“Jin baton ke bare mein hume pata nahi hota hai na Zeenia, un baton ke baare mein hum ghalat andaze laga lete hain aur phir gussa karna lagte hain.” Truer words had not yet been spoken by Saaniya when she says these words to Zeenia after the ‘daant.’ So episode 8 starts out with ‘what’s in the box’ question. We still don’t get to know the answer as Zain comes in and reprimands the girls about why they are in his room and why they are being so inquisitive about a box he told them to stay out of repeatedly. Abu se daant pari, aur sahee pari…aur sahee daant ka over-reaction bilkul sahee nahi tha. Serena then goes back into Abu’s room to fill them in on why they were there in the first place…the entire Gul Jan’s house tour and how Zarak Barak se Zeenia ki shaadi kar di jae to woh USA wapis nahi jaegi. Zain seems to be swayed and clearly Zeenia has no problem with this.
As always, this episode too had many comical moments. One of my favorite is when Bibi is doing the wazifa for Saaniya’s shadi and Chandni says ‘Bibi aapke farz se farigh hongi to apne bare mein bhi sochongi.’ I love love Kaif Ghazanvi and her extraordinary comic timing. She is one of the biggest assets to TNS-2 with her incredible and completely natural acting. Whoever decided to give her this role is a genius. Another one of the best moments is when Aani is yelling at them for the ‘almost Zeenia and Zarak engagement’ and Serena tries to calm her down by calling her “Aani Nani.” And here let me concede that Syra Yousuf (SY) truly is the life of TNS-2.
And now comes the most painful scene of this episode. Sheheryar Munawwar (SM) fans, please skip to the next paragraph. So Zarak Barak comes and picks up Zeenia to grab some coffee…first of all thank God Zeenia is out of what one of my friends’ labeled ‘the watermelon Jumper’ she was wearing last week. Second, Zeenia again leaves the house with Zarak without telling anyone. Yes, Serena saw her leave, but shouldn’t Zeenia be telling her family where she is going and with whom? Third (and most important), did anyone else think it seemed like 2 kids were trying to play ‘ghar ghar’ in that scene? The more screen time SM gets, the worse it gets for him and his acting skills. And for some odd reason Alishba decided to follow his cue also. That scene was superbly written and directed. I’ll concede that these two are very good looking and so the visual was great…but it all ended when they started speaking. When they were talking about their parents and the deaths, there were absolutely no emotions. What could have been a very memorable scene made no impression on me…but obviously that’s just my opinion. Lastly, I’m confused…Zeenia tells Zarak that she was born in Pakistan and kept going back and forth even after they moved, but then why does Zain introduce his daughters to the family at the end of the first episode? It seemed like none of them had met each other before? Did I miss something?
Whereas SM and AY disappointed me, Shehroz Sabzwari (SS) and SY have exceeded my expectations. Initially there were times I thought SY was over acting, but she truly has made her mark and like I said above, is the life of TNS-2. That scene where Kishmish is drinking water and he trips when seeing Serena is too cute. The way Serena says ‘Aisa sirf mujhe dekh ke hota hai’ is even cuter. The way she gets a dinner out of him is absolutely Aala!! Love, love, love it! Serena’s interaction with ‘Qabacha Uncle’ was great, especially the way she names all the food (I miss KHI :(and tells him that her and Kishmish go out every night for dinner. What I found even more hilarious today is when Kishmish gave Serena a dose of her own medicine in front of Zeenia when he comes to take her for dinner. These two completely complement each other and the chemistry that was lacking a couple episodes ago is clearly here to stay.
On to the Youth Center we go…btw, jahan Bibi Saaniya aur Zeeniya ki shaadi wazeefe parh rahi hai, wahan thori si mehnat aur ker lien and Mona aur Arif ke liye bhi parh lein (but only of Arif gets a clean haircut and a beard and moustache trim). I do think they are perfect together and they have had chemistry since day one. So the Youth Center is having its own version of “The Bachelorette,” starting Saaniya. Apparently eligible bachelors have been called in for interviews (really??). When Saaniya finds out she calls her friend “Iftekhar” to be her ‘emergency fiancé.’ Anyways, while different candidates are being interviewed (including those jinko doctor bhi jawab de chue hain) a certain Chaudhery Malikdeen (Qabacha) also arrives unbeknownst to all. He is there to scare away all the others when Iftekhar walks in. Everyone is surprised to see the emergency engagement (he kindly had taken a 15 minute break from work to get engaged). My heart broke for Qabacha when he sees the engagement and tells Serena to wish Saanya well and not to tell her about him…bechara, especially since he has been risking his own life to get Faraan Uncle and Aani out the troubles they are in.
Speaking of Faraan Uncle and Aani, the last scene of today’s episode is the best. Somehow, this guy who can’t even walk or talk properly was able to get unconditional proof of Faraan Uncle’s innocence. All the witnesses that had initially spoken against him, had recanted, apologized, and given written accounts of how he is innocent in all of this. He even hires a lawyer who substantiates all of this to Aani. When Faraan Uncle hears of this, he starts crying with happiness and gratitude. Qazi Wajid and Shehroz Sabzwari were fantastic and Qabacha finally gets validated from his boss when he is finally called ‘Qabacha’ by Faraan Sir. It truly will be one of the most memorable scenes of this serial. A fantastic end to today’s episode!!
All in all, besides the Zarak and Zeeniya story, it was a fabulous episode. Tanhaiyan – Naye Silsile has proved to be better than expected. Marina Khan’s direction, coupled with Mohammed Ahmed’s script is outstanding and mostly all of the characters have done justice to their roles. Kaif Ghazanvi, Syra Yousef, and Shehroz Sabzwari in my opinion, have been great assets as additions. Even Salma Hasan with her 1-2 minute role in each episode makes her mark. With all the law and order worries in Pakistan, especially KHI, this truly gives people an hour of laughter that an entire family can enjoy together.
Written by Sheeba
