Alright so in episode 5 we finally get answers to questions many have been wondering. In an emotional, yet graceful manner Aani tells Qabacha what happened to Faraan Uncle. That his nephew (Apa Begum’s son) came back from abroad, got a hold of fake papers with fake signatures, and took everything away from Faraan Uncle and Aani. They went to court, but Faraan Uncle refused to deal with a scoundrel like him. The owners of the properties that were under Faraan Uncle’s care sued and he had to go to jail. Poor guy…all his life he worked hard for everything and then his nephew comes along (who by the way Apa begum refused to acknowledge and Faraan Uncle was the one to mend the fences between mother and son) and steals it all. How rude!! Qabacha, being the loyal old secretary, promises that he will not rest until he gets everything back for “Faraan Sir.” Apparently loyalty still exists :)
The second (and this perhaps might be more important than the Storm Sandy in the USA or other worldly catastrophes), we finally have indisputable proof that Zara is no more. Aani tells Qabacha that ‘Zara ab is duniya mein nahi rahi.’ Please realize this does not mean Zara has gone to another planet or that somehow she is still alive (unbeknownst to Zain and her daughters) and will magically show up in the last episode. Zara has passed away. My sincere apologies to everyone who was still hoping to see Shehnaz Sheikh in the serial, but it is now time to move on and enjoy the serial fully. Syed Mohammed Ahmed has written the serial in such a way that even though Zara is not seen, she is never forgotten…she has always been felt and has been given her rightful dues and this will probably continue until the last episode.
The third, Qabach finally finds out that Saaniya is in fact single, not married to the tandoor wala, and that Serena and Chandni are not her kids. Behroz Sabzwari never ceases to amaze the audience with his incredible acting. The emotions he shows finding out what happened to his old boss and Zara and then the emotions he shows finding out that Saaniya is still single are unmatchable. Also not only does Qabacha bring his flair to the serial, he also gets to the bottom of the truth for all who were wondering about Zara and Faraan Uncle. So for that, we all thank you Qabacha!!
All right, moving on to the younger generation…the scene between Alishba Yousef and Sheheryar Munawwar was interesting to say the least. But I enjoyed the conversation between Mona, Serena, and Saaniyay during that scene more (especially the line, ‘ab Zeenia kahe nahi nahi jaegi’). I love love Alishba’s expressions when she is talking to Zain about how she thinks only her mother ever got her. It kind of seems like Zeenia feels abandoned by her father and mother, but because her mother isn’t there anymore, she is taking all of her anger out on her father. Her equation with her younger sister is also very interesting. It seems like Serena feels like she has to grow up really fast to keep the peace between her sister and father. Even though she is the youngest, she plays the peacemaker and makes her older sister apologize. There are definitely times I feel like Syra Yousef is over acting, but then she gives a performance like this and I forget all about the negatives of her acting. It can’t be easy being the youngest, yet playing the oldest and more mature one. Great job girsl!! Um by the way the question of the week is who is this Fozia Zain was talking to on the phone and getting coffee with? Zeenia will definitely make this an issue in the upcoming episodes I believe. I really hope it doesn’t become the ‘aap ammi ko itni jaldi bhool gaye’ wala issue.
Something I feel deserves to be acknowledged is when Zain is talking to Aani about Zeenia going into his things and getting his passport. It’s very telling of the change of times when Aani asks him how he could go through his grown daughter’s stuff without her permission. Of all the Pakistani dramas I’ve seen (and I admit there are only a handful) this has never ever come up. Privacy for some odd reason has never been an issue. How does a father go into his grown daughter’s room and stuff without asking? She is not 10, she is at least 20. Mothers are different, but a father? I also really liked the answer she gives him that since he thought he thought he didn’t need permission to go through his daughter’s stuff, maybe Zeenia thought she didn’t need permission to go through her own father’s stuff. I am so glad this was incorporated in this episode.
There are two (very minor) bones that I have with episode 5; why does everyone that comes from the US, in every movie or drama either live in Chicago or New York? Seriously there are 48 other states. Also, ‘mein aapko sue ker doongi’ wali line is a little over rated. Honestly people don’t actually say that so much, especially when they bump into another person and somehow their passport ends up in a fish tank (gotta admit, that truly was hilarious)!!
Overall another great episode. I didn’t think it would be shown due to the cable operators’ issue, but glad it was resolved in time. Things are starting to unravel and I’m already waiting for episode 6. Good Job team Tanhaiyan!!
Written by Sheeba
