Ohkay so, it was a good episode which began with an interesting challenge, not too sure about the final challenge but yeah the first one was good. I am sure a lot of viewers would be rejoicing at the elimination but I am still amazed at the things the eliminated contestant had to say about himself.

The day began with a small challenge where the contestants had to taste the spice mixes of Shaan & had to identify them correctly. I thought they would let one contestant taste & name one spice but it was like everyone had to try the same spice. I think it could’ve been unfair in a sense that a contestant who had no idea about what the spice was could’ve easily changed their answer by listening to what the majority of the contestants had guessed. But all in all, it was a difficult challenge because to guess the spice mix is actually quite difficult. Amna emerged as a winner of that round & she was saved from going into the actual round where the rest of the contestants had to cook.

Second challenge wasn’t as difficult as it should’ve been because when the judges were introducing the dish by saying every single country has it’s version of the dish in question, I thought it would be something exciting but when they announced it was a Kofta Challenge, I was actually amazed at the level of difficulty because I feel they are now dealing with the top 7-8 contestants & to expect them to make kofta at this point is a bit underwhelming.

The dishes that Zain, Khurram, Saad made & the comments they got were:

Zain created ‘Chicken Meatballs w/ Fettuccine & Balsamic Sauce’. Chef Mehboob liked the usage of parsley in the pasta because he felt it gave a very unique flavour to the dish. He also appreciated Zain’s effort at the pasta this time because he felt he improved heaps as compared to the previous challenge & he finally nailed the pasta & cooked it to perfection. Chef Mehboob also enjoyed the combination of meat balls & the pasta. Chef Khurram liked the meat ball especially because he felt that the flavor had pierced through the meat ball & made it flavorsome. He also liked the color of the meat balls because it was deep fried & felt that the addition of parsley didn’t really overpower the whole dish. Chef Zakir picked a few points that the usage of mashed potatoes & Parmesan in the meat balls changed the taste & because of that he felt that the meat balls were a bit dry but over all he liked the colors of the dish & the presentation.

Khurram came up with ‘Spaghetti w/ Meat Balls’. Chef Mehboob loved the dish completely. He commented that he has never eaten such a tasty spaghetti & meat ball dish with a perfect sauce to compliment it. Chef Zakir appreciated his efforts because he made pasta on his own. He liked the dish for the fact that the portion size of the meat balls was perfect & so was the flavor. Chef Zakir commented that this was a complete dish with not much at fault to it.

Saad presented ‘Kofta & Roti’. Chef Mehboob felt that the koftas were overcooked & quite dry. He didn’t like the fact that the onion chunks were visible in the curry & because of that the curry wasn’t smooth like it should’ve been. Chef Khurram felt that the curry was almost raw where the flavours of spices didn’t really blend well together. He felt that the over usage of different spices made the curry a bit bitter. Chef Zakir felt that the mix that he used for the kofta wasn’t right in both; the flavours & the ratio. He couldn’t really taste anything in the koftas.

It was now time for the verdict & going by the judges remarks it was pretty evident that Saad was about to get eliminated. I kind of, for a moment felt that Zain might get eliminated because the remarks of the judges were totally different now as compared to how they rated his dish back at the tasting table. I did feel they were trying to save Saad but finally, it wasn’t his day & he was eliminated.

Even though I am happy for both Khurram & Zain but then I want to ask where’s the versatility of these contestants? Zain just cooked pasta in the previous challenge & Khurram had cooked the same spaghetti before & grabbed a lot of compliments from all the judges especially Chef Zakir, so what was the point of going for the same thing over & over again? I feel this should be a rule in the show that the component that has been cooked before won’t be accepted again because it then feels like Zain can keep on making his pasta thin, thinner & thinnest so as to keep himself in the competition till the end. I thought these contestants were versatile & diverse but sadly that’s not the case anymore. I can only see that Rayyan, Gulnaz, Ammarah & to some extent Madiha are versatile & they never hold back in experimenting which is necessary in a show of this caliber because they want to upgrade themselves from being home-cooks to chefs.

Even though Saad knew he didn’t perform well but to hear him say he deserved to be in the top 3 was funny. He got too complacent & I think this resulted in his elimination. I must say Amna needs to tone down herself a couple of notches because she wasn’t really helping the contestants & was confusing them a lot. I think she needs to understand that she must speak when spoken to. She was unable to make up her mind when she was downstairs fighting to win the advantage but the moment she got safe, she became Miss. I-Know-It-All. I think Amna is a good contestant but if only she could control her verbal prowess, that would be awesome. & yes, last but not the least I would like to say that even though Madiha has invited a bit of criticism to herself but one thing I like about her is that she never speaks ill about anyone. She only has good things to say about her contestants & I like her for being humble & positive. Share your views on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

I can’t praise the writer enough for giving us such a strong script with such perfect characters. Just when I thought that the drama would become predictable & the viewers anticipated Daood’s accident, something totally unexpected happened & now Daood is counting the last days of his life. I don’t think any drama in the current lot comes at par to the brilliance of Marasim. I thank the team of Marasim for giving us such a perfect drama.

I know, after all that Daood has done to Nayab, he doesn’t deserve the sympathy but I couldn’t help feeling bad for him. He was someone who kept on sacrificing everything that he loved for the sake of his family. So, now when his family is happy & settled, he asked for a little happiness for himself but sadly, seems like he has a huge price to pay. Even though he was honest to Nayab about everything right from the beginning & could never give her a place in his heart except for a soft corner but still after all that he did recently doesn’t make him a bad person. Daood was a good bloke but just because he saw people walking over him, he lost control & wanted to turn things his way but little did he know that the fate had something else in store for him.

Even though whatever happened, both Daood & Momenah are to be blamed equally but I still feel Momenah has an upper hand in all the bad things that happened in Daood’s life. She walked away from his life just because she considered her mother a priority back then. She moved on quickly & got engaged to Fahad closing all the possible doors of returning to Daood but just when Daood after a long span of depression tried moving on, she indulged him in a guilt. Later when Daood was living a somewhat peaceful life with his wife after he had come to terms with the fact for how his life shaped up, Momenah came into the picture; unhappy with her married life, with her subliminal hints to Daood for reconciliation & just because she actually wanted to be with Daood, she challenged him to leave Nayab so that she could consider getting married to him. Seems like Momenah treated Daood as a stooge & loved seeing him following her instructions. It’s like Momenah felt that she had control over Daood’s life but that definitely is not the case & for that I totally blame Momenah for being such a bad influence in Daood’s life.

Fahad’s return was again an unexpected turn in the story. Fahad came when Momenah was at a brink of leaving him for good, even though she had planned it but just because Sherbano didn’t want it to happen, Momenah; no matter how much she resisted, started having second thoughts about her decisions after her mother showed her a dark face of the reality she’ll have to deal with after Daood’s death. While watching Fahad saying all those things to Momenah, I felt nothing for her because to be honest, she deserved it. She called it on her, herself. Fahad has all the rights to give her a reality check in whatever tone he wants to because once again he proved himself to be a loyal partner. Just because he loves Momenah, he is ready to forgive her for the pain she has caused to him. Fahad’s character made me think how easy it is to show strong men with some spine in the dramas because lately, we haven’t met any such male characters. After Daood, Fahad also turned out to be a strong character with some insight & rationality & I applaud the writer for that.

The episode revolved around Daood’s new found illness & Momenah but I wish they had actually shown a bit of Nayab, Gaitiara & Deeba as well, just to show what was happening in their lives. Even though it does seem justified that whatever happened to Daood was more like a karma’s spin on him but it’s still sad to see him suffering so badly. Can’t wait to see how Nayab reacts to Daood’s illness & would she be able to forgive him? How Gaitiara would react & would she be apologetic towards Nayab for the way she treated her? Can’t wait to find out.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

You know what? I used to laugh a lot whenever I caught the glimpses of Star Plus dramas as they used to treat household chores as a pivotal part of the story. I never knew there would be a Pakistani drama that would focus on gharelu kaam just to prove a certain point too. Also I think I owe my awesome readers a disclaimer & that is whenever you read the word Awazaar, just know that I am talking about Zawaar. His character has impressed me so much that I have decided to change his name. :)

I actually wish Sarwat Gillani had a better dialogue except for chanting ‘Oh Phuleeeeez’, ‘Oh Phuleeeeeez’ because by the end of the episode there came a time when I heard myself saying ‘Oh Please’ too. I wish when Haya went on a grocery spree, she had bought a pacifier for Sofia, so that she could use it as a ‘dhakkan’ to keep Sofia’s mouth shut. What an annoyance I must say. So what actually happened in this episode? Awazaar was busy running & gardening, Haya filled the bucket of tears to pour some on the flowers, she was doing everything that a housemaid would do & charge $90 for it. Haya would also pour her heart out in a novel like manner in her diary & Sofia would roll her eyes like an owl. Ta-da, this is what episode 07 was all about.

For the first time today I saw the whole title song of the drama & I saw Shehroz Sabzwari in it. I think he’s going to act like Haya’s lifeline because as far as I think, he’d be playing a role of Nousherwaan (Javed Sheikh) Uncle’s son. I am glad they have included Javed Sheikh in the drama too because to see those three withered faces of Awazaar, Haya & Sofia was becoming quite burdensome.

Awazaar had no intentions of feeling remorse for Haya but just because Honey Bee called him & reminded him of his duties, all of a sudden he had a change of heart. I am actually not buying this so-called fact that a man almost in his early 40’s is such a child that he needs someone to hold his finger & show him the way. I never knew a chicken’s life is so long? Does he has no spine of his own where he can actually stand by what’s right & what isn’t. He thinks praising Haya’s ‘salan’ or reminding Sofia of her bad behavior is enough. & what’s with the new trend of referring to the moms like ‘Bee Jaan’ ‘Dai Jaan’ ‘Bee Amman’ ‘Bee Gul’. Ammi kehne walay kahan gaye bahiii??? 

Even though he had no role to play in this episode whatsoever but thank you Awazaar once again for giving us a reason to loathe you. He didn’t forget reminding Haya of how much she loves Bumble Bee & vice versa, so he was actually trying to talk her out of her decision of returning to Pakistan. With a meesna muh of his, he also felt it was important to know what conversation Nousherwaan Uncle had with Haya, because he was too scared of getting busted for having Aik Nahi Do Do Biwiyaan. Tauba Tauba!!!

Finally, seems like chicken will become a rooster in the next episode & he will stand by his decision & will not let Haya return to Pakistan. I am thinking he got bored by eating the Indian curries so just because Haya rekindled his Pakistani taste buds, he’s thinking she’s too precious to let go off. & what’s with the ‘patti’, ‘patti’, ‘patti’ ki ratt. Sorry to say but there’s nothing about Sofia that speaks Indian to me. She dresses like a Pakistani, speaks Urdu fluently like all of us, so the unnecessary usage of single Hindi word doesn’t really justify the purpose of showing her as an Indian. I wish they had done some sort of a homework before making this play. Share your thoughts on this masterpiece OH PHULEEEEEEEEZ!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Finally, it was a good episode just because we got to see the contestants performing in teams & cooking somewhere else apart from the MasterChef Kitchen.

The challenge itself was great where the contestants had to feed the guests in the À la carte Restaurant. Even though the judges asked the contestants to push themselves harder & to bring themselves out of their comfort zones but I must say some of the dishes didn’t spell 5-star fine dining quality to me. We have seen the contestants making those dishes in previous challenges so I was concerned why the judges didn’t stop the contestants for playing it too safe that too at this point in the competition?

The contestants were divided into two teams; Red & Blue. Red Team had Rayyan as a captain & Ammrah, Madiha, Gulnaz as the remaining team members. Blue Team‘s captain was Saad & the other team members were Khurram, Zain & Amna. The challenge was simple, they had 3 hours to design their menu & prepare themselves for the service. I was actually excited to see how the teams would perform in the service time because that’s a crucial part of any restaurant challenge.

The dishes that the Red team made & the comments that they got were:

Entrée:
‘Pan Asian Prawns w/ Mango Salsa’. Chef Mehboob liked the balance of flavours that the dish had. He felt that the dish was very Mexican with well-cooked prawns & all that jazz of spice, sour & sweetness to it. Chef Zakir liked the prawns for the fact that they were cooked perfectly & he felt that the combination of salsa with the prawns was perfect.

Main:
‘Beef Tenderloin w/ Mushroom Sauce’. Chef Khurram liked the steak & the flavours. Chef Zakir felt that the timing with which the steak was cooked was just right because it was succulent & tender. According to him the marination was great & he was glad that it was cooked perfectly. Chef Mehboob was like it was hard to believe that the steak was cooked by a home-cook because it was that good.

Dessert:
‘Cheese Mousse w/ Cherry Coulis & Chocolate Truffle’. Chef Khurram liked the presentation a lot. Chef Mehboob was glad that Rayyan plated the dessert in his style. Chef Zakir liked the balance of flavours & the fact that the dessert wasn’t too sweet.

The dishes that the Blue team made & the comments they got were:

Entrée:
‘Ceaser Salad w/ Grilled Prawns’. Chef Mehboob liked the dressing of the salad & also the prawns. Chef Khurram felt that the dish lacked the colours & the prawns weren’t coming out as a main component of the dish like it should have.

Main:
‘Tagliatelle w/ White Sauce & Grilled Chicken’. Chef Mehboob felt that the pasta was overcooked. Chef Khurram felt that the presentation could’ve been better but it was just right. Chef Zakir didn’t like the knife skills & felt that the portion size was too big.

Dessert:
‘Red Velvet Cheese Cake’. Chef Mehboob had an issue with the sponge as according to him it was too dry, however he liked the cheese cake & the usage of berries to bring in that acidic tinge to the dish. Chef Khurram liked the presentation & felt that the red colour made it visually appealing.

It was now time for the verdict. It was good that the judges read the remarks of the guests too. I am glad the guests got to have a say in this & it was pretty clear that Red team had an upper hand in both; the menu & the performance, therefore they won the challenge, sending the Blue team into the elimination round.

I must say I was expecting something more from the Blue team because the menu they selected was something that their team members have cooked before. We’ve seen Zain cooking pasta many times & Amna has made red velvet cheese cake in one of the elimination rounds that earned her a spot in the safe zone before. I think it was the responsibility of the judges to remind the contestants of not cooking something they’ve cooked before. White sauce & ceaser salad are also a couple of those components that have already been cooked in the MasterChef Kitchen. Red team in this regard stood out because they were creative & opted for a different menu however Cherry Coulis & Chocolate Truffle has been cooked previously too but other than that their menu was good.

Rayyan proved to be a good team captain because he was helping his team members around when they asked for it. All the decisions he took for his team paved a way for their success. I am glad Ammarah, Madiha & Gulnaz worked in harmony too & made sure they did their tasks well. Blue team started off great but started having hiccups in the middle of the prep-time & not only their service was choppy but their captain fell short on his responsibilities. It seemed that the blue team was quite complacent & were too confident but I am glad the team I was rooting for won the challenge & yes, it was the Red team.

Addition: I wish someone had given a teaspoon to Chef Mehboob for the tasting because to see him dipping his finger in the batter for the tasting purposes was quite unflattering. I am amazed that he being a chef himself didn’t know how he was contaminating the food & how unhygienic it was. It’s quite sad that the show is about to end in a few weeks time but still we can’t sense any connection between the judges & the contestants. Seems like the judges never really tried bonding with the contestants.

Overall the entire episode was good but I wish they had opted for some more creative dishes. Share your thoughts on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

This was another powerful and engaging episode of Laa. Every episode reveals something new about the characters in the play and the story is progressing slowly but steadily. Dilawar thinks that his wealth and status in the society would be enough to make Naina his “slave” forever but Naina’s answer to his proposal is Laa!! Naina may have let her parents decide who she was going to marry but she is not going to let her future in laws decide the terms and conditions under which this marriage will take place. I absolutely love Naina’s character; she is not swayed away by cast, social status or any of those things. She is liberal but spiritually enlightened. Dai Maa naturally wants a farmabardar bahu and not one who has a mind of her own. Dilawar is blown away by Naina’s beauty and he knows only too well that once she is married to him, he will manage to have his own way. This marriage does not mean much to him, he already has someone in his life who he considers his companion. Also, he is clearly one of those men who look at women as objects which they want to own and use according to their own wishes.

The way Dai Maa interprets everything that Naina’s father has to say to her said a lot about the kind of person she is. Dilawar knows how to manipulate Dai Maa and right now nothing means more to him then ensuring that Naina becomes a part of his life soon. The conversation between Dilawar and Dai Maa about Nazar ki raqam went to show how this drama is touching on different topics and is showing ways by which people like Dai Maa and Dilawar use people’s ignorance for their own benefit.

Not much happened with respect to Daniyal’s track in the first half of the episode but all that happened in the second half more than made up for it. Daniyal finally shares his secret with Laila and Naina also finds out the truth. Now Naina has absolutely no reason to go ahead with her marriage with Dilawar but the question is that does she have a choice? It is good to see that Daniyal’s parents are shown in every episode for some reason or the other. I am glad that they are not completely out of the picture and the entire development of Daniyal finding out about his past has been handled intelligently.

The preview of the next episode left me with a lot of questions; Is Daniyal Dilawar’s brother? Will Naina and Dilawar get married? Was Laila worth confiding in? Until now Laila seems to be a good person at heart. Sabreen Hisbani is doing very well in her role and this character is very different from what she has done already. Mikaal Zulfiqar owned his character as usual. Sadia Khan’s acting is not perfect but somehow her character has grown on me and I am actually finding the connection between Daniyal and Naina very relatable. All the senior actors are doing a commendable job; Rabia Noreen in particular has nailed her character as Dai Maa. I was blown away by tonight’s episode of Laa as usual particularly because I can totally connect to the characters and happenings without even making an ounce of effort.

Fatima Awan

The highlights of this episode would be Aiman and Bibi celebrating Haider’s birthday, Haider getting a reality check as to how much he means to Aiman, finally Aiman getting some confidence in herself after getting the first position in class and Sajeela developing an interest in Haider.

So let’s start with Aiman hurting her foot. Poor thing slipped on the stairs, got her foot hurt and the first person she thought of in her moment of pain was none other than Haider. As expected, Haider left everything he was doing to take her to the doctor. A good thing here was Almaas’ reaction. She felt for Aiman and seemed more concerned than her own father. It’s a good thing that this drama is showing a healthy step mother and step daughter relationship. Almaas is an educated and liberal woman and it shows in her behavior, never once has she ever let Aiman feel that she is not welcome in her house or that she is a burden. I can’t remember the last time I saw ZQ performing so well and doing such a positive, mature and meaningful character.

Aiman feels very strongly for Haider and by now she is used to getting his complete attention. When he felt like being alone and when he needed some time for himself, naturally she misunderstood. She couldn’t go through her day, she bunked classes, avoided her friends and finally burst into tears when she confronted him. In short, her reaction was very strong and naturally Haider was surprised. If you ask me after this incident Haider should have been careful in his interactions with Aiman. He is a mature and sensible man, he can clearly see that Aiman has started depending on him for everything but in the very next scene they were hanging out again eating ice cream and as soon as she called him to inform him about her first position, again he took her for lunch. I can understand that his intentions are very noble and in the beginning it made sense that he was taking Aiman out to restaurants, she needed the push. But by now, she has made friends in her class and has become a little more relaxed around her parents, by now Haider should make a conscious effort to minimize his involvement in her life. If she starts to fall for him in the next episode ( which by watching the promo, we know she will :) ) it would not be entirely her fault.

Aiman is also getting more and more confidence in herself, specially after getting the first position in her class. Her joy and excitement knew no bounds, she wasn’t even expecting this herself. Hopefully, now she will get out of her shell and will become a little less introvert.

In my last review, I sort of predicted that now that Sajeela and Mazhar are finally divorced, Sajeela might start thinking about Haider again. The one man who truly loved her and the one whom she deceived. As soon as she found out that Haider is still single, well that one smile said it all. Hareem Farooq is really good at acting, so it wasn’t hard to read Sajeela’s face. I must say if Mazhar was shameless than Sajeela seems to be no less when it comes to getting what she wants. Even if she had an ounce of shame, she might not have asked her sister about Haider in the first place. We have all seen the lengths to which Sajeela can go when she wants something and Heaven help Aiman if Sajeela sets her eyes on Haider :).

Now the story did not progress much in this episode but hopefully in the next episode we will see the much awaited ” Aiman’s makeover “. I am hoping that they will not limit her make over to just untying her braid and putting on make up but will also give her a new wardrobe :).

Also through the promos, we can see there will be a new entry in the show. Fatima, the girl Haider went to University with and Bibi and Almaas might even be considering her for Haider. How will Aiman react to this, this we will have to wait and see. And will Aiman finally accept her feelings for Haider, that remains to be seen. The situation will become even more interesting if Sajeela decides to join the bandwagon of the ladies interested in Haider ;).

Kiran Akhtar

Saman has proved to be a smart girl, she definitely deserved better than Faisal. Thankfully we have been spared the much dreaded rona dhona which most of us were expecting after Saman’s marriage. I can’t say that Saman’s reactions to Faisal’s cold and rude behavior are in any way relatable but it is wonderful to see Saman focusing on her studies. Saman has proved to be very practical, she knows that trying to win her husband will not be fruitful so she has decided to make the most of the situation. Hareem Farooq is doing her best under the circumstances since the character that she is playing doesn’t have much to offer.

The mystery behind Hashir’s depression should have been resolved in tonight’s episode. I feel that this drama could have been engaging even with a weak plot if the pace of the drama was not so slow. I could relate to what Hashir’s mother feels for her son much more after watching tonight’s episode. Hashir has grown up feeling unwanted for some reason therefore he feels like he doesn’t deserve to be loved by anyone. It could be because Hashir’s mother has been a single parent since he was little so she didn’t have a choice but to invest more time in her business. Every episode of this drama reminds me of another drama which I have already watched and this episode was not different. I was reminded of the play Ek Kasak Reh Gayee when Mehreen’s father lectured her about being so concerned about Hashir.

Shazia still feels that she has a chance, she tries her best to play her cards right. Although she is wise enough to know that you can’t make someone love you but she is still willing to give it her best shot! How many more lies will Shazia tell Hashir to convince him that she is his well wisher? The preview of the next episode showed that Hashir’s mother will finally decide to go to Saman’s house on her own and that is when she will find out the reason behind Hashir’s unhappiness. Mehreen also tells Hashir that Shazia did all of this on purpose, which means that there is no hope for Shazia.

I have no idea where the story is going to go from here but until now it doesn’t seem to be headed anywhere at all. In every episode the story moves forward a little bit but nothing about it intrigues me much. Saman can’t possibly continue living with Faisal and Shazia will do anything to have Hashir in her life. Yumna Zaidi is a very talented actress, I would really like to see her playing some strong characters. The production values and picture quality of the play stand out more than anything else but they are not enough to keep the viewers looking forward to more. I am actually surprised at the number of advertisements this play is getting, there are obviously viewers who are following this play. I would really like to know what is it about this play that is attracting the viewers! Looking forward to your feedback.

Fatima Awan

Mansoor should take his mother’s advice and start valuing things that really matter in life before he loses more than he already has. Tonight’s episode had some very deep and meaningful dialogues to its credit. I must admit though that Saadi’s character has been a complete disappointment. The character is etched-out well but the actor playing the role has failed to do justice to his character. Saadi should have been charismatic but unfortunately that is not the case. Alishba Yusef and the actor playing Saadi’s character have absolutely no on-screen chemistry, this is also the reason why their “connection” with each other seems forced.

While Laila was willing to give Mansoor another chance, Kukoo reminds her that she does not even know the man she is about to give a second chance. Kukoo’s dialogue about Laila and her being the same was so true. They are the same for Mansoor because he has used them both in ways that suited him. Kukoo was the perfect mistress for Mansoor but she didn’t fit in the criteria which the society and men like Mansoor have for a wife. Laila was the perfect wife material because she was young and submissive and most importantly because she was his mother’s choice. Mansoor only apologized to Laila because he wanted things back the way they were but this time around Laila wasn’t willing to go the extra mile to make this relationship work. Mansoor is not interested in Laila full stop! Laila is no longer in denial and therefore she is not willing to give Mansoor benefit of the doubt. Laila’s comment about Mansoor’s friend bringing his phone at night went to show that she is not being fooled at all. It is quite apparent by now that Mansoor wants to look good in front of his own mother and he wants Laila’s mother to have a good opinion about him too. Laila is wise enough to know that and therefore indirectly she threatened Mansoor by mentioning the phone incident.

I wasn’t expecting Mansoor to change therefore whatever happened in tonight’s episode did not come as a surprise at all. I think what Mansoor did tonight will prove to be the final nail in the coffin. This could be Laila’s ticket out of this dysfunctional marriage. Kukoo’s reaction to Mansoor’s advances was an absolute pleasure to watch. Mansoor wants to be in control of Laila and Kukoo’s life and he is finding it very difficult to accept the fact that both of them have moved on. Mansoor may think that Kukoo and Laila are ganging up against him but in reality both these women are doing what is good for themselves.

I am waiting to find out if Laila’s mother will realize at some point that a woman needs much more than a handsome husband who earns well. Will she ever be able to see that this man is incapable of making her daughter happy? Or will Laila just stop caring about what her mother expects from her and she will make a decision that will make her happy? With the exception of “Saadi” all the other actors are doing a commendable job. Every actor in this play is probably playing one of the most memorable roles of their career.

Fatima Awan

Ohkay, even though I found this episode very slow in terms of pace but the conversations by the end of the episode & those honest confessions of Zara were a perfect compensation for it. Seems like they asked us to invest our time in this episode so in return they gave us something to feel for the female characters at least.

In the beginning of the episode, I didn’t really get why Jazib was just so upset that just like a faffay kuttni, he reminded Dua of being a sautan to Zara? That just wasn’t appropriate especially coming from someone who knows how much Zara felt uncomfortable in Dua’s presence & how Dua was constantly being insulted by Zara. I think at least they should’ve shown Jazib as a rational person rather than just being someone who was responsible for getting these two ladies in one house. I wish he was sane enough to understand what each one of them was going through emotionally. For now, his priority is Zara; for the obvious reasons of course but that doesn’t mean that he can force Dua to do things out of the way to please his first wife? Dua has been patient & has taken care of everything pretty wisely but that doesn’t give him a right to misunderstand his 2nd wife just so easily.

Dua at least tried to bring a smile to Zara’s face but Zara’s phone call to Khala was just so odd. Zara has always been so upfront about what she felt for Khala but now all of a sudden she sighted the mood to thank Khala for calling Dua to Sialkot so that Zara can spend some time with her family? As far as what I know about Zara, she is someone who doesn’t really bother much about what others are thinking & doing so the whole calling-khala scene seemed quite pointless to be honest. Anyways, she found out about Dua & her supposed jhoot, but the way she reacted was once again annoying. I mean who stays so confrontational all the time? Is it really so important not to just be calm about any situation & literally be upset about every single thing? I feel as much as Zara has disliked Dua, she should’ve been satisfied for not seeing her face for the whole day but still she made sure she spent some time in reminding Dua about how jhooti she was.

Finally, Sofia made sure she clarified Dua’s image & made Zara understand that whatever Dua did was to make her happy & I am glad that the conversation with Sofia gave Zara an idea about Dua’s sincere feelings. Zara’s conversation with Jazib made me think that it would’ve been a lot better if Jazib & Zara had spoken on these lines before they rushed out of each other’s lives. It was actually just so easy all this while too given the history of them being totally in love with each other. Zara & Jazib could’ve sorted out their issues but seems like no one was bothered & there was a communication gap that too pretty unconvincing.

Anyways, the ordeal has made Zara understand that her family is in safe hands because Dua is a selfless person. Zara has learnt it the hard way but she now knows that she wasn’t there for her kids as much as she should’ve been but just because Dua’s always going to be there. She now understands how important it is to acknowledge her efforts & appreciate her for all the things she is doing for her family. The last conversation of Zara & Dua actually reminded me of the conversation Kajol has with Kareena, even though I don’t remember it clearly but I do know it was on the same lines as this one, so yeah to all those readers who make sure to remind me about Izteraab being a copy of We’re Family/Step Mom, I already know so now all you have to do is share your views on this episode without sharing the already known secret. ;)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

ps: On a personal note I feel Saba Qamar should’ve gone for some different & classy scarves because the one’s she’s wearing actually seem really tacky.