that innocent.
Once again Sange Mar Mar proved to be a complete package. The elements of humor, romance, family politics, power struggle, manipulation of religion have all been dealt with brilliantly well. If you are not watching this drama yet, you are missing out on a phenomenal piece of work.
