The second episode in the series was titled “Aap Ki Ulfat” was written by Atiya Dawood and directed by Sakina Sammo. Ulfat Shireen (Naveen Waqar) is a famous poet who often makes public appearances in Pakistan and internationally. She is a confident and beautiful woman who is content with her life while being well grounded. Her mother is eager to have her married off and Ulfat agrees upon one condition- she doesn’t want to be dolled up and objectified and instead, tells her mother that she would prefer to meet her potential suitor at a restaurant and only once she feels comfortable, will she give the go ahead.
She meets Zain ( Ali Safina) and they both seem to hit it off. Even though they are polar opposites, Ulfat seems convinced they are compatible. They decide to get married and on their wedding night, she feels awkward when Zain questions whether she had any previous relationships. Zain continues pressing her about her past every now and then and is extremely insecure. Zain’s temperament switches back and forth which makes her struggle with understanding him. While dining at a restaurant, Umair Alam approaches Ulfat and expresses how much he admires her. Zain starts getting worked up and assumes Ulfat is having an affair.
Zain starts probing into her poetry and thinks everything she writes is about him and how miserable she is after marriage. Ulfat tries to explain that her writing is purely fictional and it’s got nothing to do with her reality but Zain continues thinking otherwise. He taunts her and harasses her over her Facebook page- she denies sharing anything but he’s already convinced she’s cheating him. Their marriage continues to suffer until such time that Ulfat has had enough and she walk out.
Ulfat’s mother tries to reason with her but Ulfat narrates that no matter what she does, Zain continues being suspicious of her and she can’t put up anymore. In the end, Zain happens to find Umair Alam showering the same attention to another poet and realizes how wrong he was. Umair is an obsessive fan who religiously stalks his favourite authors and his pattern of behaviour has nothing to do with Ulfat. Zain regrets his irrational mistreatment but it’s far too late as Ulfat has already filed for divorce.
As much as I liked the idea of single episode stories, I found this one lacking substance. The narrative wasn’t gripping, the editing was choppy and the direction was mediocre. I also felt the production values weren’t top notch. Naveen Waqar should really experiment with roles and her styling. There’s nothing new about her character. Ali Safina seemed fine in some parts but overall didn’t exactly deliver a strong performance. The guy playing Umair Alam looked like a crazy stalker so they definitely cast him well.
Let’s see how the next episode shapes up. What did you make of this one?
Kanwal Murtaza
