There is something about this play that when you sit down to watch it, you do not feel any scene is being dragged and each episode keeps the viewers’ interest alive. The storyline, although nothing extraordinary yet is different and the acting of the main leads and the supporting characters alike draws you in.
Zainy’s dramatic departure from the house she grew up left everyone dealing with different emotions. Abba disappointed and angry, Nigar Apa outraged, Sherry broken hearted and Mehtaab devastated. Whereas in Zainy’s susraal, Phuppo is disapproving of how events played out and we see later Ahmer also blaming Zainy for her rash behaviour. It does not take long for Zainy to start missing her family and realizing life is not a bed of roses. Taayi has become the typical evil saas trying to cause trouble and Ahmer is his usual greedy immature self. I spent the past four episodes and well even the episodes before that really trying to gauge what Ahmer and Co feel for Zainy and I am still confused but will touch upon that later in this review.
We see Zainy struggling to adapt to changes in Ahmer’s personality and making ends meet. She realizes she has hurt her family’s feelings but Yusuf Kamdar seems to want nothing to do with her. She seems to be torn between feeling righteous to have left behind her father’s ‘murderers’ and also missing her mother for when Mehtaab has her books delivered to her and later the provident fund cheque sent her reaction upon checking the envelope to see if there is a letter inside or a glimpse of her mother as she drives away made me feel for her. However, before Mehtaab sends the cheque Ahmer starts feeling that he should begin to make amends with Zainy’s family so that they welcome her and extend financial support which basically means financial support for Ahmer. I know Ahmer is jobless, greedy and immature but I am left wondering is that why he married her then – eyeing Yusuf Kamdar’s wealth?! I would not be surprised if that were the case.
Anyways, Novera – the ever loyal,constantly- in -Zainy’s- face -and -house friend, who could not tell Zainy enough how lucky she was, has managed to wrap the formidable Nigar Apa round her little finger. I have to say – I really do not like Novera’s character. Novera seems to be sitting on her high horse judging Zainy from behind her hijab and holier than thou attitude and while I could be alright with that for Zainy truly has pulled quite a crazy act and Novera apparently was the sensible, obedient daughter – but her little antic of gloating over the wedding card in front of Zainy and telling her that her family despises her now seems to be in bad taste. I am never sure what these girls aim to achieve when they desperately want to get married to a man who is very clearly deeply in love with another woman. Nevertheless, Novera is Mrs Sherry now and Nigar Apa feeling she has done the right thing for her brother heads back to Canada.
I am glad Yusuf does not blame Mehtaab for Zainy’s behaviour. Our dramas do the whole ‘tumhari aulaad ki harkaatein’ and ‘tumhari tarbiyat’ to death and it was really nice to see Yusuf not go down that road. He is angry at Zainy but I feel his anger is justified for he has really treated her as his own and she basically spat in his face and walked out. I kept thinking Mehtaab was a bit silly to try the Sherry-Zainy idea out knowing very well how this could impact the whole household if it went wrong which it did in the end. But then I suppose she knew, or well thought she knew Zainy and Sherry very well and believed it would be the perfect match. I felt for Mehtaab now and Sania Saeed’s portrayal of a broken, depressed woman is so spot on. Especially during the scenes when Nigar minces no words in her ‘I told you so’ rants and Mehtaab says nothing in her own defense.
Turns out Mehtaab has cancer – and it has now reached its final stages. In the earlier episodes when Mehtaab approached Sherry about Zainy and with the animosity of sorts between her and Nigar, I had thought that while Mehtaab did not have anything against Sherry or Nigar she also did not have any emotional attachment with either. But I found I was wrong during the scenes between Sherry and Mehtaab after Zainy’s ‘love story’ with Ahmer begins and my thoughts were further confirmed now also when Sherry takes care of Mehtaab, coaxing her to eat and not be depressed and how she calls him baitaay. Even though he calls her baji she was a mother figure to him and the scene when Sherry confronts Mehtaab about her illness was done so emotionally it made me cry. Agha Ali acted so well, his tears seemed like those of a child realizing he is about to lose his mother.
Mehtaab’s death was an unexpected twist in the story. I am glad though that Zainy was able to go see her mother. Her last words to her daughter seem to prove her innocence when she says ‘jab aap ko mera sach pata chalay tau khud par kaabu rakhyay ga’. I really want to know now what Mehtaab’s true story is. The flashbacks Phuppo has and the conversations Phuppo and Taayi have shown a negative side to Mehtaab but Mehtaabs character itself and her last words beg to paint a different picture. Also Naani’s conversation and then handing Mehtaab’s diary to Zainy will probably finally tell us what the truth is. I could not believe Ahmer was not allowing Zainy to go see her dead mother’s face one last time. Taayi has been mostly a negative character, yet she too seemed moved by Zainy’s despair and implored Ahmer to let her go.
Zainy seems to be drifting from home to college to umm, even Hyderabad. Although her attitude seems less than sensible I can almost relate to how she is feeling lost now. She is determined to know her mother’s true story now and is trying to find answers from any place possible. The highlight of this latest episode for me had to be how Yusuf Kamdar told off Mehtaab’s brother and said he would come bring his daughter home. This man has truly proven (so far at least) that he had always believed Zainy to be his own. Like he would get angry with Nigar, he was angry with Zainy as would any father have been but when he realized she needed help and especially with Mehtaab gone and her last words haunting him, Abba steps up and goes to Hyderabad to bring back Zainy.
Sherry’s axing the tree seemed a bit extreme but then I suppose that is his personality. An introverted, emotional but not openly so kind of person, he does not know how to deal with or express his grief and anger and is taking it out on a (poor) tree. There is one thing I keep noticing – Zainy wants to reach out to Sherry but she keeps referring to him as bhai and I feel for her that she has always loved and known him as a brother, the one person who shared the same ‘parents’ and love and security that she had known and she wants to be able to share her grief with him. Sherry torn between his own grief and anger seemingly wants nothing to do with Zainy.
I have come to the conclusion so far that Ahmer and Co are greedy and must have some underlying agenda of their own especially Ahmer and Taayi such as Yusuf’s wealth but I do not believe they hate Zainy or wish anything bad on her. They seemed visibly shaken by Mehtaab’s death and there was no gloating or mean comments over her death as you often see with the evil in laws in dramas. Ahmer seems to care for Zainy in his own twisted way but I am still unsure whether he would feel the same if Zainy did not also seem to be a sonay ka anda. Zainy feels she has suffered enough for her doings and should be forgiven by all and while I agree she has been ungrateful, reckless and brought all this upon herself, a part of me hopes that she realizes how rash and thoughtless she has been and is able to break free of Ahmer and focus on making a life for herself again with Yusuf’s support – if only for Mehtaab’s sake.
I would assume that Yusuf will now take Zainy under his wing and give her some security again but will she leave Ahmer? For till now he has not done anything which is reason enough for her to stop loving him and leave him. Or will he show a different side to his character which will make her leave him. Novera seems to have only one mission in life and in her bubble of piety and self righteousness she believes she is justified and that is to keep Zainy away from the house she grew up in so she may not get close to Sherry again. Even if Sherry does not end up with Zainy, I really do not want to see with him Novera.
I know 23 episodes have gone by but I am still enjoying this drama. I do believe however that it should be wrapped up within the next few episodes once Mehtaab’s story has been disclosed. I can not say I will miss Mehtaab’s character immensely for although Sania Saeed has done a good job as Mehtaab, her character did not have that much of an impact. I thoroughly enjoyed Nadeem’s acting as the man stepping up to take care of Zainy and to honor his dead wife’s last wish. Agha Ali, Seher Afzal and Munib Butt have all portrayed their characters perfectly and I love the chemistry between these three especially in the graveyard scene when not a word was uttered but yet so much was said. I am curious to see how the writer intends to end this drama – whether Zainy will be forgiven when she repents and will end up with Sherry or she will carry on along the road to self destruction although I do find that unlikely since Yusuf Kamdar has so determinedly stepped in to rescue her.
Have you all enjoyed these episodes as much as I have? Would love to hear your thoughts!
Kunwal Javid
