The dramatic arc continues with unlucky episode number 13. This time however, things were a little too pat. Yes, we all know Ali’s pendulum swings back and forth from authoritarian patriarchal male to kind and caring but this time, it was pretty abrupt.
While both Seherish and Ali feel they have been deceived and lied to, there are stages to anger and reconciliation. Why is it that neither of them gave their spouses the chance to explain themselves? Things did get out of hand but this level of false accusations and misunderstandings requires some benefit of doubt no? Instead the men unsheathe divorce as the sword of Damocles.
Seherish’s anger has her flying off the handle and accosting Ali with ‘saboot’ with little regard to the consequences of her actions. Aisha Khan is pitch perfect here. I’ll give you that this is in character for her, and she regrets it later, but for Ali to mull over this overnight and the drop his overhanging sword is not easy to digest-despite the brilliant stop-motion photography.
While all of this was expected, it was a little too quick. I would have liked to see Ali try and be on his other end of the pendulum and struggle a little at this revelation and his faith and trust in his spouse. Of course his male ego stroked by his mother’s ire and fire just pushed him over the edge.
Even when his mother belatedly tries to extinguish those fires, Ali stubbornly refuses to yield. Jibran, however did an excellent job though I have to wonder if attempts at exploring his other side would have allowed him to be more nuanced.
And this was probably where I would have liked to see Sania’s inner Kashaf resurrected. Didn’t she defend her son against Ali earlier? Wouldn’t you fight tooth and nail to defend yourself?Where did her all bravado go to defend herself and her right to be with her son? Why would she so easily agree to Ali’s orders – especially when this time even her mother-in-law was backing her?
Despite how I would have liked things to play out, Sanam Saeed was also stellar as the wronged and abandoned wife with the right touch of desperation in her calls to her mother and her pleas for a place to stay.
Clearly Samira Fazal and Yasir Nawaz have a good command over their story telling but in rushing his crucial aspect of communication between couples they missed an opportunity at a different take on some very pertinent issues – divorce as threat, a women’s right to her home and child in wake of that threat and radio silences as culpability.
Till now they have stayed away from any over the top-ness, though if Aziz bhai and his family are any indication I suspect the winds are changing.
Still, I have my fingers crossed.
MM (aka A musing Muslim)
