TDKKH Episode 21 Review:
Another exciting episode, with some of the most meaningful scenes and dialogues I have seen, with brilliant performances yet again. This was a very satisfying episode for me for a few reasons. In my opinion there was a development in not only Tipu’s character, but also in Faris’s as well as Siraj Uncle’s; although the latter two were more subtle than the former. I have never mentioned this before, but I am loving the ambience of the Chawla household the last few weeks; it is warm, cozy, snug and intimate, maybe there was a change of lighting or perhaps it was the execution of the scene that made it so; it was rather cold in the initial episodes.
Imran Ashraf’s character was elaborated more in this episode, showing the exact role he will play in getting Faris and Zoya together. Tipu’s character had not been explored much until the last few episodes, and now that his relationship with his parents and sister is revealed, we get to know him better. He was abused as a child, and has a tendency to want to be liked by everyone, which shows in his interactions with his family and Zoya. He would do anything for his loved ones, and he knows how much Faris and Zoya love each other, he is adamant about bringing them together at any cost. He is a gentleman, unlike Saif, otherwise he would not have asked Maya’s father’s permission before marrying her. Maya’s father, it turns out had an equal hand in her marriage to Tipu, and I can understand where he is coming from; he wants his daughter to be married to a man who is stable, secure, and one who would be able to tolerate her tantrums. Sometimes I think Maya needs to be smacked to get her into senses.
Imran Ashraf was again brilliant today, with his voice modulation, facial expressions and body language, and never going overboard. His scenes could have been over the top had it not been subtlety at appropriate times, and the credit goes to both Imran Ashraf and the director to not making the scenes unnecessarily overblown. The expressions on Tipu’s face when he gave Maya the ultimatum was priceless and the dialogues were amusing, and all of this combined gave the scenes a humorous flavor; otherwise they could have been distasteful, and seemed taken straight out of a film on domestic violence. Now that Tipu is relentless about not letting go Maya, I am eagerly awaiting the upcoming episodes.
Ayeza Khan, too has given a strong performance as Maya, which is a difficult character to play. She has created her own niche, and translated a girl who could have been easily hated, to someone we can sympathize with. Even though Maya’s personality is full of blemishes, she has a sense of helplessness about her that makes her not exactly loathsome. Even her hair style and makeup is pitch perfect for the character she is playing.
Faris, although had only two scenes, but they were not only awfully significant but also extremely pivotal to the story, that they have to be mentioned. The suggestiveness of the “Rose” was taken further in today’s episode, and its implicit meaning in Faris and Lubna’s life was portrayed by a handful of dialogues and a beautiful scene. Faris initially was livid that he was left out from the breakfast table, but he relaxed as soon as Siraj Uncle explained to him why she is planting roses in their garden. In my opinion, the garden is Faris, the new roses that Lubna is planting signify Faris’s love, which are not wilted, unlike the one that he was handing Lubna, and the stem is Lubna who will forever be wounded by the prick of the thorns. The second scene between Faris and Lubna, explained the first scene further. Lubna has entered into his house to make Faris’s heart bloom with love again, and she will be the one who will ultimately bring Zoya into his life. Lubna will willingly remain wounded from the heart break Saif has caused him, because she still loves him. Even though Siraj Uncle wants to bring the two together, Lubna is not convinced that Faris can love her, otherwise she would have resorted to regurgitating the “script” Siraj Uncle made her memorize. Faris understood that Lubna is not interested in him romantically, the sigh of relief evident on his face, and his smile showed that he is opening up to her. Both Hajira Yamin and Sami Khan were excellent and shared amazing chemistry, and kudos to Sami Khan who has owned his role and brought a distinctive quality to Faris that makes him secure yet vulnerable at the same time.
The conversation between Siraj Uncle and Lubna was another one which was not only warm and friendly but also very profound. The letter that Lubna read was meaningful, and I suspect that it was this letter that made Lubna realize that there is no hope for her in Faris’s life, contradictory to Siraj Uncle’s belief. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding the Chawla clan, and it will be interesting to see how Saif, Lubna, Faris and Siraj Uncle are all related, and I suspect there is a connection between the four that will be revealed in the upcoming episodes.
Will Tipu divorce Maya? Doesn’t their marriage need to be consummated in order for her to remarry Faris per Islamic rules? Next week’s promo looks interesting, and I am looking forward to Zoya’s message to Faris and how Tipu will deal with the “bratty” Maya. In addition, did anyone find it strange that Faris already knows that Tipu is married and is in the process of forcefully dragging Maya to live with him? It means, that Faris knows more than he lets the viewer perceive. Also, I am intrigued who messaged Faris when Lubna walked in on him today, and what the whole conversation about “getting to know your messages meant” since Lubna also said something along those lines to Siraj Uncle in the promo as well. I have too many questions in my little brain, and before all this curiosity kills me, I better stop now and wait for next week!
