Once again a very interesting episode. The black apron round was a treat to watch. I feel as we’re going along the season, the editing issues are subsiding & this episode was perfect in that regard. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the show & liked the energy of the judges this time around too.

In this round Maryam, Aneela, Rayyan, Madiha, Amna, Sidrah & Gulnaz were competing. The challenge was set by Chef Zakir himself that the contestants had to replicate his signature dish; Chicken Reshmi Karahi. What normally happens is that when the contestants are told to recreate a signature dish of any of the chef, they are provided with all the ingredients & more importantly, the recipe as well but in this round the contestants had to judge a dish based on their own capability & understanding of food, which definitely meant that everyone will be having a respective version of the dish. I feel that if they had at least given them some sort of pointers, than it really would’ve meant that the contestants were recreating Chef Zakir’s dish but nevertheless, what they all created was good to see too. The contestants had a free choice of making any sort of bread to compliment the dish & they did come up with some succulent bread for the judges to try.

While judging Madiha’s dish, Chef Zakir firstly pointed out that the cutting wasn’t the same how it was in the original dish. He also felt that the whole dish was dry. Chef Mehboob felt that she didn’t marinate the chicken long enough for the flavours to get in there. Chef Khurram felt that the sourness was overpowering the whole dish.

For Amna’s dish, Chef Khurram felt that the gravy was nice & had a great texture. Chef Mehboob liked the balance of flavours but Chef Zakir felt that the whole dish was missing a binding factor because of the lack of salt.

Regarding Rayyan’s dish, Chef Mehboob felt that salt was missing but he still liked the gravy. Chef Khurram felt that the gravy had the ratio of tomatoes more than it was required. Chef Zakir said that just because he put in a lot of spices, he had to balance the taste, that’s why he poured in some more tomatoes in the sauce.

In Aneela’s dish, Chef Zakir felt that it had no sourness, no shine in the sauce & just because she didn’t cook the dish properly, the tastes weren’t well combined. Chef Khurram liked the bread she served but Chef Mehboob felt that the dish was incomplete.

Gulnaz’s dish got a lot of compliments. Chef Mehboob felt that she recreated the dish closest to that of Chef Zakir’s. Chef Zakir felt that the balance of flavours was spot on, his only critique was that if she had brought out some more texture of the sauce then this dish would’ve been a perfect replica. Chef Khurram’s only concern was the usage of ginger but otherwise he liked the dish a lot too.

Sidrah’s dish got mixed remarks as well. Chef Khurram liked the bread & also felt that the sauce was nice. According to him, the tomatoes weren’t overpowering & because of that the spices could be tasted well. Chef Zakir felt that the chicken pieces were overcooked which made the main component of the dish a lot dry.

Maryam’s dish was average too. Chef Mehboob pointed out that the cutting wasn’t right. Chef Zakir felt that the sauce was way too thick but the taste was fine. Chef Khurram said that it wasn’t an exceptional dish.

It was now time for the results. Amna, Sidrah & Gulnaz were told that they were safe. Rest of them once again got criticized on the missing factors in their dishes. Chef Khurram said he was disappointed by the bread that Madiha made. Chef Zakir felt that Rayyan was working haphazardly & he seemed lost. Chef Khurram said that Maryam needs to work on her presentation & Chef Mehboob said that the chicken she made was dry. Aneela got the remarks by Chef Mehboob that her dish was incomplete, garnishing wasn’t upto the mark. Chef Khurram said only listening was not an option in this case, she had to practically create a dish of that standard too & just because she couldn’t deliver, she was eliminated leaving Maryam, Rayyan & Madiha safe for yet another week. Aneela’s elimination wasn’t a shocker, she wasn’t performing well ever since she stepped into the MasterChef kitchen but never mind, I wish her good luck.

One thing that I did feel once again was that the judges’ comments were confusing & misleading. While tasting & going by their remarks it felt that all the dishes were weak & the judges didn’t shed a light on any single dish that left them impressed, even Gulnaz’s dish was criticised for some factors despite it being the closest to the original one. Every single time, the judges picked one thing or the other that was lacking so it left me confused as to who deserved to stay in the competition & who didn’t. Sidrah was safe whereas Chef Zakir emphasized on the fact that the chicken was dry. Madiha’s dish was pretty disappointing but Aneela was eliminated. Chef Mehboob mentioned that she hasn’t been performing since the beginning but I think they shouldn’t have judged her cooking based on the past experiences because the clear reason they gave to her was that she remained in the bottom 3 every single week. I think the elimination was supposed to be based on this particular recreation of Chef Zakir’s signature dish & going by the judges remarks I feel Madiha’s dish was the weakest because judges didn’t like anything on that plate that she served. Chef Khurram did like the bread that Aneela served but he clearly mentioned that the bread served by Madiha disappointed him big time.

I feel that if the judges while tasting make up their minds that this dish can put the contestant through to the next round then they need to talk about the positives of that dish as well because I don’t see a reason for why Madiha was safe & why Aneela wasn’t because both of them got harsh remarks on their dish in this round especially. Even though I support Madiha & feel she is a strong contender but she definitely under-performed in this round & I didn’t hear a single positive comment about her dish that’s why I have my doubts. I feel that at least the judges should justify as to why a certain contestant is getting a chance once again like what was that ‘one’ particular factor that gave them an upper hand & a saving edge to continue being in the show.

Overall it was a pretty good episode & even the editing was great this time around too. Share your thoughts on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Writing of Aliya Bukhari, direction of Haseeb Hassan & production of Momina Duraid, Ahista Ahista was one of the most highly anticipated programs that hit our screens last night. I must say the moment you tune into this drama you see the larger than life feel of this project. The photography, the serene locations & most importantly the picturesque approach gets you going.

The very first episode was fast paced & yet detailed in terms of telling us a story about all the characters. Bee Jaan (Saba Hameed) has a son Zawaar (Adnan Siddique) who is settled in the States. Bee Jaan lives with her brother Safeer (Behroz Sabzwari), his wife Shireen (Hina Bayat) & her niece Haya (Mawra Hocane). Bee Jaan’s utmost priority is getting her son married to a typical Muslim Pakistani girl but just because Zawaar is dodging the bullet, she feels frustrated. On the other hand, Bee Jaan also is worried about the marriage of Haya because she feels liable to her late sister & now wants to see Haya settled so that she can take a sigh of relief.

Zawaar, who is living his perfect American dream, is married to a Christian girl Sofie (Sarwat Gillani). Just because Zawaar respects his mother a lot & doesn’t want to hurt her being her only son, he has pretty conveniently hid the news of his marriage from Bee Jaan because Sofie doesn’t fit the bill of a Pakistani & then a Muslim girl that Bee Jaan is in search for Zawaar. Despite the differences, Sofie has actually worked really hard & has put in a lot of effort to make her marriage work because she knows her husband is deeply connected to his roots & she finds no problem in helping him lead the life the way he wants. Sofie might be coming from a different background but she has successfully moulded herself in a way that makes Zawaar happy because for her, apart from her husband, nothing else matters anymore.

Haya on the other hand is a tomboy of the family, being the only girl she gets all the attention, not in a negative way but everyone worries about her more than she understands. She has clearly backed out of the decision of her marriage taken by Bee Jaan because she can’t see herself parting ways with her mother-like Bee Jaan as yet. She just isn’t ready & according to Zawaar, she is way too young.

Sofie has time & again spoken to Zawaar about letting Bee Jaan know of his marriage but Zawaar has been persistent & thinks that Sofie shouldn’t worry because he ain’t going anywhere. As far as he thinks, things will keep on working in their favour till everyone in his family remains oblivious to his marriage. Sofie has clearly told that she has her fears & for obvious reasons. Sofie’s nightmare comes true when Bee Jaan’s health takes a bad turn & Zawaar is asked to come to Pakistan. I think seeing Bee Jaan in such a fragile condition, he won’t be able to resist the demand & like a typical mama’s boy he’ll agree to get married to Haya.

First episode was good but let’s see if the story stays engaging enough to keep us all hooked. It’s too early to judge so I am reserving my comments here. The plus points of the drama for now are the direction, the locations, the screenplay & also the acting. I liked Sarwat Gillani especially & feel that Marwa looked like she was putting in a lot of effort while acting, her acting wasn’t coming across as natural which I hope improves in the upcoming episodes. Share your say on this.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Once again an engaging episode of Marasim. Once again they managed to make us feel emotionally attached to all the characters. Before saying anything I feel the special mention must go to Sonia Hussain for playing her part so well in this particular episode once again. She’s a star of the show.

At least on her wedding & Zaid’s last day of his life, Nayab manages to see Zaid for the last time. She takes steps towards a new beginning while Zaid makes a journey to his resting place. It was disturbing to see Zaid’s mother shedding tears at her only son’s condition. Almas did feel remorse & regret but she sealed the deal of Nayab’s fate with the wealth of Gaitiara’s son Daood, so she had no other way to back out despite how regretful she might be. No matter how must she wanted but that won’t undo the fact that Zaid died & Nayab died within.

Momenah held her head high all this while but finally seeing someone else walk into Daood’s home & life was enough to break her down. Momenah easily blamed Daood for getting married way too quickly but it was she who broke the engagement. Even though they both were at fault to some extent yet they both were victim of the circumstances spun by their mothers, I still couldn’t help feel sorry for them both, especially Momenah. Daood certainly had issues in moving on & Momenah posed that she was happy with her fiancé, but she let go of the truth that it was just an act she was pulling all this while. Sonia Hussain nailed that scene as she was flawless, effortless & natural in portraying the real feelings of Momenah.

Daood might’ve actually accepted Nayab & might’ve even tried to start afresh but Momenah’s confession messed his head up once again. His feelings once again were clouded & as a result Nayab had to pay the price by facing the insult in just fresh hours of her married life. Gaitiara once again very easily manipulated the situation & told Nayab that Almas was aware of Daood’s state of mind & nothing was kept as a secret from them all. She didn’t for once sympathize with Nayab but instead told her to work her way into Daood’s heart saying that men are like that & they need to be worked upon. Deeba is pure evil & I can’t help feeling detest towards her. It looked like she had made Momenah the focal point of her revenge & she wanted Daood to get married so that she could see Momenah suffer, in which she eventually succeeded.

Overall it was a great episode once again. I did notice that Nayab had no Henna/Mehandi on her hands when she was dressed as a bride but in the scenes following the Baraat, she had her finger tips covered & also Daood had normal hair when he was listening to Momenah cry but in the next scene when he tells Gaitiara to ask Nayab to leave his room, he had a change of hairstyle too. Just a few bits & bobs that I couldn’t ignore but over all this drama can’t be missed. Share what you have to say.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

I know I might be a bit late in noticing but the opening title track of the show is really nice. It’s shot in the typical MasterChef way but the tune is catchy & it’s a great way to help us remember the names of the contestants. This show is something that I look forward to every single week because it goes without saying that the calibre is really top-notch. I thoroughly like the whole lot that has come to compete & the ideas they instil every single time they cook are praise worthy.

This was the very first team challenge of the season where Madiha once again had an upper hand because she won the last challenge so she was not only a captain but got to choose the menu she wanted her team to work with. I do feel that the judges should’ve left it on the contestants to come up with their own menu for the road-side food because the pre-decided menu didn’t help much in letting us know how creatively capable the team leaders were.

It was a typical street food that you get to eat everywhere in Pakistan available at all the times. It was again like a beautiful walk down the memory lane but apart from it, to see how the contestants competed was great too. The lot was divided into Red & Blue teams where Madiha was a captain of Blue team & Saad was appointed by the judges to lead the Red team. The contestants randomly picked the respective aprons. That’s how apart from Madiha, the Blue Team got Rayyan, Sidrah, Aneela, Maryam, Gulnaz & Amna. Along with Saad the Red Team members were Zain, Azam, Khurram, Ammarah, Iqra & Mudassir.

Madiha chose Bun Kababs & Jalebis for her team to create & Saad’s team got Roll Parathas & Gulab Jaman. Saad’s team had a very smooth start because it was Saad whose planning did the trick. He allotted the tasks to all the contestants & didn’t pressurize them much nor did he interfere. He believed in his team & allowed them to do whatever & however they wanted to do the work & later he focused on attracting the people towards his stalls. Madiha being too young to be a captain definitely had to deal with a lot things because her team mates weren’t properly following her instructions. Looking at how Maryam & Aneela were having difficulties in preparing the Kababs, showed they definitely might be having issues in taking orders from a 22 year old girl. Madiha herself was in a state of panic where instead of relying on others completely, she gave her input in everything, so for this right from the start till the end her team was suffering in communicating with each other.

The service began & the people flocked towards the stalls. I must say I was once again impressed by the choice of location & even the sitting arrangement done for the public. The food prep area was prefect as well where the special attention was given to the quality related to everything involved in the task.

It was great to see all the contestants work so hard to win the challenge. Iqra, Ammarah, Rayyan, Amna, Khurram & Saad stood out the most in this episode. To see how mechanically Rayyan worked was amazing. Amna definitely came up with some brilliantly tasty sauces to compliment the Bun Kababs chosen for her team. Iqra definitely had a rocky start but the way she grabbed all the compliments for Gulab Jamans showed how good she was. Ammarah was focused. Khurram’s a treat to watch, he brings in this positive energy & I like to see what & how’s he doing things. Saad was the one who stood out the most in the auditions but ever since he hasn’t been able to make a mark but I am glad the judges thought of him eligible of being a team leader & he certainly proved himself.

Red team won the challenge which by the end of the episode I was rooting for too. Their planning, co-ordination & eventually the taste of food paved the way for their success. Seeing frowning faces of the Blue team was a bit bad too but never mind I am sure the deserving contestants will come out strong after fighting hard.

It was good to see Chef Mehboob & Chef Khurram actually enjoy the challenge, mingling with the contestants, speaking to the people to get ideas of what they liked & in the end being open & comfortable in praising everything. However, I do feel that they are trying to sensationalize the non-existent rift between Madiha & Rayyan. I saw them both working just fine in the same team & even Madiha was happy to see Rayyan in her team but the judges were like ‘the enemies will work together’, I find it kind of unnecessary the way the judges are trying to bring in some sort of politics or are trying to fish for some kind of a reaction by either Rayyan or Madiha. Anyways, as expected, the only Chef who was in his typical mood was Chef Zakir. Seems like he was just there to nit-pick as to where things were going wrong & where the contestants were lacking so that he could comment on it. I actually laughed seeing him quiet especially when the other two judges were praising the contestants because it showed Chef Zakir had nothing good to say that’s why he wasn’t saying anything at all.

Anyways, it was a brilliant episode with a great energy. Can’t wait to see the black apron round to find out who goes this time. Share your thoughts on this episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

And yessssss, Aiman is not like Romaisa except for her simplicity; She is intelligent and a good learner plus she knows how to deal with the hard facts of life bravely. At time, she falls short of patience and cries but still she is managing to survive in this new world.

I was waiting for the day when Aiman will meet her father and there it came but just before that she was so worried whether he will accept her or not. Because for her, she is just an ordinary looking not-so-intelligent girl and her father is perfectionist. Still ,she managed to recollect herself and went to meet her father. I really liked how father and daughter were looking at each other hesitantly; This is probably the first time I have watched such a different father-daughter relation in any drama. Without uttering any words, their eyes spoke and I absolutely enjoyed watching that. And then, it was so sad to see Aiman leaving Haider and Bibi ; She hardly got settled with them and now again she had to move to another place. In those few days, she got much attached to them and it was so painful for her to move to a house where  the man whom she hated throughout her life will be residing alongwith her.

I was so glad to see Almas attitude towards Aiman;She welcomed her open heartedly and unlike typical step mothers , she never gave a single glimpse of hatred for her rather she was there to help her in any way she needed. Taufeeq Kamaal’s interaction with her daughter was interesting to watch too; He knew that her daughter will be lagging behind in quality education due to her financial condition – ofcourse, there is a difference between a student of Harvard and a student of Urdu medium govt college. After knowing all her educational details, he recommended her to join some institute for short courses and she was ready to accept her father’s suggestion.I am feeling that her hatred towards her father is vanishing gradually.

In the meanwhile, Haider visited Almaas and Aiman expected that he will meet her too but it felt that he completely forgot her. Like Aiman, I was also disappointed to see that she was just a few days responsibility for Haider and he had no emotional attachment with her.  All this while, he was trying to cheer her up solely because he felt pity for her.Proving herself to be intelligent, she managed to run the laptop her father sent for her. There was a huge grin on my face when she opened laptop’s camera accidently or pher baal sanwaarnay lagee..

Sajeela is in no mood to grant forgiveness to her husband even after knowing that he divorced his first wife. We came to know the reason behind Haider’s serious attitude today too . It was Sajeela – Haider and Sajeela  were once married and how madly he loved her was all that took 35 minutes of tonight’s episode. Meanwhile, when Sajeela and Mazhar were far apart, Haider came in Sajeela’s life; they were family friends and Haider developed feelings for her during her stay at Sajeela’s place.  Sajeela needed a person with whom she will feel a bit lively after leaving Mazhar so Haider was just the right choice for her.

I missed Aiman and Taufeeq Kamaal tonight ; They could have shown them atleast for 5 minutes.. Metlab hadh he ho gayee.. Tonight episode had Sajeela written all over it.  Still, I enjoyed watching tonight’s installment.

Lets see what happens next. Share your thoughts about last two episodes.

Rabia Basharat.

This drama is full of stereotypes, I am not sure where to start from! The rich outgoing aunty who doesn’t have time for her son(remember Zaroon’s mother?), the wealthy boy who has everything in the world but he still feels like there is something missing from his life (Zaroon?), the annoying Khala (Romaissa’s Khala most recent one), the spoilt younger sister (we have innumerable examples!), the sidhi sadhi older sister/cousin (choose any one from the countless sister rivalry dramas we have seen on our screens in recent times) and of course the suitor who is dying to marry the spoiled sister but the sister has her eyes on an even richer man because she believes in dreaming big!

Shazia has “fallen in love” with Hashir (no surprises there) but Hashir is clearly not interested in her. He looks for ways to talk to Saman but Saman is not the least bit interested. Shazia and Hashir meet again in this episode so Shazia has more of a reason to hope that she may have a future with Hashir. Shazia is immature and Saman is very wise…that pretty much sums up this second episode!

The first episode had done-to-death written all over it too but I was hoping that the play may just turn out to be engaging enough despite of the obvious flaws in the story. This episode proved me completely wrong. Although two new characters were introduced in this episode but it wasn’t even remotely entertaining. I wish HUM would concentrate just as much on its script as it does on its production values and grooming of the actors. A play should be much more than a visual treat. When the story has nothing new to offer then the viewers have very little reason to continue watching the show.

The actress playing Nigar (Hashir’s mother) is very well dressed; it is plain to see that she has a fancy wardrobe which caters nicely to the elite aunty roles but I really hope that we see her doing something different in her upcoming projects.

We all know why Shazia fell for Hashir; he has the looks and the money so he fits the bill perfectly but I am finding it very difficult to relate to Hashir’s fondness for Saman. Shazia Naz (Hashir’s cousin Mehreen) once again plays the role of the desperate lady (I won’t call her a girl) who wants her rich cousin to fall for her. She definitely looks very pretty in this drama and much younger too but it is almost as if I am watching Kukoo from Ishq Mein Tere all over again (oh yes! another stereotype). Ahsan Khan looks great after all the weight loss but he really needs to tone down the make up. Hareem Farooq is attractive and she can act too but her make up could have been far better.

The promo of the next episode showed that Shazia’s mother gives her approval for Faisal’s proposal. It remains to be seen if Shazia will quietly go ahead with this proposal or if she is foolish enough to take a step which she will always regret. Honestly speaking, this episode gave me very little to look forward to. I definitely expected better from HUM but I guess it’s about time that the viewers stopped having high expectations from the channel. They allure the viewers with a beautiful OST, great production values and sometimes a star cast but it has been a while since the scripts of their plays carried any weight at all!

Fatima Awan

My goodness! This episode was just not ending. I was whatsapping in between, surfing the internet but still it seemed never-ending. Finally! A sigh of relief that it got over & now I get to have my say on this for a week.

Jazib has pretty much understood that he was half responsible for the rift between him & Zara so now he doesn’t want to repeat those mistakes again. If Jazib was ready to start afresh where he understood that a wife needs a me-time too & she has to have a life of her own where she can be whatever she wants to be, so why didn’t he give that chance to Zara for once? It’s like Jazib was tired of her & wanted to get rid of her that’s why he took the plunge of re-marrying when he saw that Zara herself parted ways. He didn’t even bother reconciling with her which definitely shows that he wanted to get over with that relation & now when he did, he thinks he can save the day by confessing his faults out of nowhere. All of a sudden Jazib now wants to see a domesticative girl turn into a career woman, so when he already had one, why was he hell-bent on making her a kitchen ki chipkali? It looks like Jazib is someone who just can’t be happy with whatever he gets. When he had Zara, a career-oriented woman, he was fascinated by the idea of a young lass who was good at making rotis & now when he has gotten the roti-maker, kinoo-peeler & a baby-sitter; he wants to see her as someone else. Bored Jazib ki boring kahaniyaan!

As much as I liked that the girl playing the character of Sofia was a flawless actress, I am actually concerned at such mature & pakkay hue dialogues she has to deliver. Her conversation with Jazib in the car was no doubt realistic but I feel a little too much to digest seeing it coming from a girl her age. She’s good I mean the character but is now getting unbearable seeing how rude she is. Tabrez was in a back-seat all this while, he was like a cutie who’s a huge fan of peter pan but in this episode I saw him as a son of Jazib because of the obvious fixation to acha khana. It looked like he was on a loop saying ‘Dua acha khana banati hai’, ‘Dua itna acha khana banati hai’. He certainly took that after his father & ta-da it’s proven.

As much as I thought that they had given this story a very realistic execution, things started to get a little unrealistic when we were told that Zara managed to hide her illness from her husband all these years Ohkay, that’s still digestible but what’s not is she undergoing a procedure & very easily telling her husband that he can fetch the kids from school, as if that’s all there’s to it. Jazib himself knows that she has left the job so Zara posing to be busy is definitely an excuse no one would buy & no one should buy. Plus if they think that now Jazib after finding out about Zara’s illness would have a sudden realization which will make us believe that he loved her, they’re sadly mistaken because till now he seems pretty much settled with Dua & without Zara, so I think it would be a better idea to still show him staying indifferent because he has been good at it.

One dialogue that caught my attention was ‘Abbu ki dusri biwi bhaag gain’. I am glad that in such a heavy-hearted episode they managed to make us giggle because I grabbed the opportunity & laughed a lot. Seems like we’ll be seeing Khala Masooma in the next episode & a lot of her at that too. Not that anyone was missing her & her hard-hitting stories which were so hard to understand but yeah, don’t want to see what she has to say. Anyways, I hope & wish that they switch to PTV’s policy of a 13-episode-drama, because I see no reason for Izteraab exceeding the number. Share your views about the episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

PS: Any reader who feels like telling that this drama is a shameless copy of Hollywood’s Step Mom & Bollywood’s We’re Family, just so you know…We Already Know, so yeah! :D

Wajood e Laraib; a drama which had Umera Ahmed & Sakina Samo written all over it, but I must say all in a positive way. Aired in 2004 on Indus TV, it had 17 episodes which could’ve been cut down a little but the ending leaves you happy with the feeling of completeness, that a few slow episodes tend to get ignored easily. It was a star studded drama which had amazing actors portraying the characters etched out by Umera Ahmed perfectly. The cast includes:

Faiza Hassan as Washma Kaleem
Faisal Qureshi as Hadi Hassan
Adnan Siddique as Mohid Farooq
Fahad Mustafa as Saadi Hassan
Sakina Samo as Dr. Amna
Shafi Mohammad as Farooq & Mohid’s Father
Rukhsar as Samiya & Mohid’s Mother
Shabbir Rana as Hassan & Hadi’s Father
Aisha Khan as Aliya & Hadi’s Mother
Rehana Akhtar as Nargis & Washma’s Mother
Major Inayatullah as Kaleem & Washma’s Father
Nosheen Shah as Zainab
Zeba Ali as Shiza & Mohid’s Fiancee
Nausheen Agha as Sonia & Saadi’s Wife
Nazli Nasar as Arshi & Washma’s SIL
Sajid Shah as Nabeel & Washma’s Brother

The Story:

Wajood e Laraib in short is a story which tells that you have to lose something in order to find everything. You have to lose something worldly which you love the most to make an opening in your heart which is then filled by the love of your Creator; Allah. Once you find Allah, once you let the power of Imaan over-take your mind & soul, you understand that whichever way you were tested was nothing but for your benefit.

I said that this story had Umera Ahmed written all over it because it had one big happy family where the eldest son was not only the bread-earner of the house but was someone who took the responsibility of his whole family which included his parents, his widow sister, orphan niece, spoiled young brother, his wife & a daughter too. Hadi was such a person who made sure that he put everyone else’s need ahead of him & he found peace in seeing his family happy. Wajood e Laraib shed a light on one such family as well that believed in practicality, that believed that being religious was nothing more than a superstition & fate had no role to play in your life. Mohid; a practical liberal Muslim who believed that he was responsible for shaping his own luck as he was raised that way. Wajood e Laraib also went to show that a girl; Washma, who had so much belief in Allah & had the power of Imaan believed that her Creator would never put her through a test in her life ever or would never check the level of her Imaan.

Hadi & Washma get married & their dream world comes to an end when Saadi, enraged seeing Hadi taking care of the family business ends up killing his own brother. The moment he realizes his mistake comes too late when his whole family makes sure he is put behind bars because to them, Saadi didn’t matter as much as Hadi did. Washma loses her unborn child & starts losing everything, her calm, her rationality & above all her faith in Allah.

Mohid, who by chance happens to visit his friend, stumbles upon a dead body of his friend’s girlfriend. That particular moment his friend thinks he could easily prove Mohid guilty as he was seen at the murder spot. Mohid ends up going to jail & someone who never believed in luck is forced to understand that everything is destined to happen. Mohid, who has a lot of trust in his father, then understands that everyone, every human being is helpless & The One & Only, Who can bring him out of this misery, is no one else but Allah. Mohid then starts his journey of redemption & reversion to the path of Allah.

Mohid & Saadi come across each other while serving their time in prison. Mohid happens to become that person who is ears to Saadi’s guilt, his filth, his regrets & his confessions. Washma forgives Saadi half-heartedly so that he can come out of jail, but just because she can’t see herself coming to terms with what she did & how she was pressurized to forgive him, she feels she is losing her sanity & to pick up the pieces she decides to move ahead in her life but in isolation where no one can remind her of what has happened. Mohid ends up coming out of the jail too because his friend seeks his forgiveness & then confesses his crime. He then gets the opportunity to start afresh & both he & Washma cross paths when they both are trying hard to step into the present leaving the past behind just so to focus on what lies ahead. Washma gets attracted to Mohid’s genteel nature & Mohid tries to look past her bitterness & they end up leading a life they both once dreamt of & are destined to lead.

The Brilliance of Wajood e Laraib:

What I liked the most about the drama is that even though the director took her sweet time in showing the misery of all the characters & as usual the drama lost its pace in the middle, the ending makes it worth a watch. By the end of the play, the way Washma & Mohid’s life together is covered is the highlight of the drama. While watching this play, I couldn’t help getting reminded of the fact that Wajood e Laraib had so many similarities to Mohabbat Subha Ka Sitara Hai, but what makes the former better is the rationality & the balanced treatment of all the characters & their journeys. The way Washma redeems herself & tries to move on was shown very realistically. How Saadi changes from being such a bitter & unhappy bloke to someone who starts caring about what others feel & how he could make them happy was again a journey well covered. Mohid; who thought he had it all when falls down understands that no human being, no matter how successful or blessed, how rich or strong can bring him out of the misery, was something that many of us can relate to.

What I found the best thing about Wajood e Laraib is the fact shown that it is possible to put a closure & move on in your life leaving the misery behind. I liked the way the script was directed which gives you a fair share of tears & by the end gives you plenty of reasons to smile. I am glad Sakina Samo handled it this way that even though all the emotions were covered in Wajood e Laraib nothing was over-done.

This story brilliantly restated the fact that we humans are nothing but hopeless, helpless creatures that at some point in our lives have to turn to Allah & understand the actual meaning of our lives. We have to understand that we are created for a reason & we have to work in finding Allah that too for our benefit because it is us who need Him & we need to worship Him. No matter what we plan & how we plan, it is left in the lurch if it is not meant to happen & more importantly, if it is not beneficial for us or it is destined to teach us a life-long lesson.

There were some heart-touching conversations between Mohid & Saadi, Washma & Amna. Sakina Samo had a short but a very influential role to play in this drama & I am glad she took the role of Dr. Amna & made it as closer to the real life as possible. Hadi & Washma’s scenes were very appeasing & Washma & Mohid’s scene would bring a smile to your face. I felt a lot for the characters of Washma, Mohid & Hadi. I feel all the actors were at their best in Wajood e Laraib & special mention goes to Fahad Mustafa for taking yet another challenging role that too at the start of his career & doing complete justice to it. Those were some seriously strong performances by Faisal Qureshi & Fahad Mustafa in particular & Faiza Hassan stole the show in portraying the rocky journey of Washma to perfection.

What I liked about Wajood e Laraib the most is the story that was elaborately shown after Washma decides to move on in her life. They didn’t stop the story where both Washma & Mohid get married, trying to leave the rest at the viewer’s mercy so that they can shape up the life of Washma & Mohid in their imagination. They still had something or the other to show till the very end, also the complete & satisfying ending made the journey worth watching. Share your thoughts about Wajood e Laraib.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Why ? Why did this happen today ? Pyrai Afzal transformed into Murderer Afzal ? Man, I can’t buy this.. Like seriously ? Was it necessary that Wali has to be murdered ? Lets suppose, he was destined to die but why his death was written by the hands of Afzal ? Wasn’t that possible that any of Afzal’s friend killed him ? I am extremely disappointed by Khalil-ur-Rehmaan Saheb’s move; This was definitely not  called for..

It was so heart breaking to see Afzal’s parents reaching Karachi and Afzal was gone again. Maulvi Saheb,Rukayya, Arifa and everyone else felt like world has ended here for them but when Farah’s father told them that he will be back soon, they were a bit relieved but still worried for him.

Meanwhile, Afzal was ready to take Wali along with him; He took him to the place where he spent most memorable time with Babu Hameed. The way Wali asked him for mercy and the way Afzal replied, everything was up to mark. At that time, I was sure that Afzal won’t let him live but then I was also sure that he won’t kill him and ask any of his friends to do so. But on the very moment, Wali was murdered by Afzal.

It was such an intense moment to see Maulvi Saheb crying after knowing the real story. I felt really bad for everyone associated to Afzal ; Everyone was in pain and I must say they worked really well with their facial expressions. Or phir usi mayoosi k sath, they came back to Hyderabad. Once again, I would like to add Firdous Saheb’s name today ; He is really a true gem of our Television industry. Every dialogue and every expression including his body language defines how perfectly he fits into this Maulvi’s role.

Another thing that they disclosed today is Saima’s relation with Afzal; Sajid(Afzal’s friend) and Saima were associated once and it’s because of him that Saima’s husband beats her and through Sajid, Saima knows Afzal. Afzal is now living a luxurious life but they didnot show how ? Maybe its a gift from Wali’s boss ?

After watching today’s episode, I have no clue where they are trying to head this show ? Now, we will see Afzal as an underworld don ? Metlab, what was the aim in naming this show Pyaray Afzal ? Afzal was such a perfect man and a wonderful character – much close to ideal with few exceptions, of course. But what did they make out of him now ? Will we be able to fall for this Afzal now ? I really wish ,we will, maybe in last couple of episodes.

Share your thoughts on today’s installment..

Rabia Basharat.