So, the story of Mann Mayal wasn’t even about a girl realizing that marriage wasn’t the solution to all of her problems and that she needed to study and stand on her own two feet but it was after all a love story!! Even in the end Mannu blamed Salahuddin for all her troubles before she finally decided to “forgive” him, for God knows what!! Salahuddin managed to redeem himself by knocking at Mannu’s door the same way she knocked on his door many years back. Mannu’s parents once again proved that they were the most useless parents in the history of Pakistani dramas. Mannu’s mother’s character can be easily added to the list of all those mothers who do not know the first thing about supporting their daughters in any way at all. There are dramas like Udaari which give us exceptional role models and then there are dramas like Mann Mayal which prove that if a rich man falls in love with you, you don’t need to make anything out of your life. Dialogues like kisi zehr ke beghair hi mar jau ga were a constant part of this drama. Even in the end Mannu didn’t learn to take responsibility for her actions. Somehow I don’t see this ending as a happily ever after but it is definitely a good day for us all because Mann Mayal finally ended.
There are many reasons why Mann Mayal even with all its viewership failed to make it to the list of dramas which will be remembered for the right reasons. Poorly developed, vague and weak characters which failed to carry the plot forward was the biggest weakness of this drama. When the characters in the story are strong they help taking the story forward thus making not only their own characters a success but the story as a whole more interesting too but when the characters are inconsistent and weak they fail at all levels. Although by the end of this drama I vowed not to watch another drama in which Maya Ali will be playing a bechari but I have to admit that for many weeks she was the one giving the best performance until Mannu’s character was turned into a joke. Ayesha Khan has given me a really good reason not to tune into another one of her dramas because of the role she played in this drama. Hamza Ali Abbasi turned out to be the biggest disappointment in the show because his performance was unimpressive to say the least although according to the writer this was his story more than Mannu’s. Jeena, Mannu, Salahuddin and Mann Mayal will unfortunately be used as a bad example for a very long time.
Another reason why Mann Mayal did not hit the mark was choppy editing, details which were left to one’s imagination, some very important details which were completely missed and disappearance of important characters even when they were needed the most. The most important reason why this drama went downhill was that when it got massive viewership the producers decided to prolong the show. The drama was stretched to the limit, testing the patience of the viewers. The plot of Mann Mayal lacked innovation right from the beginning but later on the story went completely haywire when it started banking completely on every single cliché which has ever been used as a desperate measure to make the story a success. In the last few episodes the scenes were engineered to make the viewers cry and feel for Mannu without taking into account whether the story was making sense or not.
I would like to thank all those wonderful readers who read the reviews every week and made the discussions far more interesting than the drama itself. You guys are the reason why I continued watching and reviewing Mann Mayal. A big thanks to you all – you are the best!
So, how are you going to celebrate the ending of a drama which has tormented us for weeks? Here is the Zarda I promised ;)
