The first episode of Silvatein was a rather pleasant affair. What I enjoyed most was the intimate way it was shot, as a viewer I felt as if I was actually sitting with the characters rather than watching from a distance. This set the tone for a smooth hour of flowing narrative that never lost its pace. Zaib and Natasha are sisters who seem to be in a constant competition with one another. There seems to be an unusually large age gap between them so in reality they are two “only “children living in the same house. In the way of only children, both are a little spoiled, a little wilful and entirely sure of themselves. Their parents are not fabulously wealthy but they seem to lead a very comfortable life hence their preoccupation with themselves rather than the day to day struggles of life.
Zaib is the friendly one, the people person who is popular with her family and has a job. She does some kind of charity work and seems quite happy to be unmarried at the ancient age of 29. Natasha has finished her studies but wonders around the house with smart phone like some immature teenager .She also has a secret boyfriend with whom she is constantly chatting ,again like an immature 14 year old. Throughout the first half of the episode I was trying to work out who the evil one was going to be, then by the second half I had happily given up on that; instead I just enjoyed the show. Apparently this play is about normal, fairly reasonable people who are a mixture of good and bad but sometimes make wrong decisions.
The older generation provided a great deal of fun in this episode. I love how after over thirty years of marriage Durdana ,the girls’ mother is still Dulhan for her husband who is played by everyone’s favourite father , Syed Ahmed .It is quite funny how she is suddenly thrown of kilter by her bossy sister in law . The girls’ widowed Phupo has come for a visit and the arguments over whose room she will stay in and whose chair she will sit in are typical for any normal family. Phupo like most interfering old women is unable to control her own son (who has married an American) but full of worry and caring advice about how Zaib should be married by now.
Adeel Hassan and Danyal Raheel have yet to make their entries and I am hoping it won’t take too long for the story to progress and include them. From a great actress like Amna such a smooth, seemingly effortless performance is no surprise but hats off to Mira, a newcomer, for being just as natural. All in all it was a fun episode, well put together and well-acted. Good direction and an excellent script by Samira Fazal mean this is going to keep viewers like me busy every week
By Sadaf
