Ghada:So, the time has come. It’s time to say good-bye to Sirat-e-Mustaqeem. It’s been 27 weeks since Sirat-e-Mustaqeem started and I am so happy that I watched this drama serial! I seriously loved it overall, it was one amazing drama serial. It was very different from the usual drama serials. It had a completely different feel. I can easily tell that everyone who was involved with Sirat-e-Mustaqeem worked hard. I have gotten attached to all the characters and have loved Mustaqeem’s journey from an ‘awaara’ but innocent and immature person to a complete gentleman who still holds his virtue’s intact and has been lead to the path of Sirat-e-Mustaqeem.
I am pleased to tell you all that I will be reviewing the finale of Sirat-e-Mustaqeem with Maria who enjoyed this drama serial as much as I did.
Maria: Ghada, I wanted to first of all thank you for inviting me to write the final review with you and most of all for introducing many of us to this drama. What made this drama stand out for me was particularly the way Mustaqeem’s journey was handled. Starting from the first frame where Mustaqeem’s shararti paan was established depicting all about him: from his socio economic background to his interactions with Haji Sahab and Fatima and to his teenage foolishness that would play such a big part in establishing the plot. For once we have a story about a young man, looking to make his place in the world and trying his best to roll through the jungle that we call life and becoming faithful. You are right Ghada, it appealed to all kind of audience and touched base on most demographics especially males who could relate to frustrations faced by Mustaqeem. What’s more we finally had a drama shot in a city other than Karachi for majority of the part and shot on location (I miss that a lot in our dramas).
Ghada: My pleasure. I have always wanted this drama to get more attention because it certainly deserves it :) And yes, I totally agree. The fact that this drama appealed to all kinds of audience was perfection in everything and also that this story was more about a male character and his perspective on what difficulties young men like Mustaqeem face.
Who was your favorite character Maria? Mine was definitely Mustaqeem. The reason, well there are many but mainly because of his innocence and his character development which was brilliantly shown thanks to the writer and the director :)
Maria: I think Mustaqeem as a protagonist could not have been anywhere without Haji Sahab. I once took a class in Interactive Narrative and we were told that what appeals more to any audience is strong characters who can drive a weak plot. Where would all of Mustaqeem’s story be without Haji Sahab? His portrayal has a Strict typical anna parast father who was peeled slowly to us in each episode, brilliantly written, directed and more so acted and portrayed by Firdous Jamal and honestly next to Mustaqeem he is also one of my favourite characters in the serial. Deep inside Haji Sahab only wants best for his children but only on his own terms. His massive ego, his anna, his demeanor were the major plot drivers of the story. Thankyou Sarwat ji ajj app ko maan gayee hum loog. Other characters should not be forgotten either. Ibtisam was another one of my favourites. Hey he could give Ashar some lessons, agar yeh Ashar ki jaga hota to Farida aunty apnay paar na hila saktin :P ;) and how could we forget Rufi, i hope phoophoos slap put some sense into him finally :)
Ghada:I agree with you completely! Hajji Sahab definitely played a huge role. I think Fatima did too. I was sad to see that Fatima had to die without seeing her ‘ladla’ son. She is the one who raised him to be innocent. And yes, Hajji Sahab deep inside his heart wanted the best for his children. He totally redeemed himself. He is my second favorite character. After Fatima’s death, he changed completely. I was so happy to see how he started caring for his childrens’ happiness above anything else. Other characters were outstanding too! I was seriously so angry with Rufi when he kept sinking to such a low level. Seriously, I would never tolerate the kind of behavior Shanzey and her father had with Rufi. But I am glad he changed. Ibtasam is a very good husband. He can definitely teach Ashar a lesson, I agree :D Every character had a strong role, in my opinion. The character development was amazingly portrayed for each character. Again, hats off to Sarwat Nazir who did such an amazing job! Oh! And the actors! Every single one of them did an incredible job portraying their roles. I especially loved Sami Khan and Firdous Jamal. They were brilliant.
Maria:Yes, Ghada it was great team effort, sorry for being so gushhy but i am still angry that this drama was so underrated *sigh* so was there a character you wished you had seen more of?
Ghada:Yes, I too feel angry because this drama was seriously worth so much more! I wish it aired on a more popular TV channel. I think that could have helped a lot.
I think I wanted to see more of Fatima. To me, she was a very strong character and I liked her very much. She portrayed the kind of wives that exist in our society. She compromised in everything and she was very patient. She was the reason Hajji Sahab changed and I wish she could have met Mustaqeem at least once before dying :( How about you Maria? Who did you want to see more of?
Maria: I wanted to see more of Hayaat Bahi and Company. Hahahah I never could get enough of iblees ki bewa and their hilarious conversations. I missed them a lot during the past few episodes.
Ghada: Awww, I think Hayat bhai was great! I wonder if he was fine after Mustaqeem left. He had cancer so I’m not so sure :(
Maria: I think he would be fine. I could write an essay about his character, but let’s save it for some other day, how did you find the last episode? anything you were surprised by?
Ghada:The last episode was really good :) I liked how it showed that things are not always what they seem. But there was something I felt was missing. I wanted to see a moment of the connection that was made between Mustaqeem and Allah. But maybe it’s just because I am thinking of the title of the drama. I think the sisters got kind of selfish, especially Rabia because she wanted Sobia to leave and thought ‘why not get her married to my brother?’ That disappointed me. I wasn’t really surprised by anything. There was one thing that was surprising, in a good way; Mustaqeem was acting all ‘Hanyan~!’ again :D I loved that! It was like the old Mustaqeem is back. What did you think of the last episode?
Maria: I will include both my criticism and thoughts on the last episode together. First of all I think the end was great, it ended on the right note. Mustaqeem had come to an understanding about his life and Haji Sahab now only wanted what was best for his son and would not heed to his daughters wishes. He saved Mustaqeem from falling into the same fate trap he had been for a long time. What shocked me was Mejabeen’s story and how it tied to the overall plot. I was never expecting her story to be tied to the overall picture. Everyone acted brilliant and yes I nearly had tears in my eyes when Mustaqeem gives his father a small hug with so much meaning before running off to meet Mejabheen. I have to commend the DOP here. Mustaqeem running to the same music that kick started off the story, down at the train station and looking at Mehjabeen, it tied the end to the beginning really nicely. Mustaqeem had finally found his path in the world
The last episode however never satisfied me. OK we had to endure 15 episodes of Item Madam’s rona dhoona but helloo what happened to Sobia and Batool? un ka bhi kuch kaar dena tha? that was so disappointing. Sirat-e-Mustaqeem is a drama that has done a brilliant job at placing its narrative. Almost every character was shown toward completion on their journey, so leaving Sobia and Batool’s track incomplete was a bit messy in my opinion! what do you think Ghada?
Ghada: That point hit me as well. The end was kind of incomplete. I think they should have shown Batool and Sobia’s track if they started it. Also, I wanted to see if Mustaqeem left modelling or not. I was kind of hoping that he would realize what his father was trying to tell him.But they didn’t. It did feel kind of rushed.
Maria: Nevertheless, SeM was a brilliant play. why in your opinion was this show such a must watch and why it didn’t grab attention?
Ghada: I agree :) I wouldn’t forget the amazing episodes because of an unsatisfactory ending :)
Hmm, I think it has to be the new channel. I don’t think many people watch Express Entertainment. And I also think it’s because SeM is an A&B Production. Some people avoid it because it gives the same feel and the first thing that crosses their minds is that it’ll be a ‘rona dhona’ drama. What do you think the reason is?
Maria:I think one has to watch this show for many reasons. My family especially my brothers loved it. My dad had tears in his eyes the moment Mustaqeem hugs his father over his mothers grave. My dad doesn’t watches a lot of dramas with us, but this one was a single drama he never wanted to miss an episode of. For me it reminded me of old PTV dramas you could sit down and enjoy it with your entire family. No valgular dialogues, compelling and deep characters and wonderful brilliant acting. I think we could all relate to all these characters and situations because they exist within us. strong portrayal of women, very grey characters and compelling moral and virtuous lessons without being hammered on the head. It was a story about finding faith and fulfillment yet there is no rhetoric attached to it. Direction, the sets, the cinematography, it was a brilliant production yet it was not endorsed the way it should have been. The actors didn’t bother promoting it, the channel threw it away like manure. I honestly think it should reappear on Hum TV and watch the rating shoot up like no tomorrow.
Ghada: You are so right, Maria! I watched this show with the entire family too. It had a charm Even my father watched it with me and he usually doesn’t like many dramas. I think that anyone who watches this will fall in love with it. There was an attachment with all the characters. I can’t fully understand the reason why it appealed to me so much but I believe it was the strong characters and a mix of genres. I can never stop writing good things about this project.
Maria: its been a brilliant journey. Thanks for being my humsafar on it Ghada. for those of you who have followed Mustaqeem’s journey till the end, please do comment on what was your favorite character,scene, any comments and criticisms.
Ghada: Yes, it was definitely an amazing journey I’ll always remember. My pleasure and thank you for writing the finale with me :) It was fun. I will once again want to thank the whole Sirat-e-Mustaqeem team for bringing this outstanding serial to us. The writer, the director, and the actors were a major reason we liked SeM so much. I will miss this show :( I guess this is good-bye. Yup, like Maria said, please do share your feelings about your journey with Sirat-e-Mustaqeem :)
Maria: Yes thankyou Ghada for reviewing it and yes its been an amazing journey. May God give us all path to Sirat-e-Mustaqeem. Ameen
Ghada: Ameen, SumAmeen
Maria: and finally Ghaar ajaa kay dekhay nainaaaa …. :)
Ghada: Rasta Tera…!
Written By Ghada And Maria ~ :) SeM will be missed! :( Sorry if the review is too long ^^’
