Judaii – ‘Too much to Handle’! – Episodes 14 & 15

Kia inn kay haq ki khatir aap apnay bachon kay khilaaf khari ho sakti hain is the question Junaid poses to Mehr and is basically what this drama is all about now. Where it was kind of necessary to show how everyone reacted (yawn) last week, the episode was not as interesting as last night’s episode was.

Having brought Zaina and Zaryan back with her and following Haider’s tantrum and Hamza’s gobsmacked-ness (!!), Mehr realizes that she can not have Zaina and Zaryan stay at her house just yet. So the two end up staying at Junaid’s house much to his wife’s horror and resentment. However negative a character I feel Saman generally is and yes we all feel bad for Zaryan and Zaina but I could not totally fault Saman for being wary of having two strangers come live under her roof and not even asked for her opinion (which was predictable anyway but still). Well, from the frying pan into the fire, Zaina and Zaryan did look completely awkward and out of place at Junaid’s house.

So, let’s forget about Mehr whose husband had a secret which she learns of after his death, let’ forget about Haider and Hamza whose father had another family they did not know of, forget Zaina and Zaryan and the hardships they faced and are still facing. Let’s focus on the people who have been most affected by all this chaos – Alia and her mother. ‘Kissi ko moo dikhanay kay layek nahin rahay’. Tsk,tsk. Alia feels she is absolutely justified in saying what she wants to Mehr. I understand Mehr is a mild natured woman and she is confused and upset at the moment but I wish she was a bit more firm with Alia when Alia went on ranting about how ‘ayaash’ and ‘bewafa’ her father in law had been. Team Alia up with kaan ka kacha Haider and the crickets and there you have the ‘villains’ in this drama. Sigh.

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When Hamza meets Minahil and tells her who Zaina really is, the way he speaks and looks, made me feel he was going to be physically sick. Later when he meets Zaina he has the same expression and I thought man, is it the restaurant or the food or what but as his conversation with Haider later shows, he feels Zaina and he are as good as siblings. So, Alia’s internet finally did resume working and she finds herself face to face with an on screen smiling Zaina. All hell breaks loose. Obviously. With Hamza’s quivering voice and ‘oh this is too much to handle’ for the umpteenth time and Alia’s screeching and pursed lips with Haider’s parrot like rant of ‘I am saying what Alia just said’ – the trio have seem to have established that Zaina is Hamza’s sister. Wah. Okay, had I not watched Tum Yaad Aye I might have had a slightly more tolerant attitude to all this distress but in Tum Yaad Aye where a father is becoming a susr and a sister almost became a saas and yes, mix and match all relationships you can think of – they were there – you can not blame me for snorting at ‘Zaina is your behnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn’!

Amidst lots of ‘mahiyaaaaaaaaaaaa hoooooooooooooo mahiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa’, Hamza tells Zaina all is over between them. I love when Qurat ul Ain Baloch croons in the background of this drama, she has such a beautiful and soulful voice but this mahiya wail is so annoying. I liked Minahil’s character but maybe I am being a bit cynical here and maybe it is for the cynical people that this drama shows there are people like Mehr and Minahil around (possibly) but I do feel Faryal Mehmood marching here and there with her bag on her arm at a permanent 2pm or 10pm whichever way you look at it – is trying a tad bit too hard to fit into the character she is portraying. Was it my imagination or did Affan Waheed have his lipstick look here too as he does in Bhai? Or maybe the shirt brought out the ‘color’ on his face? And Neelum’s blue shirt with the dark dupatta was very military like and distracting. Sana Askari and Khalid Malik’s characters are annoying and negative as hell but they have played their part well. I missed the scenes between Imran Aslam and Samina Peerzada and I hope there are more of them to come yet. If something sticks out like a sore thumb in this drama, it is the pair of Affan Waheed and Neelum Munir who fail to make me feel for their characters. Khair, that is just my opinion maybe because I have had enough of his quivering voice from Guzarish , Bhai and now Judai. I understand some of you may feel differently.

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All in all, I did enjoy the latest episode and glad Zaina’s identity has been revealed and was not dragged out. Also it will be interesting to see how things pan out with Zaina and Zaryan back in Mehr’s house. How will Mehr deal with the negativity and when will she find out too who Zaina is and do her feelings change in the slightest? When will someone get these guys a mufti who can explain that Hamza and Zaina are well, not actually siblings? Or should I forego my thoughts of a career as a psychiatrist since Minahil seems to be doing a great job understanding everyone’s psychology and play the role of a mediator instead and have this family meet Zainy’s family from Tum Yaad Aye so they can exchange notes on who is mahram and who is not!

How did you all find these episodes and the pace at which the drama is moving? Did you enjoy them or find them ‘too much to handle’? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Kunwal Javid

Kunwal Javid