Whoa! All of a sudden the story has picked up pace and travelling at warp speed. In this latest episode we went from Shumaila shamelessly throwing herself at an unbending Saim, to Shumaila’s hospitalization on account of an overdose, to a fighting match between Saim and Zunaira, to a still completely unsuspecting Halima making soups for the bechari beemar Shumaila, Halima continuing to ignore Zunaira, to Saim and Shumaila holding hands and leaving the city un-chaperoned for a few days away at a “doctor’s conference.” Phew! Seems like somebody realized ke serial ko khatam karna hai tau jaldi bhai now let’s wrap this up…
I have been a committed follower of Yahan Pyar Nahin Hai from the beginning. Faiza Iftikhar’s story is interesting, and the characters very well-fleshed out. I think Saba Qamar’s been exceptional and her pairing with Junaid Khan pairing a great one. Mawra is good; Humaira Zaheer has been superb and Kiran Khan has also given a very good account of herself as Zunairah. Despite all these positives, unfortunately, the serial has been unable to make its mark, and failed to reach its full potential, and for this the main culprit has to be the slow pace of the onscreen narrative,. The dragging has led to the once relatable characters turning in to jokes. This latest speedup is a classic case of too little too late, but let see how we go on from here.
Though I appreciated the buildup and enjoyed the character development, there are many times when it seemed like Halima and Saim were running around in circles, without any real attempt to address the issues between them. Many of their interactions could have been shortened to ensure a tighter narrative. Also, a change of settings would’ve helped greatly and added a much needed freshness. Considering that most of their interactions took place within the house, the tedium of watching the same grievances being aired in the same settings also lent an air of been there seen that to their scenes.
Similarly Shumaila’s story. I understand that her first affair was intended to create a reason for her stay at Halima’s house, but that part should’ve been shortened considerably. In fact, rather than watching her with her loser of a boyfriend, I would’ve appreciated an insight into her mental makeup– what causes her to look to obviously unsuitable men to complete her. What attraction does a married man like Saim hold for a young attractive educated girl like Shumaila, surely she can hold out for better options? It couldn’t just be the money, because her first boyfriend had nothing. Given that she is educated and on the verge of a not only a successful but a highly respectable career, why is she willing to throw all that aside? Some insights into her mindset would’ve helped add a measure of sympathy/empathy for Shumaila’s character, making this a more balanced narrative.
Even as I have enjoyed watching this story of Saim and Halima’s marital problems, an issue that has been nagging me throughout is the way Shumaila’s education has been used as a device to move the story forward. This is extremely disturbing. Considering that the most of our viewers still reside in rural or not highly urbanized areas, a vast majority of them not very educated, and many among them still hold conservative views regarding girls’ education. Keeping these demographics in mind, I am really perturbed by the frivolous way in which Shumaila is shown to bunk classes, use her studies as a ploy to gain Saim’s attention, waste a valuable internship opportunity to get closer to Saim, and finally overdosing on pills… surely an educated girl, particularly someone who’s made it this far, has a brain, presumably?? What kind of a message is this sending to lower-middle class parents thinking of sending their daughter to college… If I were a parent in that position, and watching this serial, I have to say I would be having second and third thoughts …
Written by SZ~ [email protected]
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