Talk about being tauter than the strings of a Tanpura! Maybe I should uncross my fingers. This episode moved on from the effects of last week with quick fire pacing, superb storytelling, and every character reacting true to form.

Sania alone and broken is clinging on to dregs of self-respect refusing to reach out for any help. Ali, staying hot headed and perhaps a little irresponsible is forging ahead with divorce papers and little interest in the truth. His mother, still playing up her persecution complex and failing as an elder, to set things right. And Rumi. dear sweet darling child who sets off in search of his mother is aching, confused and a little lost.

Seherish regretting her actions is walking on eggshells around ‘Sham and ‘Sham who seems to have lost not only his much tried patience but also respect, trust and faith in his wife.All of the actors bring nuance to their characters so much so that you can’t help but empathize and see their point of view. This is a mark of Samira Fazal’s mindful writing, creating characters instead of caricatures.

Sanam Saeed in a quiet and restrained manner brings great dignity to her character. Still, I wonder where Sania’s earlier bravado disappeared? Not to mention complete inertia about trying to tell – heck scream even her innocence. Jibran prickling at her perceived infidelity is also holding his own. Again though, would one accusation at your wife create a lifetime of distance? But then again, Ali barely knew her.

Bilal Khan as Rumi is quite a find. Rarely does one see a child with such natural acting that can pull at your heart strings and make you want to hold out and give him the biggest of bear hugs. All this without being manipulative as sometimes the writing for child artistes can get.

Aisha Khan though in the wrong has an uncanny ability to still gain our sympathy. Of course she doesn’t think her action through (though you are 30 not 13) but as someone born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, she’s used to getting her way or out of trouble with an apology. Only when her insecurities have been shaken does that bring out the worst in her impetuous nature.

Adeel Hussain’s power packed performance is really taking the cake (and cream) for me on this one though. His character seems to have had the most progression – from fairly easy going guy, to despairing of his loss to enduring his wife’s behavior to now a hardened unforgiving husband. His character is the most believable and also the only one trying to clear the layers of distrust and tell the truth.

That brings me to the one thing that is troubling me. The truth – or lack thereof. No one seems to be interested in either telling or clearing up the truth. I personally think this “Mujhe kuch nahin sunna” is the easy way out of this mess. Bringing in an attempt to speak the truth and having the characters deal with that would have added shades of a more real experience to the whole drama.

Of course, this is my subjective preference. I understand the need for artistic and in this case, dramatic license and in that sense Yasir Nawaz has truly delivered a controlled and mature story keeping all histrionics at bay.

Now that relationships between all of the characters have altered irrevocably,  it remains to be seen how they pick up the pieces of their lives in the aftermath.

MM (aka A musing Muslim)