It is week 4, the story is going strong and we are still getting to know more and more about the characters. The variety of characters is amazing; Gul Begum, The guy selling the roosters, Tora Khan’s trusted spy, it’s not just the star cast that has so much potential but also the supporting cast. They bring an altogether different flavor to the drama; these people from different classes of the society.
The director and writer’s confidence in their script and actors shows in every scene. Characters were used only when and where their presence was required. Shameem’s older son comes when she has asked Aurang to wear his Western clothing, she knows her oldest son’s presence could land Aurang into trouble, so she quickly gets rid of him. Also she wanted to share that moment with Aurang alone :). Shameem cleans Aurang’s clothes and removes the stains placed on them by his father. She is one doting and proud mother. She heals the wounds inflicted by her husband. Tora Khan was given only one scene where he tells his spy to make sure Shireen’s brother finds out about her ( according to his misinformation) affair. The characters were not used and reused to drag the episode, even the main characters were given only the screen time necessary for the progression of the story which is very wise on the part of the writer and director.
The story is set in a small town, word gets around quick. Gul bibi is holding a grudge against Gohar and she is trying her best to get back at him, she therefore plays it very smart when she tells Shireen’s Bhabi about the paranda. Things are not looking good for Shireen, first the man followed a chaddar clad Durkhani to Shireen’s home and later Gul Begum spotted the paranda bought by Gohar Khan. These misunderstandings and misinformation is gonna get Shireen into trouble. Specially considering the fact that her Bhabi is one evil woman, In her attempts at getting control of the house and humiliating her husband she is willing to risk Shireen’s reputation and life. Also she wants to marry off her NAND to her cousin as an insurance policy. But the lady who came for the rishta was a typical jahil aurat , even after knowing Shireen was not interested she made it a matter of her ego, which appears to be running rampant in this part of the world. Gohar and Safi-ullah fought over a rooster and the rooster paid with his life. Another incident that goes to show these people are still living ng in the Stone Age.
It was however a breath of fresh air to see the otherwise very sweet, soft spoken Shireen giving the rishtay wali Aunty a shut up call. She was not shy about her rishta nor is she a bholli bhalli larki. She was right when she objected to the fact that the Aunty needed a maid and not a bahoo. I liked her confidence.
Gohar is the Ganda anda in Gulistan Khan’s family, most probably a serial rapist. The actor playing the role did a very convincing job. His meeting with Durkhani depicted his mentality, his actions, not giving away any information about himself, his eagerness to hold her hand, running after her, his entire body langue was well put together to show the mentality of this character. The naive and romantic Shireen and Durkhani present a stark contrast to this dark character, it was amazing how Durkhani completely ignored / forgot about his attempts at touching her and only remembered his sweet talk, when she was confiding in Shireen about her first Date.
Aurang was going back to the city and the farewell he received from both his father and mother goes to show, yet again the type of relationship he has with both of them. Shameem is a loving mother and Gulistan Khan only means strictly business; To the point talk, one sided question answer session, he made it clear what was required of his son and what kind of behavior would not be acceptable.
The team has put in a lot of hard work, the editing was superb and the duration of the scenes was perfect. The dialogues were to the point and as soon as the point was made , the story swiftly moved to the next scene.
One thing got stuck in my head. The culture shown in this drama is quite backward, the language used is simple but the characters keep on using the word ” bike “. It was used by Tora Khan and later by Durkhani, they call a cassette player a taperecord, so how come they don’t call a bike a ” motorcycle ” ? I also wanted to know what became of Shahbaz Khan, Gulistan Khan’s brother but there was no mention of him. But I can’t complain, overall this drama is a treat to watch and every week it ends too soon. :)
