Ohkay so, it was such an engaging episode of Alif Allah Aur Insaan. I love the fact that the director has given equal coverage to all the characters. Apart from one of the tracks, rest of them are so interesting that you can not keep a track of time while watching their stories unfold. What I love about Alif Allah Aur Insaan‘s theme is that even though it is based on quite a lot of dire situations & showcases difficulties that people go through but the way they all have desires & hopes, it gives this drama a very positive feel.
So, we got to know about the very first interaction that Nigaar had with Shahzeb. It was a case of love at first sight & this might’ve been possible because out of all the men sitting as spectators, Shahzeb was the only one who didn’t see or treat Nigaar as a commodity. Nigaar is used to the idea of turning the heads around & she is so used to the attention, that when she didn’t get it from someone, she deemed it as a challenge to make it happen while still having this massive amount of respect for the one who didn’t look at her the way others did. I think it showed a very vulnerable side of Nigaar where she opened up to Shahzeb thinking he will understand her feelings because for the first time in her life, she experienced an emotion of love. Obviously, Shahzeb had to draw a line & glad that he did because it also showed Nigaar that not everyone believes in her way of expression of love. Shahzeb hurt Nigaar & the time will tell how the same emotion of love will become a reason for Shahzeb’s heart break too. Nigaar finally put a closure to this chapter & decided to move on but the love of Shahzeb still lingers in her heart but she definitely has promised to not hurt herself more & more by thinking about him.
Nazneen finally got an admission into the university & she is all set to pursue her dreams. It wouldn’t have been possible without Shahzeb’s support but since she got what she wanted, that’s all that matters to her. Nazneen obviously didn’t jump up with joy at the news of her sudden engagement with Shahzeb because she is clearly not into him. Till this point, Nazneen & Shahzeb’s track is the only one that I don’t really enjoy watching but now that she will step outside her village & will be around Basit, I will definitely be looking forward to their story as I am sure it will be a bit more interesting than the current situation that is happening. Still not too sure about Shahzeb’s character too like he is the only one who seems to be lacking a personality because apart from him being in love with Nazneen, we don’t really know much about him. Basit on the other hand didn’t get as much coverage but his character still seems appealing. I also like how despite being a son of a loyal servant, Basit doesn’t hold back in sharing what’s on his mind in front of Nazneen’s parents & I like how confident he generally is.
So, Raani finally got to meet Nigaar, her ideal. It was quite interesting how at that very moment, Nigaar, the courtesan spoke about living her life as a beggar while they showed how a beggar herself came to the brothel only to experience what life was like in there. Raani knows that the money that she will earn will keep her parents satisfied but she also knows that her parents will never approve of her choices, that is why she kept it as a secret but only handed over the money to her mother to give her a little idea of how much money she’ll be bringing home. I think it was quite sweet of Raani where she took her time & went back to her home after meeting Nigaar for the first time, like she didn’t want to make a hasty decision & needed some time to think things through because she was still a little concerned about her parents & their opinions. Raani still doesn’t actually know who Nigaar is & what does she do but its just that she is so fascinated by what she has heard or seen till date that she can’t get it out of her head.
After Raani’s track & character, I love Shammo’s story too. I feel this sort of warmth every time I see someone treating Shammo with utmost respect & affection. Shammo surely met a good human being who didn’t judge him for who he was but treated him as an equal & respected him based on his talent. Shammo showed that he has a knack for hair-styling & he believes in hard work, that is why his master recommended him to one of his students who now owns a big salon in the city. This will definitely open up more opportunities for Shammo & he will get to learn so much more. Even though Shammo has received so much of appreciation, his life so far has been so tough that he still hasn’t gained a lot of confidence, that is why the moment he senses that he will have to step out of his comfort zone, he gets scared & uncomfortable. I think this aspect also makes Shammo’s character & journey quite realistic & relate-able where they have shown how hard he is struggling to make a name for himself & is trying to earn a living with respect while still struggling emotionally. I find it quite endearing how Shammo acts almost like a child who gets uncomfortable at the thought of exploring new boundaries. The preview of Shammo’s interaction with his new boss has already gotten me excited plus the fact that Hassan Noman will be playing that character is definitely a treat in itself.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this episode. I must give credit to Sana Fakhar for playing the role of a courtesan & portraying Nigaar’s character with as much decency as possible, like not even for once I felt uncomfortable watching her on screen & she didn’t overdo anything. In fact in the scene where she interacted with Raani, I loved how respectful she was, like Nigaar has a lot of class & Sana Fakhar has elaborated that flawlessly. I am glad that Raani’s hair in this episode did looked washed & a little silky, even though they were untamed but still. Ushna Shah really has shown what she is capable of by portraying Raani’s character to perfection like no one could’ve imagined that Ushna Shah could do something like this, it sure is going to be remembered as one of her best performances. Imran Ashraf as Shammo has done a brilliant job, like I love how his personality has changed but his mannerisms are still the same & even he hasn’t overdone anything. I think what makes all these characters seem so real is the fact that the actors put a lot of hard work in perfecting the characters that were assigned to them, plus the director put in a lot of effort as well to make everything seem as realistic & as closer to reality as possible. Mikaal Zulfikar so far hasn’t really impressed much with his performance as Shahzeb but I think he couldn’t do much as there’s nothing more or shall I say interesting to Shahzeb’s character or personality. Definitely looking forward to the next episode. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Alif Allah Aur Insaan.
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.
