So episode 9 begins with what was my favorite part of the entire episode…Faraan Uncle and Aani’s new found happiness and the return of Faraan Uncle’s lost faith in people. I loved the look of relief in Aani’s eyes…as if a burden of a thousand years was just lifted from her shoulders. She finally had her husband back after so many years. There is a reason for why Qazi Wajid and Badar Khaleel are institutes in their collective fields.  At no time during this scene I felt that I was watching people act on screen. It seemed like I was in the room with them watching them go through this incredible moment and I was happy for them. Even later when they were taking a stroll in the lawn it seemed real. There were no over the top dramatic lines or emotions, just simple, yet effective lines with genuine emotions. Qazi Wajid and Badar Khaleel get full points for their 100% natural and powerful performance and Marina for her direction. Obviously none of this would have been possible if Qabacha, (Behroz Sabzwari, BS) wasn’t present as the savior. The feeling of getting his boss’s blessing back again showed on BS’s face. Like I said, this was my favorite part of this episode.

From such powerful performances we move down to the scene between Zeenia and Serena. Zeenia is humming (and taking another jumper out of her closet) and seems to be in a good mood. When she hears her father is going back to sell the house in NY she loses it (this girl really needs to get a grip). She says something that I don’t understand though…”wahan pe Natasha thi aur yahan pe Sophia.” What does that mean and who was Natasha? Did Zain have an affair there that Serena doesn’t know about since she was always in boarding school? Is that why he refuses to discuss what happened to Zara and answer any questions? Clearly I have more questions than Saaniya! Another thing that intrigues me is a question that Sophia asks Zain when he is complaining about Zeenia; does Zain really get so angry with Zeenia because seeing her reminds him of Zara? I need this mystery resolved and I need this resolved yesterday please!!

And now we come to the Gul jan and Zarak Barak scene. Waise why doesn’t Zarak have the tribal area accent like Gul Jan? So there is this pleasant conversation these two are having and when Gul Jan presents her hesitation about Zeenia’s unwillingness to live in Pakistan he says “agar mein is eik larki ki soch nahi badal saka to hazaron logon ki soch kaise badloonga?” Effective lines and I’ll give credit where credit is due; SM was quite effective in this very brief scene. When we see him interact with Alishba at the Youth Center however, something happens to SM. So the passport is finally (thank God) back and they are supposed to have this light, yet kind of romantic scene and it’s completely ineffective. Alishba was at least better than SM. Even in the later scene where he and AY are supposed to be fighting about US and Pak, where are the emotions? What happens to Sheheryar Munawwar when he has to speak for more than 2 minutes is beyond me. Lines like ‘khoon to hai na Pakistani, seedha jawab dena  nahi ata” and “Khud to aap aasman se utri hain na” were ruined beyond redemption. Even in the scene where he is having coffee with Zain and talking about his family, it was like he was at a job interview. (BTW, was anyone else not surprised with Zain happened to know Zarak’s family?) Sheheryar Munawwar was given a fantastic opportunity to perform and unfortunately (in my opinion) he failed, along with the chemistry between Z&Z. Even when Zeenia takes his keys and brings him coffee as a piece gesture, the chemistry didn’t work. Serena and Mona had more chemistry than Z&Z during the fight scene. Waise love loved Mona bursting out with ‘roothe ho tum tumko kaise manaon piya.’ Anyways I think if I harp more about SM, I might be in some trouble with his fans :)

Let’s move on to happier scenes. Shabbash to Qabacha when he tells Faraan Uncle about Saaniya’s emergency engagement with Iftekhar. I love how he demands to meet this guy immediately and Saaniya has the ‘if looks could kill, Qabacha would be eaten to death.’ Its so nice to see Qazi Wajid in a happy mood after 8 episodes. And we finally see Kishmish, even if it was only for 45 seconds. Um I thought the entire charade was over and all the people who wronged Faraan Uncle were now under arrest, so why the get up again? I do like how he has been named ‘Pakistan’s first Sherlock Holmes’ though.

Moving on to the scene before Z&Z’s engagement…I understand that Zeenia is from the US, but does she really expect to get engaged in a jumper? It seems like Zeenia just likes to create issues some times. Serena being the youngest is far more mature and relaxed than the older sister. I must say though, Alishba does play her role of a confused and problematic child well though in this episode. In her scenes with Serena and Saaniya Khala, she shines. I also like how Saaniya listens to everything Zeeniya has to say and doesn’t negate her or yell at her. The relationship that she was missing with her mother and the relationship Saaniya was missing with her sister seem to be coming into play perfectly in the relationship between Zeenia and Saaniya. She also gets Zeenia to wear the traditional clothes.

And now to the engagement…Gul Jan and Zarak are supposed to be from Swat, Faraan Uncle has been in living in Pakistan all his life, and Zain has been in NY for the last 15 years or so…so then why is Zain the only one wearing a Shalwar Kameez in that engagement? Why are Zarak and Faraan Uncle wearing western clothes to a traditional engagement? I’m sorry but this really turned me off. Otherwise it was nice to see everyone mingling. Faraan Uncle’s reference to his own engagement with Aani was quite awesome and made me want to surf through youtube videos for that particular episode. Unfortunately I failed. Also his gesture of getting his own ring and giving it to Zarak was a very touching gesture. I loved how much time Qazi Wajid got in this episode and how happy he was.

The episode ends with Zain leaving for NY and Zeenia catching him leave. And here is my question…how does he not tell his daughter that he is leaving? How does he not to talk to her about selling the house she is clearly attached to? I don’t understand Zain’s insensitivity towards his older daughter.  Why doesn’t he get it? Fortunately there are only 4 more episodes and all these questions are all about to be answered :)

Written by Sheeba