This episode of Sang e Marmar was not only powerful but was beautiful in so many different ways. I am in love with so many characters & I am quite impressed the way the writer & the director have made the characters evolve in just the first 3 episodes. This entire journey of Sang e Marmar seems quite well thought out, that is why every single aspect is being established & covered in great detail & even though they haven’t made it too obvious, you still feel the connection & the flow between the situations.
Aurang is bent on helping his sister in law Gullalai. Aurang knows that Gullalai needs help, that is why starting from Saifullah to Shehrbano, he pleaded her case as he knows that certain things should not be taken lightly. Aurang knows that Gullalai will never say a word because the ladies of his family have accepted their husbands as the ultimate authority of their lives, that is why his sister in law will never do something that her husband will disapprove of. It is actually quite heart-warming how the ladies of Gulistan’s family, in such grave situations have made a way for themselves where they find solace in the things which might come across as oppression to others. They live in such a setting, with such men & they most certainly are well aware of the fact that they can never change the situation, so they, with their wisdom have learned to live in tough situations peacefully.
In the previous episode, even though I had no issues with the discussion about Gullalai’s fragile health, I actually didn’t have an idea that this aspect will be developed further to uncover a lot of different shades of Gulistan’s personality & what I loved the most about the director’s approach is that it just didn’t stop there & it took us back to tell a tale of how things in Gulistan’s life haven’t changed & how his personality has always been the same, in the past & even in the present too. Aurang knew that if there was one person who will be able to convince Gulistan, it will be Sherbano as he knows that Gulistan has given her the freedom & the edge that even Aurang, being a male of the house doesn’t have. Sherbano didn’t see the necessity to go out of the way to help Gullalai as she is so self-absorbed & engrossed in her self-pity that she doesn’t see the sufferings of the people around her. When Gulistan finally got the heed of what Aurang was trying to transpire, he called Gullalai to explain it to Aurang that she is perfectly alright as even though Gulistan knew what Aurang was trying to do wasn’t wrong, he knew that Gullalai will never say something that Gulistan & Saifullah wouldn’t like to hear. Gullalai brushed everything off her shoulders & that’s when Gulistan closed the case & Aurang was forced to face the reality that things in this house will never change & will always be like how they have always been.
I must say, it was a pleasant surprise to hear Durkhani’s mother’s thoughts about the proposal of a 50 y/o man for her daughter. It is actually a relief to see such women in this drama who are far more broad-minded & intelligent than the men they are surrounded with. Even though all these women don’t really have much power to change things around them, they still don’t give up or hold back in playing their part which might ensure someone’s safety & happiness. I just loved how Shireen knew she had to do something after Durkhani told her that her brother Sharifullah was trying to get her married to a man of her father’s age. Even though their tracks are yet to be developed, I love Durkhani & Shireen’s characters already, they are so admirable & positive & the way they stand by each other’s side proves that no matter how dire the situation is, it takes love & courage to nurture a friendship. Shireen herself is in love with a guy she met in her childhood, who she has no idea of & even though she herself understands the emotion of love & she knows how being in love can make people do silliest of things, like a true friend Shireen never stops telling Durkhani to be cautious & to not fall in a trap that she won’t be able to come out of. Shireen knows she can’t do much, but she also doesn’t hold back from doing what she can & that is commendable.
Finally, the secret that we all were waiting for was unveiled in this episode. Aurang addressed the elephant in the room & asked about Torah Khan’s mother Rakshi. I must say, it was only because of such a powerful direction that Rakhsi’s very limited screen-time made me fall in love with her character. I just automatically warmed up to her & actually shed a tear at her ordeal. I must say, massive props to the director for making us feel for Rakshi & for showing us her journey in such a beautiful manner. The director did justice to her character completely & elaborated her journey in such a way that it made me form a connection with her immediately. So, Gulistan’s younger brother Shehbaz married her out of love when he was settled in Bangladesh for the sake of his family business. Even though Shehbaz knew that his father Baraan Khan & brother Gulistan Khan will never approve of his marriage with Rakhsi, he had enough courage & backbone to bring her to his home when things got rough in Dhakka. Shehbaz did his work by elevating her status where, very politely but with a lot of pride he faced Baraan Khan & Gulistan & introduced Rakshi to them as his life partner without even allowing them to have this sense of satisfaction that he will leave Rakshi if they will tell him to. Shehbaz’s work was done there & now it was Rakshi’s turn to show how much she loved Shehbaz.
I must say, the transition that they showed of Rakhsi was so powerful & beautiful at the same time. It showed the amount of love & respect she had not only for Shehbaz, but also for his family traditions, customs, values & culture that she went out of the way to embrace it. From her clothing to her personality to her attitude, Rakshi did everything to change herself in a hope that she will get acceptance & validation from Gulistan Khan. It was actually quite surprising to see Baraan Khan’s approach on Shehbaz’s marriage with Rakshi because he accepted her & their son but it was Gulistan who couldn’t do that. Then came the night in their lives which changed everything & that actually connected things to how they work in Gulistan’s family till date. He is the same man he was years & years ago where he couldn’t tolerate a lady having a me-time in the absence of everyone in their house, that is why even now, he doesn’t see the need of Gullalai getting a medical assistance, since he is so used to the idea of ignoring women’s needs, oppressing them & depriving them of their basic rights as human beings. It was actually quite disturbing to see that one sight of Rakshi’s moment of glory that she stole for herself was enough for Gulistan to forget all the efforts that she made in the past to earn his acceptance. What Rakshi did was within the vicinity of her home & any human being has a right to have such moments that make them happy, but Gulistan, who was awaiting an opportunity to show her the place she had in his eyes, saw it as a golden chance to show what a barbarian he was.
The way Aurang’s mother broke down & said ‘abb kya ro’on bhi nahi’ clearly told a tale of how helpless she has been all her life because she spent a life with a man like Gulistan Khan. Her tears told a tale of how much remorse she has in her heart for Rakshi & how deeply sorry she is for what her husband did. Even though Gulistan’s wife has made herself understand how things roll in Gulistan’s house & she seemingly looks satisfied, her reaction about Rakhsi’s sufferings told what she has in her heart. Just knowing that Torah was standing there when Gulistan was beating Rakshi inhumanely broke my heart. No child in his life should ever experience such a thing that Torah experienced. Even though they didn’t visually cover what happened afterwards, it still was so impactful that it took me to Torah’s side of the picture, where he must’ve felt so helpless to see his mother in such a condition, while being absolutely clueless as to why she had to go through all of that as he must not have understood that what his mother did that instigated Gulistan to react in such a way? A child, probably 10-12 years old was forced to see his mother in such a condition that must’ve scarred his heart & soul for his entire life, that is why a few years forward, we see Torah as a man who is indifferent to everyone, who has a problem forming a connection with his wife, who does everything to help those who are being oppressed as he knows that he has some power & wisdom to do that because when he was a child, he was unable to do anything to help the one he loved the most; his mother.
This episode was so beautiful & intense. The way this episode was directed shows that the director knows what he is doing & he will be staying true to the job that he has assigned to himself. I loved loved loved the treatment that the director gave to the character of Rakshi, it is amazing that they showed us all about Rakshi’s journey & all that there was to it, but it still has touched me & a lot of other viewers a great deal. Even though Rakshi died but now we will be looking forward to what Shehbaz & Torah went through & how they picked up the pieces. I hope Torah & Rakshi get the justice they deserve & Torah breaks the pride & empire of Gulistan that he has established by crushing so many people during the course of it. The scene between Rakshi & Gulistan was so so so well-directed & was so intense that it made me clench my fists, it made me hate Gulistan to the core but it also made me cry at what Rakshi must be feeling at that moment. I must say, all the actors have breathed life into all the characters & that is why where we all have warmed up to some characters, we have also developed a feeling of detest for some too. Sania Saeed, Noman Ejaz, Mikaal Zulfikar, Paras Masroor, Kubra Khan, the actress playing the role of Durkhani & even all those actors who got a limited screen time so far have done a beautiful & phenomenal job. I am so glad that I am watching a drama like Sang e Marmar which keeps me looking forward to more by the end of every episode. Please share your thoughts about this beautiful episode of Sang e Marmar.
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.
