Heaven have mercy! We’re nearing 50 episode now! And into what seems like Season 3 or something. I have lost count of the time lapses in this serial- I’m also completely clueless about how old the actor are supposed to be! If my memory serves me right, when the drama started, Jaani was a 9 year old- when he first set eyes on the newly divorced Mehtaab who came seeking shelter in his home, Mehtaab was at least in her mid twenties if not more. Ten years elapsed and Janni was a young man of 19 smitten by the mid thirty Mehtaab… a couple more years of stupidity passed by until Mehtaab was framed for negligence and murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment (14 years). That would make Jaani around 34 and Mehtaab at least 50. Tht’s when Jaani agreed to marrying his much younger cousin Meena who was at least 7 or 8 years younger than him- making Meena around 26 when she married Jaani. So at one point, Jaani was married to a 20 something wife and took the 50 year old Mehtaab as his second wife! After Meena gave birth to his son, Jaani gifted his son to Mehtaab who was far too old to get preggers herself. Meena grew frustrated and afer the demise of her sister, convinced Jaani to set her free to marry her one true love- Ahmer and raise his 3 kids… 20 years elapsed, and at this point, Mehtaab would be 70, Jaani would be 54 and Meena would be 46… With me, so far?
Now out of nowhere, we’re reintroduced to the characters of Shaqoor Bhai ( the evil dude who framed Mehtaab) who’s now a God-fearing man and has adopted an orphan girl (Moorni – peacock? who looks not more than 16) and also adopted an ageing tawaif as a mother in the hopes of redemption for his countless sins. As they say, karma comes back to bite you when you least expect it and he finds himself framed for multiple murders he didn’t commit! Deja vu much?
Moorni manages to track the biggest hotshot lawyer in town and challenges Jahangir to take on her father’s case in exchange for working as a caretaker… seeing the chulbuli Moorni, Mehtaab ki dil mein phir ek khwaish jaag uthi hai- that Jaani should get married a third time and find marital bliss. Poor Jaani – kabhi becharey ko sahi waqt pe apni humumar biwi nahin naseeb hui! Jaani finds himself enamoured by Moorni’s badd lehaazi and Mehtaab senses his growing affection and needs. So she forgives Shaqoor Bhai and asks for his daughter’s hand in marriage for her Jaani. I mean why not? The two are such an obvious match!
At this point, I can’t help but wonder who’s responsible for keeping this drama alive? Who is funding this stupid excuse of a serial and how long before it ends?
Kanwal Murtaza
