Opening Thoughts – A World of Its Own:

Ohkay so, another week, another spellbinding episode of Alif. The episodes of Alif end just a bit too quickly for my liking, I think they definitely should start airing double episodes because I am sure just like me, there will be a lot more viewers who’d be keen to watch more & discover this beautiful story quickly. This drama just takes you to a world of its own, watching Alif is basically a break from your own life where you can just sit, relax & get ready to be lost in a different world, no wonder why I make sure that I watch this drama when there’s no distraction whatsoever. This episode of Alif once again showed the struggles of Momina, the struggles that can be seen. However, what I loved the most about this episode was how they showed that the ace director, a symbol of success Qalb e Momin also had a few struggles, but they could not be seen – struggles of emotions.

Simple Questions Are The Toughest:

Momina is trying really hard to find ways to deal with the tests he life has directed at her. She does not even get a chance to recover from one scenario & finds another awaiting her, further pushing her away from the mental peace which already is missing from her life. Momina has lost herself in this battle, she has accepted that things are always going to slip away from her but she continues to face them, in the hope that one day, everything will fall into its right place. Jahangir’s worsened condition made it hard for Momina to stay firm on her stand. Momina gets to see how her parents are dealing with the pain of seeing their only son in such a fragile state, Momina also gets to see how Jahangir matters so much to Surraiya. Momina does not want to act but she knows this is the only way she can provide for her family, even if not so much, they still hold onto the hope which keeps them going. I love to see Momina spending time with herself, where she recollects her thoughts, reflects, finds courage in those moments of solace & then gets back on her feet.

Momina decided to go back to Qalb e Momin but she once again got a reality check that he was exactly how she perceived him during their first interaction. Momina had nothing to lose, therefore she tried again. Qalb e Momin thinks he has nothing to lose either but the storm awaits him. The best aspect of this episode for me was the comparison drawn between Momin’s present & his past. Everytime they show us his harsh reality, his bitter personality in his present, they immediately take us to his past, where they soften the hearts of the viewers by giving an insight that his childhood has turned him into an unforgiving person. The moment I felt he crossed the line with Momina, the director took me back to show the struggles young Momin had endured.

I love watching the scenes of young Momin, they are so emotional & heart-touching. No child in this world deserves to see his parents in such a miserable state where the father abandons his family & the mother is depressed & lonely. Young Momin did learn something, he learnt that he could make a deal with Allah, he could ask for his mother’s safety & not bother about something that he does not have. Momin gave up on the hope of seeing his father & he also realized that he could not let his desire of being with his father forget the fact that he had the warmth & tenderness of his mother. I really want to know why does Taha’s father repeatedly ask for Husn e Jahan’s forgiveness. What role has he played where he finds himself feeling guilty when he sees Husn e Jahan in such a miserable condition.

Husn e Jahan gave up on her hope of seeing her husband ever again & came back to her family. A brief introduction was enough to show why she left her family in the first place. They just wanted her to remain a star, so that she could provide for them. Husn e Jahan’s family was selfish before & they behaved selfishly now as well when she came back. No one wanted to know what she had been through because for them, none of it actually mattered in the first place. Sultan & Husn e Jahan’s equation was covered briefly in this episode. Just like Momina said, Sultan definitely had more than just respect for Husn e Jahan, he placed her on such a high pedestal & she left such a long lasting impression on his mind that till date, he has not been able to get over the fact that he used to be with Husn e Jahan. Momina has her own perspective but it is obvious that being her makeup artist, Sultan knew Husn e Jahan as a person, for him she was not just an idol that people saw on big screens, she was not a character. For Sultan, Husn e Jahan was a real human being, who had emotions, weaknesses & strengths. This is the reason why everytime Sultan talks about Husn e Jahan, he is not just talking about that star that people once love or admired, he talks about Husn e Jahan as a human being that he knows of!

“Tum khush ho?”, sometimes the simplest of questions are the hardest to answer. Momin did not expect to hear this from his Dada. Qalb e Momin thought he had achieved so much that this is all that he had & that it was enough for people to see as a standard. Yes, his fame & success is equivalent to happiness for many like him but for someone like his Dada, there was definitely something missing in his life & that is what made him ask Momin this question. Momin got uneasy because he never saw this coming. Momin actually underestimated his Dada’s intellect, he really didn’t imagine that Dada will look through him & touch his Achilles heel. All this while Momin was away, Dada had all the time to assess the path Momin was walking upon. He gently reminded him that he can never lose connection with his Creator, though at the moment he may not be keen on maintaining it, but the connection is never ever lost. All the scenes covering Dada’s astonishment as well as his thoughts about Momin were executed beautifully. He is not judging Momin, but he has realized that Momin has chosen a very different path for himself. Who would’ve thought that the Momin who is so sorted, so successful will be shaken by just a simple question. It goes to show that he has suppressed these emotions for a long long time & now when he was questioned, he was kind of compelled to think about what was missing from his life or what he was in search of!

Closing Thoughts – Wonderful Drama:

Overall, this episode of Alif was once again beautifully done. I loved the scenes of Momina & Jahangir, they were sweet & it is amazing to see how Momina puts up a brave face in front of her younger brother, despite knowing that the time is slipping away from him. Their audition practice was cute too. All the actors are performing brilliantly & they all have embraced these characters with such perfection that you feel like you’ve known them for so long. I really enjoyed the subtle & minimal background music, it was easy on the ears & complimented the situations really well. The camerawork, direction, camera angles, aerial shots, all of it is making watching Alif a very memorable & uniquely enjoyable experience. Haseeb Hassan really has done wonders to this drama. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Alif.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.