The third installment provided some more information into the family’s history. The more we learn about them the more complicated and bizarre this town and it’s inhabitants appear to be.
We got to know about Tora’s mother Rakshe, a Bangali lady who was looked down upon, degraded and alienated by the entire family, based on her skin color and their ignorance of her culture. Her condition was miserable and heartbreaking, despite of all her attempts at blending in and pleasing her inlwas they never accepted her. Her end was truly heartbreaking, Gulistan Khan beat her up so bad that the beating resulted in her death. What was worse was that a very young and helpless Tora Khan was witnessing the helplessness and humiliation of his innocent mother. No wonder, he is still haunted by the memory of the events that took place that night.
This incident also shed some light on the unquestioned authority which Gulistan Khan enjoys, it’s either his way or the highway. The macho men in this family are obsessed with the notion of honor but their idea of Honor is bizarre. Taking the women in their household to see a lady Doctor is something to frown upon, cause it might give people the idea that they actually care about their women. Also, the city air might make their women immoral and corrupt. They are beyond reasoning, it is frustrating for an educated man like Aurang to try and convince them. Although he used a very tactful approach, talking first to his mother, brother and sister to gain their support but eventually nothing came of it.
Shameem is such an adorable character, She is positivity personified. The way she described her marriage is mind blowing. Aurang asked her the question which was on our minds too, ” Tum nay itnay saal Daa g jaisay aadmi k saath kaisay guzara ker leya ?” Her reply was, ” guzara mainnay nahi, Gulistan Khan nay mayray saath keya hai ” and then she went on to count all the ( few good things ) he has done for her over the years. She maybe simple but is also wise, she wants peace in her household and also wants to keep the family together; a characteristic that Aurang shares with her. That is partly the reason why she wants Tora’s sister to be her daughter in law, again a wish that Aurang shares with her :)
As it turns out , Shireen’s friend ( I keep forgetting her name ) is not getting married to a 50 year old and her brother is not a tyrant either. He is rather a simpleton and therefore people can easily manipulate him but his mother is a wise lady and she has the ultimate say in every matter. She therefore rejected that proposal. It was good to see a strong yet soft spoken lady who has the ultimate say in the matters of her household. Her daughter is naive and a hopeless romantic, she is convinced that ” the guy ” is in love with her , even though he hasn’t even seen her face, nor does he know her name or anything else about her. The girl is lively and smart but still she is no match for Gohar’s cunningness. I am hoping no harm comes to her, but she is in trouble and has no idea what is coming her way. Gohar is coming to meet her but he is also gonna be followed by Tora’s spies and the girl could end up in a lot of trouble.
The writer and director have very skillfully interwoven these contrasting female characters to show the different sides to the culture. We have women who are the typical gossip queens, then there are smart, wise but quiet women like Shameem who do what has to be done but do it quietly, there are women like Shireen who are being suffocated and then there are women like her friend and Sher Bano. So we do get to see a wide range of characters, each one is interesting in its own way.
The strength of this play is in the fact that the team has covered every aspect … Be that the story, editing , direction or acting and that is what has made this drama is a complete package.
