Remember our board game? Maami’s intervention, Shariq’s wedding, Naimat Chacha tracking Zoya down – no game. Then Shariq formally asks for Zoya’s hand in marriage – six! Zoya’s parents are agreeable to the idea – double six! Zoya confesses to her mother that she is in love with Shariq – triple six – except that leads you back to square one, doesn’t it for Naimat Chacha opposes the marriage and announces if Zoya remarries she must give Sameer up. Shame! Anyways, after his wife’s grief and resentment all comes pouring out it opens Naimat Chacha’s eyes and he agrees to the marriage and steps back.

But then Zoya is adamant that her whole family must know about Shariq’s first wife. She has no qualms about being his second wife though for when Shariq’s mother rings her and asks her the reason for her initial refusal and wants to know if Saba was the reason her prompt ‘no no’ made me cringe. True, Shariq and Saba’s marriage is not exactly shaadi of the year but well she is his first wife and I do not know, it would have made me like Zoya a bit more if she was shown to give some thought to Saba and how she is to fit in all this but heck no, all Zoya really thinks about is Zoya herself. I am honestly a bit confused – are we meant to like Zoya? I have never felt so detached and unfeeling about a female lead in a drama before – well none that I can recall right now! All Shariq has ever seen Zoya do is sit, cry or run off to the train station – and that has made this hugely successful and confident man fall hook, line and sinker for Zoya and have her inertia and faarighness rub off on him too?! When she weeps to Shariq keh shadi nahin ho sakti I thought oh man! And then when everyone finally agrees to the marriage she is weeping again ‘I can not lie, I can not forget Azmeer’. If this was meant to be an emotional or touching moment, which I imagine it may have been it fell flat because Zoya’s constant gloom and misery is becoming so stifling that it would have been nice to see her say something positive for a change!

Shariq’s emotional speech broke through any hostility and barriers in Zoya’s household and even Naimat Chacha finally gives his blessing. The conversation between Saba and Shariq was awkward to watch. Shariq’s mother pressured Shariq into the marriage and well, he did marry Saba – where does he plan to fit her in all this? Saba’s excitement over having Zoya to talk to and Sameer to play with was horrifyingly similar to the thoughts of a child excited over the prospect of a mother figure rather than sautan coming! And how does Shariq plan to juggle two marriages?! I am unable to manage two dishes on the stove – while bhunning the chicken, I end up burning the onions in the other one then how does he imagine to manage two wives within the same house and feel he has been fair to both. (Yes, I know I just compared marriage to cooking but oh well!). Yes, I know the marriage between Saba and Shariq is anything but a marriage but well she is his wife and if she is just an inconvenience I would still like to think that he has more consideration and more in mind for her than just another person living in his house.

Saba is shown to be ecstatic over Zoya’s arrival but we see her give into a pensive moment or two and I wonder what is brewing there? Will she begin to feel jealousy now and will Zoya and Shariq mil kar help her recover from her childhood trauma? Why isn’t Maami coming to check on Saba now – I have a feeling she will show up now that Zoya is back.

Interestingly, in today’s episode what I found the most riveting was not Saba’s track (which has taken a back seat for a while anyway) or Shariq and Zoya’s track (yawn) but the scene between Naila and Shahnawaz. When I saw the tears streaming down Naila’s face when her mother in law has her emotional breakdown I wondered if her heart had softened. But she is spitting venom when she taunts Shahnawaz over his ‘grief’ over letting Zoya go. Shahnawaz had lied to his father about being the one not able to impregnate his wife so that nobody would be able to point any fingers at Naila. Can I just say that I wince each time the word kammi is used in this type of conversation. Even if the spouse does not want to hurt the other, to lay the responsibility at the feet of that person with that word just sounds so distasteful to me. It was truly nice to see this side of Shahnawaz though and it was different to see how a man can take this upon himself so as to not have anyone treat his wife less or force him to be unfair to her by remarrying. Normally it is the man who taunts the wife in our dramas and it was really interesting to see Naila do the same for I am sure this is not too far from reality either. Naila is shocked and then thoroughly ashamed of herself. I wonder if Shahnawaz will forgive her for her insensitivity or whether her true colors have made him dislike her now. More than Saba, Shariq and Zoya I am interested to see the outcome of Naila-Shahnawaz – now what does this tell you about the state of this drama, ha!

It was actually a relief to see Sana Javed smiling in the last few scenes of this episode and I hope she has shrugged off her lethargy for good. Seems like she has passed it off to Sameer for kia say kia ho gaya hai but Sameer has just remained in that annoying cushion thing without a single cry or wriggle! Shariq residence seems to be one big happy family – but is it? Intezaar for next week – surprisingly (not!) I am not counting the minutes till then! Glad to know with the comments last week that I am not the only one who tunes into this drama – would love to hear your thoughts on this episode!

Kunwal Javid

Subah tum say mulaqaat huee aur sham mein tumhari maa say – LOL! The constant assumption by everyone that Mehwish is Faisal’s mother is actually beginning to feel funny now. Mehwish’s obvious recoil at the words and empty stare seem to have become her standard response to such statements. What I find interesting is how everyone seems to be mentally marking Mehwish off as the evil one and labeling Faisal as the bechara who was snared into this marriage. True, Mehwish did marry a younger man and that too her daughter’s ex fiancé but how come nobody ever says Faisal married an older woman and that too his ex fiance’s mother in the same judgmental tone. Interesting – except that this is such a real portrayal of this aspect of our society.

Moving forward, the not so happy trio that is Mehwish,Zara and Faisal has begun to come out of itself and they are introduced to new faces. Mehwish has unwittingly thrown a vulnerable, lonely, ignored Faisal into the concerned arms of Amber and her mother. Amber’s mother while initially came off as a friendly neighbour looking out for a younger new neighbour seems to have become a serious case of elfy glue! If something ends up brewing between Faisal and Amber which seems to be a likely scenario and if her mother is horrified I shall have serious issues with her mental state! The constant bulawas’ and insistence to stay and have chai (haye, those endless cups of chai in this drama!!) or eat or chat and commenting that poor guy lives all alone – seriously what is she thinking?

Aap ki khushiyon ki keemat aap kay bachon nay adda ki hai. Okay, I have tried to give Mehwish a chance here. Since the day I started watching this drama and as event after event unfolded I had my own opinions but a small part of me gave Mehwish the benefit of the doubt, a possibility for her to redeem herself somehow. Mehwish tries to use the ‘I am a mother,wife,daughter etc but I am also a person first’ card and while I use that card to be able to sneak off for a power nap or have my tea in peace without the kids tearing each other apart – I somehow can not stomach her using that line to marry her daughter’s ex fiancé! Zara’s statement although a bit dramatic since her brother really did not have to commit suicide – yet is not far from the truth. I may not be a fan of her plan of action now but it does shed light on how a child views whatever her mother has done. Anyways, if we were to let bygones be bygones, then moving forward Mehwish is doing absolutely nothing to make Faisal, Zara or any of us warm up to her. Her wedding to Faisal and the circumstances etc be left behind how about the havoc she is wreaking now.

Zara’s wedding has become her top most priority. Every woman worries about her daughter’s wedding, fair enough. But Zara is still in college and Mehwish claims to have big dreams for her, wanting to see her educated, confident and able to make her own decisions but hey, u turn – Mehwish knows what’s best for Zara and at this very moment that is her marriage. Okay before Zara’s father died, yes there were talks of having Zara’s wedding date fixed but then considering how Mehwish resents how she was forced into a marriage, would you not think she would not bring that upon her own daughter. Also, this obsession of Zara’s wedding seems to be fueled more by the desire to have Zara married and out of the house so Faisal can move back in rather than Zara’s actual welfare!

The moment Mehwish sees Faisal talking to Amber was probably the only time I really felt Mehwish’s personality come through. I said in my earlier reviews that something was off with Mehwish and I think I felt that way because although Mehwish had taken a controversial step in her life I still wanted to be able to form an opinion about her, to see aspects of her personality aside from the new marriage. And the past couple of episodes had begun to show us how jealousy had begun to rear its ugly head but Mehwish scoffing at the new neighbours and slapping Zara and lashing out at Zara and Faisal coupled with how she is dealing with Zara’s marriage leaves no doubt in my mind of the kind of person Mehwish is becoming or maybe has been. Seems like Zara’s plan of revenge is not so far fetched and may happen sooner than later!

The past couple of episodes and preview for the next show how Mehwish is struggling to adapt to society’s perception of her. Faisal will find himself another mum-daughter duo and forgive me for this snide thought but I hope it is not Amber’s mother he falls for while Amber falls for him! What a fitting end to this drama this would be, ha! This guy’s past record he kuch aisa hai. Anyways, I am hoping there is more to this drama now than the seemingly obvious. I found this interesting in the first place due to the fast pace and wild chain of events but I have a feeling the drama will just focus now on how Mehwish will continue to be a negative, insecure character who ends up pushing Faisal away and Zara gloating at her success – the end! I would love to be proven wrong and have some more substance to this drama. I have finally made peace with Mehwish’s character and Maria Wasti’s acting as the insecure woman wallowing in self pity, destroying the few relationships she has left finally hit home with me today. What did you all make of this episode? Would love to hear your thoughts. For those of us watching Besharam, we know what Wahab Sunaraya thinks of his in laws – would love to hear what he makes of Mehwish and her ‘mentally poor’ clan!

Kunwal Javid

Ohkay so, this episode of Dhaani was so beautiful & I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I love the way the writer & the director have made sure in the previous episodes that the viewers form a connection with all the characters, because now when they all are going through a heart-break, we can’t help feeling for them. This happens when the writers put a heart & soul into all the characters that they write because that’s when you actually relate to them & their journey.

Dhaani, oh dear, you’re making one mistake after another. Dhaani’s first mistake was that she fell for a guy like Sameer who is immature & doesn’t understand the emotion of love & then her second mistake was agreeing to Amjad’s proposal without even thinking things through. May be Sameer never really put much thought into the fact that he needs a love in his life because all this while, he has been getting so much of attention that he grew comfortable with the idea that he will meet girls, befriend them & move on without having any strings attached. Like I have always said, the only reason why Sameer was intrigued by Dhaani was because of her look out on life. Sameer actually was fascinated by the idea of a girl, belonging to such a different world, having so much of courage & backbone to follow her heart but he never really explored what his heart felt about her.

Dhaani only started speaking to Sameer because she assumed that he was interested in her & will eventually get married to her because if she had known that he was never serious about her, she wouldn’t have given him an edge. Even though I am not a fan of Sameer but he seemed justified in his reaction when out of the blue he heard Dhaani speaking about marriage because it went to show that his attitude was not only like that with Maya but even with Dhaani & all the other girls he must’ve shared a friendship with. Dhaani was wrong rather gullible to think that he was her Mr. Right & he was only showing interest in her because he intended to marry her. That’s where the writer beautifully brought in the difference of perspective of people belonging to two different social classes. I know it can fall into the category of stereotyping but then I don’t really mind because it’s a love story & it is a drama, so for that matter, this is justified. Sameer never really understood & he didn’t even try to understand how much Dhaani was putting at stake for the sake of this friendship. Sameer didn’t even realize that Dhaani had so much of pressure on her & she was actually crossing the line & was exploiting the trust her father & her entire family had in her, why, because he belongs to such a social class where parents don’t put such pressures on their children. Sameer has lived his life like a free bird, that is why he couldn’t understand Dhaani’s harsh reaction & didn’t really get where she was coming from. Dhaani on the other hand believed that this relationship actually was a serious commitment for Sameer because she couldn’t even conceive of the fact that a random guy, who gave her his phone & who was going out of the way to spend time with her would just want to be her ‘friend’ & nothing else.

Well, Dhaani was forced to wake up & smell the coffee & when she realized that everything was a mistake & a farce, her dreams & her expectations were shattered. I loved the conversation Dhaani had with her sister, where in stead of blaming Sameer, she realized her mistake & said that she is mad at herself for doing everything for Sameer whereas she wasn’t his someone special. Dhaani is immature that is why in a weak moment, she agreed to Amjad’s proposal. I loved the scene that the entire family shared where Kaleem told Dhaani how she made him happy & Bee Jee tried to console her that she wasn’t going to leave this house immediately. I just loved that scene because it showed how decent, simple & humble Kaleem’s entire family was. They are very decent & simple people who still believe in keeping their word & till date give preference to ethics & morals.

Well, I liked the fact that after seeing Dhaani’s reaction & telling her what his thoughts were, Sameer’s heart wasn’t at ease. I loved how the tables have turned because first it was Dhaani who had a heart-break & now it was Sameer’s turn. Sameer was restless all this time & it looked like it was for the first time that Sameer was forced to explore what was in his heart & when he reflected, he realized that it was only Dhaani who could make him understand why he was feeling a certain way. Sameer’s family has finalized his & Maya’s marriage, but now I am looking forward to the time when Sameer will take a stand.

I loved the entire conversation that Raja & his friends had, it just showed how for people belonging to humble backgrounds, the emotions matter the most. Where Sameer’s family was using Sameer as a step for social climbing & were treating his marriage as a business deal, where they were thinking of melting people’s heart by conducting his engagement ceremony in interiors of the city & where they all seemed so superficial & emotionally absent materialistic robots, there were these guys who had nothing but compassion for each other & were worried for their friend Raja because they all were in touch with their emotional side. It was beautiful!

Overall, this entire episode of Dhaani was like a roller-coaster ride, it had emotions, it had drama, it had some amazing conversations & some very important realizations that were long due. Madiha Imam has done wonders as Dhaani & I think the casting director should take a bow for such a brilliant casting of all the actors as they all are doing a wonderful job. The director has given a perfect feel to this drama because where there’s so much of warmth in the scenes of Dhaani’s family, the family of Sameer seems so cold & everyone seems quite self-absorbed. The writer has done a brilliant job & has brought all these emotions & realities in such a perfect way. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Dhaani.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.