Ohkay so, Nawab Nosha Asif Jahan ka sabun slow hai kya? Like I have said before, this entire drama is running on the basis of communication gap & the way they have brought the fact that this is the king & his family & the affairs concerning a government, that we are watching, everything that is happening makes it even harder to believe & execution of each & every situation seems like a joke to me!

Asif Jahan ordered Taimur’s arrest only on the bases of rumors that he heard that too even before he inquired what actually happened & what was the reality. Where was the inquiry committee & where were the eye witnesses that could testify against Taimur that he was the one who killed Dilawar Khan? As usual, just because Asif Jahan is impulsive & just because he’s missing a prowess of rational analyzation of a situation, he put his own son behind bars? Quite smart I must say. Later he did realize that he did something wrong & he after realizing that he doesn’t have another son, so because like I said his sabun is slow, he ordered everyone to bring in the eye witnesses to know what actually happened, whereas this was something that he should’ve done before taking the decision of arresting Taimur.

As Asif Jahan tried to dig deep into this affair, he found out that all the ladies of his house had more brains than him & may be that’s why he lost his in the last part of the episode. After meeting Taimur, Asif Jahan got to know about the letter that Badshah Begum wrote to Dilawar ordering him to kill Taimur, which makes me wonder why didn’t Taimur hand this letter over to his father the moment he returned to Mor Mahal after winning a battle? What was he waiting for? I don’t really understand because what Taimur read in that letter was a big deal so why did he take it so lightly & choose to spend so many days in the prison for no good reason? After inquiring from Badshah Begum, Asif Jahan found out that Farrukh Zaad also sent her brother to kill Dilawar Khan & that’s when Asif Jahan lost it. He was so confused & heart-broken that while he was busy being in love with all these ladies, they were back stabbing him hard!

I really am not sure why Asif Jahan hasn’t snapped out of the fact that Dilawar Khan is dead, like what was so special about him that he is ready to put everything, especially his son at stake for just a guy who was his adviser & nothing else? I really believe Asif Jahan’s priorities are not in place because no matter what happens, no one puts anyone ahead of their children at least. The way Asif Jahan is mourning the death of Dilawar Khan shows that deep down he is hurt to see Taimur alive in stead of Dilawar Khan!

After seeing that Asif found out the truth about Farrukh Zaad, Badshah Begum made her move once again & told him to let Shujat succeed him, like does she really think that Asif Jahan is going to listen to her after finding out that she wants her grandson & Asif’s son Taimur killed? I think what Farrukh Zaad told her brother to do is justified because she was protecting her son after finding out that Badshah Begum had ordered Dilawar to kill him, but there’s nothing that can justify what Badshah Begum did & there’s nothing that can justify her evil intentions of having her own grandson killed only because she hates Farrukh Zaad?

Akhtari predicted that Shujat will come into the power & looks like what Akhtari says or does turns out to be true, so I will request the director to let Akhtari go in a trance & tell us the remaining story in one go because she can foresee the future & I can not sit through this drama anymore to see what is yet to come. I am actually disappointed that this drama has turned out to be like this where there’s nothing special about it, where it turned out to be another story which showcases the politics between women & nothing else. I really had high hopes with the character of Asif Jahan because he seemed like a perfect ruler but as the episodes progressed I found out that he was everything but that as in stead of him doing the brainstorming, it was the women of Mor Mahal who were in charge of the situation & were indirectly running the government themselves. I actually missed seeing the ruler’s ministers & I missed seeing huge assemblies where they would be discussing the affairs of the state, they did however show a meeting that Asif Jahan had with the experts who were less in number but were too old to think straight. It looks like Asif Jahan is the only man who is running the government himself which actually again is a delusion as it is not him who was doing all the thinking, it was either Badshah Begum or Wazeer Begum that would do that & IF Asif Jahan planned on taking an action on something, that again turned out to be an idea that was whispered in his ear by another woman named Shahista.

I actually thought that they would take us on a journey through history where they will cover all the aspects of how a government is run by the ruler but ever since the drama has begun, seems like they wanted to show everything but that & sadly, it ended up looking like a saas bahu saga set in a royal setting in an olden era. Also, what happened by the end of this episode is enough to show that the main lead isn’t strong enough whereas I wanted to see a ruthless king who actually ran the affairs & tackled them on his own terms & conditions but seems like Asif Jahan was too engulfed in loving the ladies that he didn’t mind them doing what seemed to be his job!

Well, in this episode, Asif Jahan has lost his marbles & as the preview suggested, he won’t be regaining his senses anytime soon, so what’s the point of watching a drama where the main lead is so so so weak mentally that he couldn’t tackle a high-pressure situation. I think this episode sealed the deal for me & I am done watching this drama. This is going to be the last review of this drama as I am done trying & I am done getting disappointed week after week. I am actually not sure what went wrong at the creative team’s end because this doesn’t come near the work that Surmed Sultan Khoosat has done previously. Even though I haven’t seen Mera Sultan but I have read plenty of comments on the social media where everyone made it obvious that Mor Mahal was an attempt to recreate Mera Sultan but they failed miserably so even though I haven’t watched Mera Sultan, I still say that it was a very weak attempt so, better luck next time guys! However, before concluding the review I will say that Umair Jaswasl has emerged as a promising actor & I think he should consider giving acting career a go & I wish to see him in more dramas in the future. Anyways, please share your final goodbyes at this last review of Mor Mahal!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

ps: My dear readers who have been reading my reviews from the last few years know that I have endured high-intensity tortures like Mujhe Khuda Pe Yakeen Hai, Izteraab, Aahista Aahista, Tumhare Siwa & never gave up despite them telling me to but this time around, I don’t think I can waste my time anymore & yes, I’m losing my patience so for that reason quite happily, I declare that I give up!!!

Ohkay so, this episode of Thora Sa Aasman was quite interesting. I am glad that the director is taking the story forward at a decent pace, as there’s a lot left to be conveyed & that’s why all the tracks are developing swiftly & all the questions are being answered without leaving viewers wondering about things on their own. Also, I must say, I really liked how this episode in particular juxtaposed between the mentality of an elite & the lower class of the society & that has to be my favorite aspect of this entire episode.

Haroon is ruthlessly practical, that is why he knew that his wife could easily achieve what he couldn’t in the matters concerning Baqir Shirazi, that is why even after Baqir’s indirect yet direct insult, Haroon didn’t mind sending Shahista to meet him again because he was confident that Baqir would never refuse Shahista’s request. It is actually unfortunate that despite having a wife, Baqir has his sights on Shahista & he has gotten this edge only because he knows that her husband Haroon is shameless when it comes to his personal benefits, so Baqir is making the most of the dependency Haroon has on him regarding his business.

Baqir ended up informing Shahista about Haroon’s reputation & seems like this was for the first time when Shahista not only confronted her husband, but threatened to leave him in case she ever spots him with another woman. I felt that this threat came a bit late & didn’t even leave much of an impact because it’s not like Shahista hasn’t seen that scenario till date. Shahista did spot Haroon with Zarka in a shopping mall & he brushed all her concerns under the carpet. If only Shahista had taken a stand back then, may be Haroon wouldn’t have done what he just did with Zarka. Just like Haroon got married to her out of the blue, he decided to throw her out of his life just like that too, but what’s sadder is that he doesn’t want to own his child that Zarka is carrying now. Zarka has lost everything & she is paying a huge price for trusting such an emotionally absent businessman. Sadly, Zarka was just a flavor of the month & just when Haroon felt that he was benefiting nothing out of this relationship, she decided to call it quits!

Saiqa, who’s trying hard to make the ends meet, falls in a deep pit when her husband, who has pretty much disowned her creates a scene accusing her of infidelity. Zafar, in stead of giving a shut-up call to his friend, makes a point to drag Saiqa in front of everyone to let them & her know that he is still the supreme authority in her life. Zafar is a depiction of those hypocrite men of the society, who find no shame in leaving their wives & their daughters in the lurch, but when they hear the rumors, they are the first ones to make a commotion about how their wives are disloyal & unfaithful & how their dignity means everything to them. Saiqa comes from such a background where men are considered supreme, despite them never proving themselves to be, but still their verdict is taken to be a final word & then, a woman is forced to face the brunt for the things she might never have even thought of doing. Saiqa’s parents made sure that she doesn’t leave their house but when they realized that feeding Saiqa & her three daughters was not something that they could afford, they allowed her to resume her job. This was another mind-set that was unveiled that those who are poor can only afford the luxury of ‘dignity’ for a short span of time & when they are forced to wake up & smell the coffee, they go against their word & curb their values.

Who would’ve thought that the same Fatima, who was always accused of being ill-mannered & loud would get the label of being polite? Fatima’s politeness surprised people around her & may be it is the addition of Shaheer in her life that has forced her to do some thinking & reflect on the fact that now she has a child to take care of & more than that she has to be a positive influence on the child that she is raising. Shaheer has brought drastic changes in Fatima’s personality & she might not be his biological mother, but she sure is taking her status as a mother a bit too seriously, which is quite heart-warming. The way Fatima cried for Shaheer was actually quite overwhelming, which proved Fatima’s perspective that you don’t have to give birth to a child to be called his mother, you can become one if you think of yourself as one.

So, it was Shahista Kamal who sent Aliya to the orphanage to check on Shaheer. I am sure there’s a lot to this track that will unravel in the episodes to come. It was a blessing for Fatima that Rabeea ended up being Shahista’s friend, that is why Shahista stepped forward to bail Fatima out of the prison as she couldn’t resist seeing the sight of a child like Shaheer without his mother.

The note at which the episode ended actually came as a surprise to me. Saiqa of today ended up listening to the advice that was given to her by the Saiqa of tomorrow (referring to the conversation she had with the woman in the previous episode). Saiqa ended up succumbing to the pressures that the future of her daughters inflicted on her mind. Sadly, she was a girl who was trying hard to make a decent & honest living for her daughters but the society pushed to a limit where it made her realize that no matter how hard she protects herself or no matter how much she’ll sacrifice, it will only take one lie & just one rumor for them to tear her into pieces & assassinate her character mercilessly. Sadly, what Saiqa did shed a light on all such women who give men the edge & allow those men to exploit them because of lost faith in people surrounding them which unfortunately include their families too. It was the betrayal of Zafar & the lack of confidence that her parents showed in her, which drove Saiqa to take a short cut in life which she at one point didn’t even want to think about. This is why in the beginning I said that this episode highlighted the contrast between the mind set that the people from two different social classes endorse, where in elite class it was the husband who was shamelessly making the most of the affection that another man had towards his wife only because it guaranteed him a monetary gain that he was after & in the lower class of the society, just a sight of a woman standing with a man was enough to ignite the fire & assassinate her character to a point where she herself didn’t mind compromising it for the sake of her children & forced herself to do which was most certainly not right. Beautifully written & executed I must say!

Overall, this episode was really interesting. I know the theme of the drama is a bit on the serious & mature side but this entire story & all the characters have a meaning attached to them. The preview seemed interesting too, I am sure Baqir is not going to stop & looks like Zarka will end up becoming a fish-bone stuck in Haroon’s throat, which he most certainly won’t be expecting. Even though I have liked all the actors & their acting but only in this episode, I repeat only this time around I found Zeba Bakhtiyar’s dialogue delivery a bit weak & Alyy Khan’s expressions a bit too flat, which I am sure will improve in the episodes that are yet to come. The direction, as always was on-point. Please share your thoughts about this interesting episode of Thora Sa Aasman.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Well! Directed by Kashif Nisar and written by Asma Sayani, Intezaar airs on A-Plus every Thursday at 8pm. When I first saw the OST and the cast, I was interested enough to think I would watch and review it. However, I came across an article online which gave the story away a bit stating that the play touches upon the issue of child abuse. Given that it took me ages to get round to watching Udaari, I decided to give this serial a miss. However, hearing how popular the drama has become and thinking I could stop watching if it got a bit too depressing – I began to watch.

Intezaar is initially the story of two cousins, Zoya (Sana Javed) and Azmeer (Azfar Rehman) who are in love and are getting married soon, with their respective families’ (reluctant) blessings. Their fathers are brothers but they do not get along very well rather Azmeer’s father and Zoya’s mother have short tempers and are not exactly overjoyed by the match. Things move along and the day of their nikkah arrives and the two are married but an argument erupts over the jewellery given to Zoya by Azmeer’s family which is declared fake by Zoya’s mother which in turn angers Azmeer’s father. With tempers and egos pitted against each other, Azmeer’s father demands that Amzeer divorce Zoya on the spot – to which Azmeer reacts by walking away from the whole scenario. Egged on by her mother’s taunts and Azmeer’s obvious disappearance from the scene, Zoya feels he has left her in the lurch and not stood by her. Wanting to escape from it all, she asks to be allowed to go back to her hostel where she stays while working as a doctor. Azmeer comes to visit her there and manages to convince her that at the time the only thing he could do was walk out and the two begin to see each other and meet on weekends.

While the two live in their secret, happily married bubble, Zoya’s mother wants to see a proper end to Zoya’s nikkah and asks her to sign khula papers. Azmeer tells her to sign them so as to get her mother off her back. Zoya learns she is now pregnant with Azmeer’s baby and they decide to go back home and face their families so that they can stop meeting in secret and move on with their lives. A medical emergency at the last minute prevents Zoya from getting on the train with Azmeer – the train that crashes and kills Azmeer. Zoya’s parents are shocked to learn she is pregnant but Azmeer’s father refuses to believe the baby is Azmeer’s and rejects the idea of the very obvious DNA test as well. Zoya’s mother then feels that the step forward is to have Zoya abort her baby and marry her nephew, to which Zoya balks and runs away from home to the hostel. One thing leads to another where she ends up staying with a friend’s cousin who turns out to be a creepy man who tries to make a move on her and she ends up at a train station where she meets Shariq (Mikaal Zulfiqar). He convinces her that it is unsafe for her to be alone and brings her to his house.

Shariq is the DC of the area and we learn that his father dies when he was very young and he and his mother go to live with his mamu. Mamu bears the responsibilities of his sister and nephew, giving them room in his house and bears their expenses including Shariq’s educational expenses. Mamu has a daughter Saba (Anam Fayyaz) who is a victim of child abuse at the hands of their household servant. Although her parents eventually found out, but the abuse has left its mark on Saba who at times seems to live a fairly normal life but then at times has fits due to flashbacks from her horrific ordeal where she lashes out at everyone and is uncontrollable. Psychiatric sessions have had no effect and the psychiatrist throws in the ultimate trump card saying only marriage could possibly cure Saba otherwise nothing else can be done. Maami thinks Shariq is the ideal candidate for Saba knows him well and is comfortable with him and also because he ‘owes’ them for all the favours they have bestowed on him. Although Shariq’s mother balks at the idea at first, she gives in to the pressure and visits Shariq to convince him to marry Saba. Emotional blackmail prevails and Shariq returns to his mamu’s house to go ahead with the marriage to Saba.

I actually enjoyed the first few episodes which focused on Zoya and Azmeer. With Saba’s entry, even though I was aware what her basic story was, the flashbacks do give you goosebumps. However sickening it may feel, I suppose this is a much more common occurrence than we care to admit for children are often left at the hands of servants and pedophiles are unfortunately a very horrifying reality. While we see Zebu in Udaari react to her ordeal differently and grow up to be a strong individual although tormented by her past at times, Saba in Intezaar seems to have let the experience engulf her to the extent that she rarely leaves the house and is scared of any male presence except for her father and Shariq. To be honest I really can not comment on her mental state for God knows how such children are impacted and each individual is different. We do not know how long the abuse went on, and how it finally ended but well, the result is a very frightened, young girl who gives in to moments when she is unable to control herself or her emotions and is trapped in her past. Come to the psychiatrist’s advice – I am no psychiatry major, thankfully have not known of anyone or heard of real life child abuse victims that was cured by such advice – but really, marriage? The psychiatrist does not even suggest that she be married to someone she knows well or anything. Just that marriage is the only (if at all) cure to Saba’s state of mind. Why? So that she may be ‘given’ away to another man to go through what she went through earlier? Boggles the mind – so I will leave it at that.

Anyhow, once Saba learns she is to wed Sherry Bhai (God, not another Sherry Bhai!), she is uncomfortable around him and also gives into her emotions and gets up at the scene of the nikkah. Shariq has fallen in love with Zoya who does not reciprocate his feelings but he convinces her that he will put a lid on his feelings but she must not leave his house. I have to say, there’s a lot of ‘convincing’ going round in this drama. Azmeer convincing Zoya they are meant to be, Mamu convincing Shariq’s mum, she in turn convincing Shariq, etc!

To be honest, I am not sure where this play will lead with Saba’s track. Whether she is truly cured, how Shariq is able to make this marriage work for as he rightly says that he can take care of her as a brother but does not feel he will be able to do justice as a husband. Mamu and Maami are unaware of Zoya’s existence but next week’s promo shows that Maami learns of Zoya and that she is pregnant. Shariq seems very adamant not to let Zoya leave from his house or life so I suppose he will take a stand for her. The dialogues between Shariq and Zoya although cheesy at times, still do seem to fit in well with the play and the characters such as when Shariq says to Zoya that she has done her share of ‘mohabbat’ but he has not so she can not stop him from feeling what he does.

The scenes between Meekal and Sana are done well and I like how we see he is shown to care for her but I do have to say I miss Azfar. I find he performs such characters well and he was very convincing as Azmeer, the young engineer in love with his wife and bent on making things work. I know some of us find Meekal lacking in his acting at times, but I for one like his acting and find he has not disappointed her either- so far. Sana Javed in most of her plays is either an outspoken, bubbly character (Zara Yaad Kar to name one)- as Zoya was when Azmeer was alive or a monotonous bechari (Paiwind) – as she is now, but I have yet to watch a drama where she plays a balanced character. While I found Shariq odd deciding to go ahead with the marriage with a ‘Zoya you left me no choice’ when she does not come to the phone, but the pressure on his mother and the pressure imposed by Mamu on Shariq seemed very real where people are forced to give in to pressure thinking it is their ‘farz’. Shariq must apparently choose between his ‘farz’ and his ‘mohabbat’ but his farz being that he must marry his Mamu’s daughter because the Mamu raised him does make you question the real definition of ‘farz’ but sadly, such situations (bar the abuse element) are in abundance in reality.

I will say that the constant flashbacks Saba has do make me uneasy especially as there are different scenes, with the door locks, the swing, the sweets etc. It is hard to sit through such scenes no matter how short they are and my heart does break for children who have had to go through such living nightmares. So far, Anam Fayyaz has acted well and does make you believe her character is real.The play is visually easy on the eyes, not to mention the OST which is extremely catchy and I have found myself crooning, rather belting it out loudly for a while after watching an episode, LOL!

I am very curious but at the same time, very wary as to how this drama moves forward and how much screen time is actually spent on Saba’s journey to being ‘cured’ and how convincing that may be. Does Zoya finally begin to feel more for Shariq and is she aware of his marriage to Saba? Do Saba and Zoya eventually meet? How does Saba react to her marriage? I wonder how many of you are watching this play, what your thoughts are and whether you would like to have weekly/fortnightly reviews.

Kunwal Javid

I was glad to see on ARY’s facebook page that this is the second last episode of the drama. Surprising as it is that it has managed to hold our interest past the 25 episode mark, it definitely is time for it to wrap up before the viewers begin to feel it is dragging. Today’s episode showed the characters’ lives move forward and not entirely how I may have predicted.

If Novera spent even half as much time working on her own marriage than she did worrying and trying to poke her nose into Zainy’s marriage, she could have possibly made things work for herself and Sherry. Her smiling face when she offers to take Zainy shopping sent alarm bells ringing in my head and true to form, she did not disappoint as we learn she rang Ahmer to come and take Zainy home. Zainy is pregnant and Novera takes it upon herself to inform Ahmer. ‘Shauhar tailormade nahin miltay. Mera shauhar tumharay leeyay utra tha, lekin mila mujhay’. How interesting. True, Zainy herself did not wish to be with Sherry but if Novera realized he really was not meant to be hers, then why ‘sawaar’ herself on Sherry’s head?!

I am not sure if Sherry knew Novera rang Ahmer or had asked her to ring him but he was definitely on Team Novera when he spoke to Yusuf later about how the right thing for Zainy to do is to go back to Ahmer. Yusuf has always been very encouraging to the extent of being borderline pushy when it comes to Zainy’s education but I do not think he was wrong to say that they could have waited a few days and let Zainy give her exams. But then later, when Zainy says to Ahmer that giving CSS is her father’s dream, he was not entirely off the mark when he said she had not come to his house to fulfil her father’s dreams. While I find he is wrong to forbid her to meet her father, I do think Zainy’s stance about her exams, education and career is a bit off since these were things she had not discussed and come to a mutual agreement with Ahmer about before marriage and yes, we may say women have the right to do with that they want even if they are married but my personal opinion and the way our society is, makes me think that for Zainy to be so firm about giving these exams and the way she argues with Ahmer rather than rationally discussing it with him, when it was not something they had both mutually agreed on before is a bit out of line. Especially when she justifies it as something that her father wanted to do – the very father she yelled at and gave no respect to in front of Ahmer. (Ambien) But then Ahmer reacts to her attitude by going out of control and that just makes things worse. Anyhow, what Ahmer also said to her about how she could be a bit calm when he is angry and vice versa makes sense but probably not for these two for they are like two peas in a pod as far as maturity, anger and sense is concerned.

With Novera riling Ahmer up, he emotionally blackmails her into telling Yusuf she will not be meeting him again. His reply to her was very sweet and emotional. It was probably what she needed to hear and we see Zainy moving on with her life with Ahmer. We see a different side to Ahmer now where he thinks nothing of using his wife’s beauty to his advantage like when he tries to convince her to act in the Ruby Soap commercial. ‘ Meray dil ki awaz Ruby Soap’ what a tagline, LOL! No wonder Zainy said no, although the reasons she cited were obviously different! Aslam Sleazeball/Sb tells Zainy that Ahmer has committed on her behalf to act in his upcoming serial and has also taken an advance off him. He sends Ahmer away on the pretence of checking out a location for a shoot and while Ahmer later swears he did not know of Aslam’s intentions, I am still unclear about the advance. Did he commit and take the advance or was that also a fabrication on Aslam’s part?

Even though Sherry is hell bent on making sure Zainy stays with Ahmer and does not speak to her but when she reaches out for his help, he appears and takes her home. She asks to be taken to Yusuf’s house, saying she wants nothing to do with Ahmer but he drops her back at Ahmer’s house and tells her ‘ Tum ek guzray huay pal mein jeenay wali larki ho. Yeh jang tumhari hai jo tumhein he larna hoga. Apni iss laraayi ko doosron par masalat na karo’. I feel Sherry is being harsh for Zainy is clearly miserable and feels she has made a mistake so just because she is pregnant now, Sherry is letting his own feelings for her overrule what is actually probably better for Zainy. Sigh, a glitch in angel Sherry’s character. Zainy is immature, makes nonsensical and impulsive decisions but after how Ahmer treated her when he locked her in her room and then this incident at Aslam’s house I would think Sherry should have let her gone to Yusuf’s house and his own feelings for her are overshadowing and clouding his judgement for what may be better for Zainy.

Ahmer – yet again earnest, yet again declaring his undying love, yet again asks for another chance. And Zainy relents. Time passes, Zainy’s baby arrives and we see Yusuf is unwell and confined to a wheelchair. Novera, the ever ‘tactful’ Novera feels he can not recover from whatever illness seems to have overcome Yusuf. Ahmer seems to quite busy with his production business but not doing so well for he is unable to pay all the household expenses. Whatever happened to Zainy’s CSS result? When he promises her that she and the baby are his responsibility, is that when it was decided Zainy would give up her pursuit of her career? I may be digressing here but seriously why did Phuppo never get married and have a family of her own? She is nice looking, a reasonable and sensible woman – did she not deserve more in life than to pick up after her crazy brothers and their crazy offspring?!

I have really enjoyed this drama so far and I like the twists and turns and unexpected events the writer has thrown our way, which has kept this drama interesting. Seher Afzal as with every episode has acted really well in this episode and Muneeb Butt (yes I know a lot of us are not fans) – but he has fit well into the character of Ahmer. The OST and the visuals give a very ‘slow’ look to the drama but after the first few episodes, the drama has been anything but slow.Next week’s preview shows that Beena is back (or maybe she had never really left) and we see Zainy with Yusuf and then a much older Zainy meeting an older Sherry. So I suppose Sherry and Zainy do not end up together now at least – maybe in their ‘barhappa’? Looking forward to the last episode and seeing how this all ends. Any guesses as to whether Sherry and Zainy end up together – ever?! Would love to hear your thoughts!

Kunwal Javid

Ohkay so, honestly speaking, out of all the episodes of App Ke Liye that have gone on air, I enjoyed watching this one the most only because of Shaheer & Washma & their conversations. Things are being taken forward in regards to Shaheer & Washma’s track, so it makes the upcoming episodes look promising because apart from their characters, the rest of the characters are quite typical.

Maryam went to Arsalan’s place but he told her to go back to her husband’s house. I think in stead of using Washma as a scapegoat, Arsalan should have the decency to at least be honest about everything in front of his sister & own his mistake like a man. Waheed has been financing Arsalan’s education so it is understandable that he feels burdened & doesn’t want to hurt Waheed especially after all that he has done for him, but what Arsalan can do is, tell his sister about the reality so that she stops being so nasty with Washma & stops blaming her for everything. Maryam will obviously have to keep things to herself because after knowing that it was Arsalan who forced Washma to do the heavy-lifting, she will stop being so bitter about it & will accept everything since she will know that this is exactly what her brother wanted too.

Oh dear, the scenes & dialogues of Nishat Apa are just as OTT as her character is. The entire conversation about giving away her child to Shaheer after beating around the brush for million seconds was so not done well. I am sure that it is not the direction, it is the acting of Samina Peerzada that is making it hard for me to tolerate Nishat’s character. It is actually quite ridiculous that she wants Shaheer to adopt her child, whereas Shaheer has been bearing their expenses right from the beginning. He has taken care of his entire family so what’s the point of adopting Nishat’s son? Nishat thinks that her husband’s name won’t make things easier for Ali so can she please elaborate how using Mamu’s name will shape Ali’s future? Nishat obviously has her sights on Shaheer’s property & wealth, so that in any case is being shared by his family members, so can she stop being so petty brained & not use her son for her ulterior motives? Thankfully, Shaheer talked her out of it & didn’t just surrender to this order by his Apa since he does everything that she tells him to do.

Areesha has asked Shaheer to meet Omar so that he can give his blessings to them. Areesha prepared Omar for the meeting & made him familiar with Shaheer & his personality. It is good that at least Shaheer is far more considerate about others choices in comparison to Nishat because she is a control freak & wants everyone to follow what she prescribes for them. Areesha doesn’t know but Nishat is planning her wedding with Imdad’s brother. I want to see how Areesha will take a stand for herself against Nishat’s orders!

I loved the way Washma taught Imdad a lesson & luckily, Shaheer found out the truth that Washma was only explaining things to Arsalan & wasn’t actually spending time with him. It is good to see that Shaheer doesn’t just believe in listening to the one side of the story & gives fair chance to everyone. I liked the conversation Shaheer & Washma had, it’s like Shaheer has found a new friend who he knows will walk an extra mile for him, but before even talking about his personal issues, Shaheer gave the chance to Washma to vent out where she explained what Arsalan put her through & how she accepted everything for the sake of her brother & his wife’s happiness. Washma & Shaheer might be oblivious of it right now but these conversations are giving them an insight into their natures & likes & dislikes, which is a good thing because unconsciously, Shaheer & Washma will start depending on each other for moral support & then they might even fall for each other as well. Well, Washma assigned herself a duty of doing a background check on Omar for Shaheer’s peace of mind & I am sure this is another quality of Washma that Shaheer will admire that she is good at heart & believes in helping people without expecting anything in return.

Well, I am getting tired of Maryam’s character but yes, the only good thing about the bickering scene between Waheed & Maryam was the insight that we got into what Waheed feels for Washma & how he has raised his sister. It is actually quite refreshing to see that Waheed believes in giving Washma a complete freedom of choosing what she likes for herself & not only that, he has empowered her by turning her a confident individual. It is a rarity in our dramas to see such brothers who trust their sisters & respect their judgments – that entire conversation was done really well & I commend the writer for coming up with such a unique bonding of Waheed & Washma that is built solely on trust.

Overall, this episode was good & I really enjoyed watching Shaheer & Washma’s bits. It looks like Shaheer will have no idea when he will start relying on Washma because she has such a positive attitude & energy that he will find himself drawing closer to her unconsciously. I can’t wait to see what these two have in store for us. Please share your thoughts about this episode of App Ke Liye.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, this episode of Thora Sa Aasman was quite interesting. I am really happy with the pace of the drama because thankfully they have so many stories & tracks to cover that they can’t afford slowing down the pace, which makes me hopeful that things will remain exactly like this till the drama will last. I must say, the director has given due coverage to each & every character & has established their tracks appropriately, for which he deserves a round of applause.

Haroon Kamal got married to Zarka to prove the love he had for her but he being a free bird doesn’t believe in enduring any sort of pressures, that is why the moment Zarka’s mother Dilshaad Begum started doubting his intentions, he came clean & told her that he never intended to get married to Zarka in the first place & it was only on her request that he took such a step. Zarka is actually tired of living the life that her mother has planned for her, that is why like a gullible fool, she thought that she found her home when she met Haroon Kamal. If Zarka hadn’t allowed her love for Haroon cloud her judgments, she would’ve known that Haroon doesn’t know what loyalty is because he would’ve never ever cheated on his ‘beautiful’ wife that he time & again spoke so causally about. Zarka’s happiness was short-lived & unfortunately, she was made familiar with the true face of Haroon Kamal just in the early stages of her marriage.

Haroon actually made the first move by sending an expensive gift for Baqir Shirazi’s wife in order to impress him but he didn’t know who he was dealing with. This entire scenario sheds a light on the ugly face of the elite society & the things that transpire behind the closed doors. All this while, Baqir didn’t mind eyeing Haroon’s wife Shahista shamelessly, but the moment he saw that Haroon made a gesture only to initiate family terms with him using a bait targeting his wife infuriated him quite a bit & he came up with a plan of insulting him on his face. Baqir actually knows what sort of a person Haroon Kamal is that is why he knew that he will hit a bulls-eye by sending an invitation to Shahista Kamal. As expected, Haroon told her to entertain Baqir because he wants to reap the benefits that this relationship will bring with it. I think either all the women around Haroon are too gullible or Haroon is quite a sweet-talker because it only took him a slight confession of love to convince Shahista that she should accept the dinner invitation that Baqir sent to her, while making her forget completely that he has been cheating on her.

Baqir got what he wanted & he killed two birds with one stone because he not only got to spend the time with Shahista, but he also made sure that Haroon gets his message loud & clear too. I liked how both Baqir & Haroon are still not in contact but are talking indirectly to each other, it’s like Baqir knows Haroon in & out & he also knows that Haroon definitely has an ulterior motive due to which he wants to become friends with him, that is why Baqir is making the most of the situation & putting it to good use by spending time with Shahista Kamal & by also displaying his power & status in front of Haroon Kamal. I think Shahista has spent enough time with Haroon to know him, therefore she shouldn’t let him use her as his stooge, but then may be she loves him so much that she is still hopeful that her husband will change completely & will become loyal to her.

Saiqa is finding it hard to cope up with what life has thrown at her & her circumstances are filling her with bitterness but what she didn’t know was that she had so many women around her who were in the same boat as her too. Saiqa never ever imagined that she will meet another Saiqa who will give her a futuristic perspective of what her life will turn out to be but then Saiqa is not too ambitious. Yes, she is frustrated & she is helpless but she still doesn’t believe in curbing everything for her own benefits, that is why the things she heard from her supervisor made her realize what she wants & what she’ll never settle for in her life.

Fatima’s mother finally found her & sadly, like always, she brought troubles with her. Fatima’s mother ended up telling everything to Askari Bee & things got even more difficult for her, but it is good to know that Fatima has Rabeea by her side who is ready to help her in every way possible. Fatima is someone who wants to live life on her terms & conditions but so far, she hasn’t succeeded because people around her believe that they are the ones who should be making decisions for her on her behalf. Fatima ended up getting jailed & this was something that she had never imagined. I really want to see what Fatima will do to shape her life up & how she will bring herself out of the misery. Unfortunately, the manager of the orphanage & Aliya have started looking for the boy that Aazar & Aasia adopted on behalf of Fatima, let’s see when their search will end & for how long Fatima will be able to keep Shaheer protected & hidden from the preying eyes.

Overall, this episode was very very interesting & face paced. The change of every single scene made things refreshing & it also changed the entire perspective because so much is happening at this point that it looks like a puzzle that you’re trying to solve, which is brilliant & sheds a light on the fact that this can only be a result of an intelligent writing. I must say the direction has been top-notch & so has been the acting & considering this being a GEO TV’s production, the production value of this drama is extremely good too. All the actors have given a perfect face to their respective characters & I am glad that apart from a few actors, this project doesn’t have quite a big names attached to it because these days the dramas that are not studded with star cast seem to do well actually, so for that reason I thank the casting directors of this drama immensely. Yes, there’s one thing that isn’t working for me & that is the usage of the OST throughout the episode, the soundtrack is alright but lyrics don’t really gel well with the situation but seems like they use it to add more depth in the scenes but it hardly pays off. Anyways, please share your thoughts about this episode of Thora Sa Aasman.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.