Ohkay so, it was definitely an emotionally charged episode of Fraud. I will definitely commend the entire team of Fraud for giving this drama a solid start but going by the pattern that usually Pakistani dramas have been following over the last few years, it is quite likely that things will now start slowing down. This episode was all about facing the consequences of blindly trusting others without doing much of a research. I also really liked the conversations that happened between the characters, there was a lot to absorb while also feeling sad for what Maya especially was going through.
The Betrayal
In normal circumstances, the couple always stays in touch but the way Tabrez & his family vanished into thin air, it was obvious that they were gone for good. It was unfortunate that it took Nisar so much of time to even realize that everything was a farce & that he made such a poor decision for Maya that was now going to haunt her for the rest of her life. I really liked Nayel’s usage of ‘benefit of doubt’ because it just showed the kind of blind trust Nisar had on Tabrez & his family that despite all the alarms, he was still quite hesitant in suspecting them.
Once again, I felt a lot for Maya because the flashbacks that she was having & the dejection in her body language showed the extent of emotional involvement & attachment she had towards her husband. It is hard to imagine that a girl who was literally on cloud 9 was now made to face such a reality that she never in her wildest dreams could’ve thought of. All this while, Maya could not even process what was happening to her & her family, that is why her disbelief just like her father was very much understandable. Also, it won’t be wrong to say that Maya saw & approached Tabrez & his family on the basis of Nisar’s opinion of them, therefore her reaction was very similar to her father’s too. When it came to Maila & Maya’s mother, their reaction was similar where they just couldn’t help feel immensely sad at the betrayal that their family faced. Maya & Nisar were in shock & disbelief whereas Maila & Shehnaz were emotional & sad.
I really liked the way the director executed this episode. The editing especially made it quite gripping & engaging. It all started with Nisar going to Khawar’s office only to find out that it was rented. The visit to their house was what sealed the deal that they have been swindled. I did feel that the owner of the house should’ve had better dialogues or at least should’ve given Nisar & Maya some clarity stating that Tabrez’s family rented this house for a month or something on these lines. I say this because the owner was present during the shooting so it showed that he was actually involved & knew who he was renting out his place to, therefore for him to show so much of oblivion when it came to Tabrez’s family wasn’t convincing.
Nisar’s conversation with the police officer was definitely the highlight of this episode for me. What made it even better was the way that entire sequence was directed where Nisar was being questioned & just as continued to answer, he himself realized all the things that were wrong with this proposal & how Tabrez’s family approached them. Also, right in the middle of that conversation, the snippets of Maya, a conversation of Shehnaz & Shazia & then Tabrez’s walk of victory after returning from a successful trip – it was all really very interesting to watch. It didn’t take much for the police officer to point out all the reasons on the basis of which Nisar decided to accept this proposal & no matter what Nisar said, he himself knew it was over. No matter how much he tried to reason with the police officer, it was quite evident that in the end, he had no one but himself to blame.
Brilliant Direction & Editing
This episode of Fraud was once again filled with some very important moments that were performed & directed brilliantly. Fraud definitely has become a drama that I actually look forward to. However, I won’t lie that I am skeptical about the upcoming episodes because I can foresee a long period of mourning. I wish just like they have kept the pace quite fast & episodes happening, the do not prolong this period of sadness & keep taking the story forward with a steady pace. Saba Qamar’s performance was superb because she did not have much dialogues & all she had to do was convey the thought process of Maya through her actions. I loved the scene where Maya calmly combed her hair at the end of a very long day. It did show that she was calm on the surface but deep inside there was a mayhem that was consuming her. Maya knew she could not do anything but she was just taking a moment to understand how she should process it all. Mehmood Aslam’s performance was outstanding as always. The supporting actors did a wonderful job too. I will say that I do not really enjoy much of Shaan’s scenes because there is actually nothing special happening in his track apart from a few emotional dialogues. It will be interesting to see when that track picks up. The editing & direction of this episode in particular was top notch & made this episode thoroughly enjoyable. The camera work of Fraud has been spectacular too. Also, going by the next promo, I really hope Nisar doesn’t do something irreversible, this is definitely something that he shouldn’t do but seeing the selfishness that he has displayed, anything can be expected from this character. Let’s see how things roll. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Fraud.
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.