Oh god! Even though I don’t want to sound to rude but I really think it’s about time that the character of Zara dies peacefully. There’s no need to linger on the hope of her life because it’s unbeneficial after all. The story has become stagnant & seems like the team is in no mood to pack up. Finally & sluggishly they have managed to cross the mark of 20+ episodes, which for them might be some sort of a milestone but for us; the viewers, it nothing short of a punishment to be honest!

Jazib Jee now wishes that none of it should’ve happened between him & Zara as he has fallen in love with his first wife all over again, but I guess he is forgetting that a mean guy like him wouldn’t know how to survive alone on his own & take care of kids & for that reason he needed Dua in his life. Now that Jazib knows that he has Dua who is taking care of his kids & his home & just because she is sharing his burdens & responsibilities, he is tension free & has a free mind to focus on rekindling his love for his strong-headed, determined wife; whose determination was something that he hated the most as she was too determined to be wasting her time in making garam garam rotis for him.

Dua has started to feel alienated obviously because even though she took Jazib’s kids & his home as her responsibility, she still feels that she is falling short because Jazib is completely overlooking her efforts & her contribution in his life. To him, all what matters is Zara & that’s it & in this scenario Dua is politely absorbing it all, which she shouldn’t because she isn’t entitled to it.

Seems like the writer is so in love with Zara that she doesn’t want her to die (so why did she bring in the whole disease issue in the first place) because after wasting 7 – 8 episodes, Jazib is now going for second or third opinions for Zara’s case. I think they should’ve dealt with it ages ago when they were wasting episodes on Sofia’s rebellion & her love-flick. They should’ve dealt with it way before rather than wasting time on the forced negativity & hatred that Zara was feeling for Dua & the time she was wasting in insulting her. Now that everything’s done & dusted & Zara is ready to die, Jazib swooped in with some miraculous news of a Japanese drug that a Japanese company is preparing for those patients who have a certain type of c~~~~~ that Zara is suffering from.

At first Zara feels she has given up every single hope & now wants to depart but Jazib is hell bent on making her agree for the trial. As per the doctor, Zara & Jazib need to submit an application to the company so that they can hand over some drug to Zara as she has no other option left which means that there’s still some scope of drama left before Zara actually breathes her last breath.

As shown in the preview, Zara feels she wants to live & now will also have an issue with Dua because she feels she can’t share her boring husband with Dua anymore. How convenient right? I feel they should’ve named her as Tissue/Toilet Paper instead of Dua as everybody seems to be using her just so casually & now when they’ve used her pretty much, they’re ready to dump her out of their lives.

For the love of dramas, I wish this petty drama comes to an end because it’s just a mood spoiler & nothing else. To be honest, I don’t care if Zara lives or dies, I just want a Wednesday prime slot free of this crap so that it can be filled with at least something tad bit tolerable & watchable. Share your feelings & your wishes of how much you want to see her or Jazib dead!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Aw! It’s such a nice drama. I don’t know how to put it but it has a very appeasing feel to it. The way all the actors have acted & the way the director has taken the story forward is really nice & makes it look very realisitic. I know this family especially Annie will go through a bit of a tough time henceforth but I am sure the story has a lot to offer.

The episode began with Hashim’s birthday gathering where Rohaan’s family got to have a good look at both Annie & Kashaf too but simply for Rohaan’s mother & one of his sisters, Annie’s Hijab was an element of conservation but the only person who seemed to have liked Annie was Rohaan’s father. As much as Kashaf tried to find out what Annie feels about Hashim, Annie made sure she didn’t lay bare her feelings in front of her younger sister even because like Annie said, she’d only feel love for her husband & before any official decision, she restrained herself from thinking on those lines about Hashim. Even though she felt an ounce of excitement, she didn’t showcase in front of anyone & I guess that happened for the best.

Finally Huma & Amjad’s bubble burst when Shireen & Ahmad spoke about Kashaf. As much as they wanted to sound sweet, Ahmad ended up telling the truth that Hashim doesn’t want a Muhajjaba as his wife & he feels that they both are two different people. Annie took it well but what shattered her most was the reason for which she was rejected as Annie now knows that she’ll be the one who’d have to face all the criticism for the choices she has made.

Very conveniently, Huma got another reason to blame Annie because she thinks so high of Hashim that for Huma, her own daughter is the culprit. I think even though Kashaf has a side role to play but her character has a lot of importance. It was so good to see that she was the one who understood her sister & took a stand for her. For Kashaf, Hashim is a hypocrite who deceived Annie. Even though Kashaf is seriously involved with a guy who is ready to get married to her & even though Kashaf has that as a solid reason to reject Hashim’s proposal but keeping that aside, she has clearly mentioned that she will never get married to a person who has double standards & for this reason, Hashim is unacceptable to her.

Hashim for now comes across as a very indifferent person who has no thoughts of his own. Even though he wasn’t happy about Annie’s Hijab, he took his friend’s advice way too seriously & even though he confessed in front of his parents that he just wanted to escape a relation from Annie, he took Kashaf’s name. It shows that he doesn’t even like Kashaf but for him the best way to avoid a commitment from Annie was to treat Kashaf as a scapegoat.

Sadly for Huma, Hashim is too precious to let go of therefore she thinks ignoring Annie’s feelings is the best thing to do. She has a lot of fears when it comes to her daughters proposals & that’s the reason she thinks it’s best to get married one of her daughters to Hashim as they know the family too well & Huma takes Hashim as her son. It was disappointing to see Shireen react so badly to the changed attitude of Huma & Amjad, she should understand that as much as her son means everything to her, Annie means something to Amjad & Huma too. As much as Shireen thinks her son’s happiness is important, she should give a benefit of doubt to Amjad’s family as well.

I must say the star of this episode for me was Kashaf. She not only shares a very good relation with her sister but she understands her well. She isn’t so engrossed in her own life that her sister’s ordeals do not affect her. Kashaf has proven to be a strong support system to Annie & the way they both communicate & share their secrets with each other; I must say it’s refreshing to see such a nice bonding between the two sisters. & yes, I totally feel that the girl who has played the role of Kashaf has done a very good job as all her gestures & expressions look so real. She is an effortless actress & that’s a bonus.

I really feel that for a change Shamim Hilali should opt for different kind of roles. As much as I have seen her, she always acts like a manipulative sweet-cutter where she will always act very nice & sweet with people but will harbour grudges in her heart & will make sure she mends the situation to her benefit. Malal, Shukk & now Shanakht. She is a phenomenal actor but I wish she really opts for one-sided roles where either she is negative or she has a positive attitude.

Once again, a pretty decent episode with an amazing amount of acting to see from all the actors. Maya Ali has played her bit really really well & so has everyone else. Can’t wait for the next episode.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Before I begin, I would like to say that throughout this episode, there were scenes that made me cringe, scenes that made me laugh out loud and finally-scenes that forced me to lower down the volume.

Starting with the part that made me LAUGH! This episode began with the scene where Dr Dim-witted (yes that’s what I am planning to call Shariq from now on :P) called and talked about sending his proposal. Mehar dropped the call but she wasn’t as infuriated as I expected her to be. Shariq is so dim-witted (hence the name) that he safely ‘assumed’ that he must have dialed the wrong number! I mean, this possibility didn’t even cross his mind that perhaps it was someone OTHER than Sidra who picked up the phone, since he wasn’t calling her on her personal cell. I couldn’t help laughing out loud on the level of his stupidity.

There was too much of Firdaus Aapa in this episode. Firdaus aapa ka naashta, Firdaus Aapa ka ‘tail’, Firdaus Aapa ka cough syrup and-you name it! To be honest, ‘Shikwa’ might lose some of its viewers mainly because of Qaiser Naqvi’s way too irritating voice, her painfully monotonous dialogue delivery and expressions! I just HAD to lower down the volume every time she appeared on the screen. As much as I am loathing Firdaus Aapa’s character, I have fallen in love with Mehar’s character because after a long time, I am seeing the character of a girl who is NOT Miss Goody two –shoes and she’s definitely not dim-witted. She never pretends to be someone she’s not and unlike the rest of our senseless heroines, she always voices her opinion at the right time. I truly felt for Mehar when she was recalling how her father had great plans for her.

I guess we all knew that soon after Saqib will go abroad, they will add some ‘romantic’ letter-writing bits. And that happened right in this episode. Oh my! ‘Cheesiness overload’-it’s the only ‘phrase’ that hit my mind when I heard Saqib saying things like, ‘aaj pehla mauqa hai kay apni mehbooba ko khut likh raha hoon’ and ‘tumhari yaadon nay iss kamray ko rangon say bhar diya hai’. In case you are wondering, these were exactly the scenes that made me cringe. Maybe these dialogues would have been a tad bit likeable if Waseem Abbass had not been the one reading them aloud :P However, the scene where Mehar attempted to write back, was actually kind of cute. Needless to say, Sonia Hussain’s acting has been spectacular! The way she was carefully choosing her words and tearing one paper after another-it was all top-notch. I must admit that the letter-writing bits were well-executed and enjoyable (excluding some lame dialogues for sure :P).

Moving to the side track, Shariq’s sister finally got committed and as soon as this milestone was achieved (honestly, they made it look that way), Shariq’s mother magically transformed into a kind and understanding mom. For the first time, I saw a glint of ‘happiness’ on that lady’s ever-scowling face! As Dr dim-witted promised (did I mention he’s very desperate), he, along with his mother and sister, went to pay Munazzah a visit. But apparently, they didn’t talk about his proposal yet. Thankfully, that misunderstanding of Mehar being Shariq’s love interest wasn’t prolonged. I don’t think any guy in his right mind constantly nudges his mother and whispers,’aap meri baat kab karain gi’, and that too when he is sitting right in front of his future MIL.

The way things are shaping up, I don’t think Mehar will turn into a vamp. I just hope things don’t take a shocking U-turn. This was it folks! Did you guys watch the latest installment? What do you guys think of the latest developments? Please share your thoughts; I will be looking forward to them!

Maryam Mehdi

Chalain jee, ladies & gentlemen please grab some pillows & quilts & be ready to sleep because this drama will act as a lullaby to you all because saaf si baat hai yahan andon, parathon aur raiton se aggay baat nahi janay wali. I am wondering if they had to show nashtay mai khanay ki 101 cheezain, why did they go to USA for it? This could’ve been shot in Pakistan too.

I am totally on Sofia’s team this time. Whatever she said about Bumble Bee was right & I wish she gets a bit more harsh about her whenever she speaks to Beta Bee about Bumble Bee because Awazaar needs to understand that now he can’t make Sofia respect his Bumble Bee, as he himself gave her an edge of disrespecting her by getting married to her, keeping his mother’s wishes aside. Very conveniently Awazaar uttered to Sofia that Bumble Bee means the world to him & she is his priority, which really didn’t strike a chord because I’ve got a news for you Awazaar, you’ve spent 4 years fooling Bee Jaan, so please don’t say she means everything to you. This episode seemed pretty haphazard where they kept on switching from one dining table to the other followed by some forced VT’s of American places to assure us that they shot this drama in America & not in Dhok Hassu! Bee Jaan came & Bee Jaan went, but who benefitted from it? No one!

Just when Bee Jaan departed, I thought Awazaar; who by the way could afford two mansions in USA, would keep Haya in a dingy apartment, but the way he brought her with him in his house was totally uncalled for. I thought by now he must’ve massaged his spine with a lot of Deep Heat so that he could strengthen it to confess in front of Sofia about his & Haya’s marriage but trust me, seeing them play ankh micholi rigth under Sofia’s nose wasn’t appeasing at all. What has this drama come to? Eeekh!!! All that nazron ka milna, nazron ka churana, mobile ka bhool jana aur thakki hui muskurahatain dena…Euuuu!!!

Just because Haya helped Awazar in fooling his Bholi Bumble Bee, he thinks he can’t live without her as ush ne ish ka booottt saath diya hai nawwww. I mean sorry but how mean can he be & isn’t he tired of telling lies 24/7? Bari himmat ki baat hai bhai, sach mai waisay! While watching Sofia literally feed him with her hands made me think, this is the reason why he has become such a spoiled brat. I actually want to ask writer what made her conceive of such a useless character where she thought so high of him that every single lady in his orbit ended up revolving around him? He ain’t such a catch either FYI!

Finally, just because Haya got to spend time with Awazaar & she helped him with his hoax, she now thinks that she has conquered Awazaar & that is why while pouring her heart out in her diary she was like ‘Awazaar mujhse bohat mohabbat karte hain Bee Jaan, isi liye wo abb mujhe dekh dekh k saib khatay hain’. I mean but sorry as if Sofia kam thi na jo abb ye bhi a gai hai patti ke pyaar ka pahara parhne!

To be honest, as ridiculous as this episode was, I had such a good laugh because my imagination rolled & made it look like I was watching a sit-com. Hence, for me it was a good episode. The ending scene of the drama looked like an advert of Statelife Insurance, which goes like:

& oh about what they showed in the preview, I think Sofia must be expecting a child that’s why she’d faint & that will once again slow down the urge of Awazaar to confess his love for his Baby Biwi, hence, another justification of the name of the drama: Slowly Slowly. Share your thoughts on this hilarious episode. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

This was another exciting and happening episode of Laa which made up for the slow and disappointing episode of last week. The pace of the show along with a different storyline sets this drama apart from rest of the plays that are currently on air. The story is unfolding at a really good pace with every passing episode. Although, I was a little taken aback and disappointed with the developments in the last episode maybe because I was expecting something completely different but the fact is that this was the best way to take the story forward. Daniyal is dealing with murderers so he can’t just make them understand things the way he could have if Dilawar and his mother did not have so much on stake. Dai Maa will do anything to get hold of the Pir’s gaddi and jaidad, she tried to get Daniyal killed once and she will do anything to get him killed now too.

Naimat Khan was the one who brought Daniyal to his adoptive parents all these years back, which means they knew about Naimat Khan all along. Daniyal tells Hina that he is looking for his mother and for a little while Daniyal reminded Hina of her son. Hina also told Daniyal that Laila did not consider him just a friend but she was in love with him – that explains a lot! The only reason Laila put her life in danger for someone she had known only for a month or so was because she loved him. Dilawar proved that he isn’t such a chooza seth after all; he planned to kill Daniyal while he was on his way to the court but Naimat Khan who for very good reasons does not believe in the justice system decided to “rescue” Daniyal before Dilawar could harm him. I am glad that we were not shown the scene in which Naimat Khan’s men took Daniyal with them from the police because that scene would not have been any good unless it was very well directed.

I was waiting for Daniyal and Naina to meet for the past so many episodes but tonight when they finally met somehow the chemistry between them was just not the same. Sadia Khan’s acting was at its worst in that particular scene. That scene however was very significant because it gave Daniyal hope. Daniyal told Naina that Dilawar killed Laila and the only reason he is not telling anyone that is that he does not want Naina’s husband-to-be to be behind bars. The logic didn’t quite click with me because why would Daniyal want Naina to marry someone like Dilawar in the first place. Naina told Daniyal that she didn’t want to marry Dilawar which meant that he did not need to save him and which also meant that Daniyal and Naina could get married now. Dilawar saw the tape of the meeting between Naina and Daniyal and that is when he decided to take more aggressive measures.

Khalid Malik deserves tons of appreciation for playing Dilawar’s character with perfection. He depicted his anger and frustration in tonight’s episode so aptly. Mikaal Zulfiqar has been spot on as Daniyal too. The only weak link in the play is Sadia Khan. The preview of the next episode looked very enticing although I do think that it revealed a little more than it should have. Naina will tell Hina the truth about Daniyal’s identity in the next episode and I can only wonder where things will go from there. Looking forward to another exciting episode of Laa!

Do share your thoughts about tonight’s episode.

Fatima Awan

The best thing about the play so far is the strong and positive relationship between everyone in Zubair’s house. Eman and her mother’s wicked ways are totally opposite to the positivity we see in Zubair’s house. I am not sure if I am liking the contrast much though! I was expecting a lot more action in tonight’s episode but there was too much talking and very little action. The prequel of the show was short and to the point but I have a feeling that this sequel is going to be long. Conversations between Eman and her mother already seem repetitive, we see so much of this gherulu politics in our dramas every day, I wish the writer would have come up with a different storyline for the sequel. It would have been better if there were no issues in the family but the only real problem was the demon which was haunting the house. I have a feeling that it is going to be Emaan vs the demon sort of a scenario…..because both of them are evil!! The focus has been on Umair’s wedding like every other Pakistani dramas in which the focus is always on marriage and the problems related to it.

Zubair and Yasmeen never talk about Ali, who has an invisible friend ever since they moved in the new house. Yasmeen has been noticing change in Ali’s behavior but somehow it is not bothering her at all. Yasmeen appears to be more worried about Awais than Ali, which is strange. The last scene of tonight’s episode was spooky but the rest of the episode was strictly okay. The “bhoot’s” appearance has of course been inspired by the film “The Ring”. This is a screen shot from the movie “The Ring”, can you see the resemblance? These two disturbed souls must be related to each other;)…long-lost twins maybe!

Yasra Rizvi is portraying the character of the caring and intelligent bhabi and wife’s role perfectly. Shahood Alvi is a natural who always delivers. Seema Sehar who plays Emaan’s mother is an expert in playing the role of a troublemaker but I don’t like her character much for obvious reasons. The advices she gives her daughter have been-there-heard-that thousand times written all over them and same is true for Emaan’s character. Umair’s character is actually a breath of fresh air because unlike most of the love-struck men we see on screen, he still looks at things from a neutral perspective.

I am actually disappointed with this second episode and I wish that the director did not copy the look of the evil spirit from a Hollywood movie; I expected Angeline Malik to be slightly more creative than that.

Fatima Awan

I liked today’s episode not because of Haider,Aiman or Sajeela,but because of growing father-daughter relationship. We, finally got to see some beautiful and very cute father-daughter scenes today.Aiman always complained Haider that his father never owned her, neither did he called her “beti”, nor did he uttered a single word that can show his concern for her. But tonight, all doubts of Aiman got vanished.

Sajeela is trying every possible way to win Haider’s heart again and for that she is tending to be as much cheap and desperate as possible. She planted seeds of doubts in Aiman’s head and everytime Aiman rose with a new spirit, Sajeela was there to let her down. This time Aiman asked Bibi about love and longing for someone and the reply she got from her was way more satisfying than her expectations.

From the day Sajeela came back to Pakistan, Haider clearly gave her “not interested” signal but she wants to get him back- by hook or by crook. Almaas tried to talk to Haider about her sister but he didnot pay heed to what she said either. By the way, I am hating how Sajeela is intervening in Haider and Aiman’s life and trying to ruin their relation, I am hating how she is trying to manipulate her sister and compelling her to take a move against her nature and her will and I am literally hating how she is faking herself just to pose herself as if she is the nicest person on earth. Sajeela is so desperate that she even challenged Bibi that she will win Haider back.

Anyhow, coming back to my favorite part, Taufeeq Kamaal decided to make Aiman a permanent part of his business. Aiman,for the very first time,felt that her father really cares for her. But deep down inside, some vague doubts were still intimidating her to not accept her father’s loyalty towards her. And like always, Haider was there to clean up the mess that was in her mind since her childhood. Her mother never told Aiman that Taufeeq never disowned her, it was her who wanted Taufeeq to not meet her.Despite of all the failed attempts by Taufeeq to meet his daugher, Aiman’s mother never gave a glimpse of satisfaction to her daughter by telling her that Taufeeq loved her and always cared for her.No matter how much differences they had, Taufeeq wanted to take care of every need and necessity of Aiman’s but it was her mother who never let that happen.

Aiman loved her mother and since she is living with her father now, she was unable to deny the fact that she has a soft corner for her father too. Now that, everything was crystal clear, she forgave her mother for what she did and tried to forgot the deprivations and longings she went through entire her life because her mother kept her away from Taufeeq Kamaal.

It was really nice to see that just before going to office, Taufeeq presented a car as a gift to Aiman- Aiman was overwhelmed and very much excited after getting a gift from her father. I loved the way how Taufeeq introduced Aiman infront of everyone as his daughter and Aiman felt much more confident as her father boosted up her moral.

Whereas on the other side, Haider was feeling depressed as few seconds ago, Almaas called him Aiman’s uncle. Haider came such a long way with Aiman that he completely forgot the age difference they had ; Now that bitter truth came to haunt him again, he got worried about what will happen next; He was unable to believe what he just heard but still, he gave his honest opinion to Almaas that she should consider Shaheer’s proposal for Aiman; Almaas’s expression were worth watching at that time; She was ashamed of doubting Haider’s intentions.

As Aiman clearly told Sajeela that she is interested in Haider, I am anxiously waiting to see that what will be her next move.Preview of next seems very interesting; Aiman will confess her love which will make Haider upset. Lets see what happens next.

Share your thoughts on this recent installment.

Rabia Basharat.

I have not seen so many dukhi people in one drama and the background score is just as sad as the fate of all the characters in the play! Mubarak ho! The good news is that a year passed in few minutes in tonight’s episode but not much has changed in this one year. Hashir is still stuck on Saman, Shazia is still counting days, “waqt guzarana” is her favorite hobby, talk about being fixated… she needs treatment! Hashir’s father continued blackmailing his mother, Nigar and Saman are still going to the same parlor and Saman still hasn’t figured out that Faisal and Shazia are “in touch with each other”. Looks like everyone has started borrowing foundation from Saman or they have been using Zubeida Apa’s whitening cream:) It was good to see that at least one unmarried lady in the drama has some self-respect; Mehreen decided to move on after finding out why Hashir left.

The recap of everything that transpired between Shazia, Hashir and Co was a waste of time, it was totally unnecessary. And although the music that played in the background while Shazia recalled everything that happened was really melancholic but I did not feel an ounce of sympathy for her. Like I said before she comes across as someone who needs professional help from a good psychiatrist. No girl in the right state of mind would obsess over someone she barely knows the way Shazia has been obsessing over Hashir. What she feels for Hashir is anything but love because if it really was that then she wouldn’t be involved with Faisal at the same time too. It is almost as if Shazia will do anything to ensure that Saman does not get any happiness at all. She feels pride in the fact that Faisal does not treat Saman well and is still in love with her.

I must say that this drama has been very thanda till now. Something or the other happens in every episode but the story doesn’t really take off. There has been no character development in the play at all. Faisal is still mean, Shazia has always been selfish, Hashir is too seedha and dukhi of course and Saman does not believe in using her brains or showing any emotions. It must not have taken the writer Aliya Bukhari a lot of time to pen this script down because the amount of “effort” that has been put in character development and story development shows clearly in every episode. I honestly feel like it is about time that our writers start concentrating on quality and not quantity! And our producers stop relying on the same ghissi pitti stories. I am so not looking forward to the next episode; nothing about the preview appealed to me. I just hope the drama ends decently, right now it seems to be going nowhere. Romaissa has been replaced by Saman on Friday nights….hurray!

Fatima Awan

Mansoor gave his “verdict” on Laila’s character in tonight’s episode when Laila’s mother called him in the hope that he will be willing to patch things up with Laila. Mansoor thinks that a woman who leaves with her daughter for her mother’s house in the middle of the night is a “hooker” but what do you call a man who goes alone to meet his lover in the middle of the night? The double standards regarding men and women that exist in our society were highlighted in tonight’s episode more than ever. Laila’s brother may not have been there for her when she needed him the most but he still feels that he has the right to tell Laila how to live her life. Laila is made to feel like she is the protector of her family’s dignity and in order to keep her family’s dignity intact she must sacrifice her own self-respect and happiness. Laila’s mother does not give her daughter an ounce of respect. I don’t agree with the way Laila’s mother is handling the situation, she is only making things worse for her daughter but I can definitely relate to her character. Our society in general has this attitude towards women; people love to label them and they love to judge them maybe because they are easy victims. And women who go out in search of their own pehchan face the same difficulties which Laila is facing. The dialogue about the kind of relationship which Laila shared with her brother when they were younger was very poignant .. (Zolpidem) ” lekin bhaiya phir aik din bara ho gaya “ !! And then he realized that he was a man, which made him far more superior than his sister and that changed everything!

Laila’s mother thinks that a muraba or some spiritual healing might give Laila the patience she needs in order to put up with the problems of shadi shuda zindagi which are generally considered normal because every woman at some point goes through everything that Laila has been through and is expected to put up with. Now the question is that if something wrong is very widely accepted in the society, does that make it right? When Laila’s mother said “insan sub kuch bardasht kr leta hai”, I found it ironic because what she actually meant was that a woman is capable of enduring anything at all! Dialogues like “mard ka ego hota hai” clearly meant that women don’t have an ego or self-respect because only one person in a marriage can keep their self-esteem intact! After all ego hota hai, hoti nahi hai!!

Laila thinks about the time she spent with Mansoor, starting with the day she got married to the day when Mansoor handed her the phone asking her to talk to his girlfriend. She also thinks about the conversations she used to have with her father and her father’s words reinforce the idea that she too deserves to be happy. She does not need to go through all the pain which Mansoor put her through only because her mother, family and the society expect just that from her.

Kukoo seemed to be doing well without Khurram except for the candlelight dinner scene in which it looked like she was finding it hard to combat loneliness. Kukoo has however learned her lesson well and she also wants Laila to know what is good for her without enduring the kind of pain which Laila had to endure. Kukoo accepts that she wouldn’t want Laila to make the same mistakes she made…“aik mard se jaan churanay ke liye dusre ka khanda mat dhoondo, talash krna hai tu apne aap ko karo…mujh se hi kuch seekh lo”. The relationship between Mrs. Khan, Kukoo and Laila has to be one of the most beautiful aspects of this play. We don’t get to see women looking out for each other in Pakistani dramas the way these three do.

Tonight’s episode was more of an extension of the last one; it focused on the repercussions of Laila’s decision. Laila has her mind made up and she is not willing to give her relationship with Mansoor another chance. Kukoo has moved on as well. Will Laila be able to stay strong considering how much opposition she has to face? Will she find her own pehchan or will she have no choice but to rely on another man? Bee Gul’s script is powerful; many writers might not even venture into writing something that maybe seen as a “threat” to the status quo that exists in our society! Khalid Ahmed’s direction has been superb throughout; the play has a very artistic feel to it. All the actors have done a commendable job but Iffat Rahim and Sohail Sameer in particular have totally won me over. I actually missed watching Mansoor on screen tonight.

Do share your thoughts about tonight’s episode.

Fatima Awan

Ohkay so, we’re done with the second episode of Shanakht & I can’t wait to see more. The way the story is unfolding, they have managed to stir the curiosity & for all the right reasons. I must say, I am totally impressed by the acting of all the characters (minus the over-actor playing the role of Hashim’s friend) because they all look so real & have given out the genuine feel to their characters. The direction has been great without any such evident loopholes that can’t be ignored. I am hooked to the show & can’t wait to find out what happens next.

This episode revolved around the ordeal Hashim felt when it came to the point of giving his & Annie’s relation a name. Subconsciously Hashim grasped all those notions that he might’ve come across regarding Annie’s choice of Hijab. Apparently, Hashim himself was the one who helped Annie convincing her family when she decided to go for Hijab but no matter how supportive he was of his cousin or best friend, he still can’t seem to come to terms with the fact that he wants to spend a life with a girl who shares a different mindset & has her own ideology. Hashim may respect & put Annie to a high regard, but he certainly doesn’t think she’s worth spending a life with. I must say, the opinion Hashim shared was quite unpredictable. Like Hashim’s mother Shireen said, she thought he’d jump with joy at the idea of his & Annie’s marriage, but what took her by surprise was an unexpected hesitation that he showed.

Annie on her own was struggling to maintain a balance between her mother & her endeared friend Ayesha. Ayesha has been the one who has tried to help Annie the best way possible but for Huma, Ayesha is just someone who has made Annie disrespectful & rigid. Annie for once didn’t understand the reason why Ayesha was keeping a distance but after finding out, Annie respected her friend’s confession & made sure she didn’t do anything that would upset her mother because her friend Ayesha helped her in understanding her mother’s point of view a bit better. Annie didn’t show any signs of disappointment but deep within she felt ashamed for the things her friend had to go through.

The focal point of this episode was the potential marriage of Hashim & Annie, where Annie deep within showed acceptance towards it because for her nothing more than her family’s happiness matters anymore. Even though Annie decided she should’nt think too much about it, she understood that even if it happens & the elders decide their marriage, she’d be pretty happy with it because Hashim has always been a supportive figure & a friend to her.

Hashim really was torn between his choice of a partner & his parent’s choice but he wanted to make up his mind & a visit to Ayesha’s home gave him a decisive push that he was looking for. Sadly for Hashim, a guy with a beard is no one but a terrorist. A simple household is nothing but an exhibition of backwardness & regression. Hashim was so blinded by his hatred that he forgot to see how cordially he was welcomed by a stranger in his house. How nicely he was treated but just because Hashim wanted to see & hear what he wanted to, he decided that he can’t put up with Annie’s choices too.

All the conversations were done beautifully & I really liked the conversations between Hashim & Annie. As much as he wanted her to convince him & even a little sign on the lines that he wanted to read would’ve been enough for Hashim but just because Annie decided to stick to the truthfulness without giving him any false hopes that she’d change herself for him, Hashim heartbrokenly decided the otherwise. Annie has decided something & she wants to stick to it no matter what & this gives her character an edge of a head-strong girl that we all wanted to see. I love Annie’s character for the fact that she’s determined & strong-headed yet very soft spoken, which puts her in a very positive light.

Annie’s parents are pretty happy about Hashim & Annie’s marriage but they really don’t know what’s yet to come. For a change it’s nice to see a good sisterly-like relation that Annie & Kashaf share. Not sure what might happen between them when Hashim’s parents will give a proposal for Kashaf instead of Annie but for now, their little conversations seem real & very genuine. Interestingly, a new family of Ahmad’s business partner was introduced & luckily they are searching for a prospect wife for their son Rohaan. I think we all can predict what will happen when they will get to meet Annie at Hashim’s birthday gathering.

So my verdict is it is so far so good. Can’t wait to see more. I think Maya Ali looks simple yet gorgeous & she has played her part as Annie way too well. I think the casting was done to perfection & everyone fits in their roles really really well. Share your say on this episode of Shanakht.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.