The journey of Aab-e-Hayat came to an end this Sunday. As many die-hard fans of Peer-e-Kamil (saw), I too was over the moon about its sequel. But did it satisfy us? Well, that is a tad bit complicated, so let’s break it down. I will try to be as concise as possible, without summarizing the story.

Things We Loved

•  Like all the other fandoms, the return of our favourite protagonists was the first thing that attracted us. We wanted to see more of Salaar and Imama’s married life and we got what we wished for. Although, sometimes Imama got overboard with her ungratefulness, that was all part of the plan. It was Salaar’s azmaish in the form of his wife’s bad behaviour.

• The whole sood (riba/ interest) thing was beautifully integrated within the story. The concept of unlawful earning and its consequences was explicitly presented. Someone like Salaar whose whole carrier revolved around this economic system had to go through immense internal and external struggle to stand up to it.

• For me, the best part of the novel was the track of Ghulam Fareed and his family. Their part was perfectly relatable. The way riba was shown destroying lives seemed so painfully real. Ghulam Fareed, a man of average intelligence and meagre resources was driven mad by the devastating fruits of riba. It was touching to see that he came around and let go of his self-inflicted hatred by just seeing how well his daughter was raised by Salaar and his family.

•  Family bonding was a main highlight of this novel. It is not necessary for a woman to make an outstanding carrier to make her family proud of her. Imama was a perfect example of this. Despite being a house-wife, she was the pride of her husband. She sacrificed a lot in order to support her husband and children which made her the nucleus of her family.

• The last episode marked some reunions. I loved the scene between Jibreel and Aisha. Their conversation radiated a deeper understanding of each other’s psyche. The scene reminded me of the relationship between Zaini and Karam from Man-o-Salwa. The air of suffering from the past and the promise of a better tomorrow was encompassing Jibreel and Aisha, just like Zaini and Karam.

Things We Didn’t

• For many of the readers, the plot seemed divided into chunks which they couldn’t put together. At times, it was hard to connect the tracks, especially the timeline was all jumbled up. I personally, do not complain about this. Some pieces of art challenge your mind, Aab-e-Hayat attempted the same. Those who are familiar with Umera Ahmed’s writing style will have less to complain about, she has done the same in many of her novels like Aks, La -Hasil and Man-o-Salwa.

•  The use of superlatives was many a times overwhelming. Ok, we get the point that Salaar and his children had extraordinary brains, facing extraordinary situations, but did it need to be stressed so much? For a piece of writing in which all the other things are subtle (the message about riba, the relationship between characters, the adverse effects of religious hypocrisy) the constant use of ‘zaheen tareen’, ‘azeem tareen’, ‘behtareen’ was a little hard to digest.

•  The inconsistent pace. Some parts of the story were elaborated in great details, like that of Salaar and Imama’s initial married life. While others seemed rushed and half-cooked. The readers couldn’t connect with Jibreel, Humain, Raeesa and others, as they did not experience their character development properly.

• One dimensional characters. Speaking about character development, I felt most of the characters to be categorically black or white. Salaar and his whole family are white, Saad and his whole family are black, so are the US government and the CIA (may be a darker shade even). We know it is a work of fantasy but greying out the characters might have been more realistic and relatable.

• Correct me if I missed something, but there was a point that the sniper (the one appointed to assassinate Humain) missing to shoot someone once, despite his expertise. It felt that we will get to know more about this missed chance, but we never heard of it again.

The pace of these two episodes continued to not disappoint. I found myself interested to see where the story is going for although we do have a fair idea of what will happen I am glad to say that at least the way the events are unfolding is convincing – and interesting – enough.

I was highly sceptical and cringed thinking seriously, is this how predictable and annoying this drama will be when Aina leaves for Islamabad and Imran gives up his mobile phone that they will be unable to get in touch which will lead to misunderstandings ending with disastrous results. I was glad however when Imran learns from Aina’s friend that she has left for a few days and when she returns she goes to the flat and thankfully Imran is home. I can not stress enough how that raised the drama’s worth in my eyes at least for the done to death, no communication ka rasta or Imran leaving the flat to run an errand when Aina arrives would have done my head in. While the drama may not be rid of such clichés later on, I will give credit now for where it is due. I do wonder though at the 1990s style of ‘dumb calls’ when Imran being so rich could have given Aina a mobile phone that he could reach her on. Obviously before he was stripped of his own belongings but even if Aina was all about ‘I am not after your money’, I am sure a simple phone to be able to contact each other would have been a wise idea but oh well.

Aini too surprised me when she announced enough is enough and broke off the engagement. Eyebrows went further up when she said Aina’s family should be paid a visit and I thought, good stuff! But while Aini may think of herself as a competent player so to speak, Imran’s father is the true puppet master and knows when to pull which chords. He knows his son well and knows he will return once left to fend for himself. Seems like Aini is back on board too.

Aina’s fiancé is far from impressed by Aina’s ‘reserve’ and I have to say I really like Faraz’s character where he has been all understanding about Aina’s heartbreak and also encourages her fiancé and her to have a few moments together. It is good to see the writer presenting a male character with a broad mind but a sensible one for either they are too conservative to the point of being manic or there are the truly liberal ones with the fake English accents, huge cigars and drink in hand. Faraz is a character I can really understand and like – till now at least. I also liked how he did not fly off the handle when he came upon Aina and her fiancé and also later how he stresses how Aina is unhappy with this upcoming marriage.

While Huma Nawab’s acting leaves a bit to be desired, her character does pinch at my heart especially when she says how Imran is not worthy of Aina and his parents refused to come and take her ‘izzat se’. I am glad to see a level headed sensible family that cares about each other and is not out to manipulate each other which is why Aina’s actions seem even more, deplorable for lack of a better word not because I am judging her for marrying against her family wishes but for pulling the wool over her mother’s eyes who has trusted her and devoted her life to her children and even agreed to meet Imran’s parents. I keep repeating that I know, but while Aina is worried now it is because the fiance’s family wants to move ahead with the wedding not how she has let her mother, Sajal and Faraz down. I can see why she would not care about Mohsin, LOL.

So Aina from sweet loving Aina is fast becoming Manhoos Aina in Imran’s mind. While it is admirable and definitely much more fascinating when the rich boy leaves his family in the name of love and makes his way in the world, portrayal of a character like Imran has also been very realistically done. It is true that he has never had to worry about a single aana – I could not resist substituting dime with aana with all the Aina-Aini going on, LOL. There is that old saying, when poverty enters the door, love goes out the window. Imran blames Aina for all the hardship coming his way and now that things have been laid out in the open at his end he wants Aina to rush things at her end. I could see how he wanted her to also come clean and move in and while Aina said he could barely fend for himself she did not want to add on her own burden, I felt it was more because she lacked the courage. I wonder why she went ahead with the nikkah anyway and even if she did, then the very obvious would be to sort of avoid starting a family until things had settled between the families? Methinks so! But then all those fainting spells, bar one drama (Teri Chah Mein) – spell out only one thing – a pregnancy! How are the women in our dramas always so clueless that they never realise they are pregnant until they faint?! I would honestly love to know if that has happened to women in real life. Yes the odd few maybe, but routinely?!

There have been a few negative comments regarding Naveen Waqar’s appearance and while I totally get how a certain actor or actress can put you off from watching a drama and I agree that her fringe is distracting, her acting so far has been realistic enough. I feel her despair, I dislike her for being selfish and I find while Aina may end up being the victim, Naveen’s portrayal of the character has been such that you feel the ‘victim’ sort of brought this upon herself. Imran’s character is wishy washy where he grows a backbone and then loses it the way a lizard may lose its tail and grow one back. I am pleasantly surprised at Mirza Zain’s acting and how he seems to be comfortable in his character. Faraz is the only sensible one so far and I hope he has a sensible plan of action rather than letting Aina flit round the streets again trying to sort things out. I like a few dialogues of this drama too especially the scene between Imran’s parents when his father says that why do mothers assume fathers are unfeeling. A father’s stern attitude for the long term benefit of his child can be viewed as unfeeling at times when it is not. While I may not agree with his tactics for bringing Imran back to him or forcing him into a marriage with Aini, I could understand the underlying anger when he wonders how Imran thought he could have fooled his own father. His father is an arrogant man who believes he knows what move to make when and till now things have panned out favourably for him.

Next week’s preview shows Aina paying her in laws a visit and although I suppose Imran and Aini have gone to Dubai to shop, Aina will meet Imran and given the direction he is headed, seems like he has had enough of her. I wonder if Aina’s mother survives the heart attack and what is in store for Aina now. Sorry, no screenshots today as my daughter is a bit poorly. I would love to hear what you all thought of these episodes though and any guesses whether Aina’s pregnancy will bring a change of heart in Imran or will he not be told?

Kunwal Javid

Ohkay so, finally Aap Ke Liye ended last night & I think it was good that they gave everything a proper closure but again, I feel where the last episode should have given Washma & Shaheer’s relationship some coverage, the entire screen space was taken up by Nishat, which was so unfair, because that lady has literally taken up the entire drama, so at least, they should have left her out in the last episode at least because people didn’t sign up to see ‘her’ journey.

So, Nishat realized that everything slipped away from her hands because her husband left her & even her brother confessed that he knew every single thing that she was upto. Shaheer said all he had in his heart to Nishat because he had to come clean in front of Waheed. Nishat did realize that she hurt Shaheer a great deal but even then she couldn’t stop planning & manipulating Shaheer into saying stuff about Washma in front of Waheed that wasn’t true.

So, finally, Shaheer got to say everything to Nishat on her face as he was eager to tell her that he wasn’t oblivious of what she & her husband did all this while, but one thing that seemed odd was that Shaheer said he knew it right from the beginning, so why didn’t he try to amend the situation with Abeera before meeting Washma, since he knew that Abeera wasn’t at fault? Also, another thing that I found a little off-putting was that if Nishat hadn’t told Shaheer to go to Washma, he wouldn’t have done that? Yes, I do realize that for Shaheer, Nishat was everything but to see him staying silent at her wrongdoings doesn’t put him in a good light too. Anyways, Areesha got some screen time too & it was good to see her tackling the entire situation with a lot of maturity, where she not only went to Washma to plead Shaheer’s case, but also consoled Nishat knowing that she has hit a rock bottom!

Waheed was proud of what he heard from Shaheer about Washma & that’s when he knew that things will be alright. Shaheer finally gave everything a closure, apologized to Abeera & went to Washma to tell her how much he loves her, which was sweet. I so wish they had given us some more moments of Washma & Shaheer in the last episode & also in the overall episodes, because their couple was the best thing about this drama & now when I look back, I feel I didn’t get enough of them!

Overall, this drama was strictly alright, it could’ve been way better if the director or the editors had omitted out the coverage that was being given to Nishat & Imdad because with an influx of negative characters on our screen in the last few years, we already knew what they were going to offer, so there was most certainly NO need for them to be getting so much of screen-time because their characters were one-dimensional & nothing new! I would surely have put this drama on a recommendation list but I won’t, because I will then suggest everyone to forward 80% of the drama as it was filled with Nishat & Imdad & they are not fun to watch, so the viewers won’t have anything left to watch either! The writer commendably wrote such nice characters like Waheed, Maryam, Washma & Shaheer but sadly, this drama seemed more about Nishat, than about Washma which was unfair. When the stories are simple & one-dimensional, it depends solely on the director as to how he executes them to make them memorable but it seems that the director was a fan of Waseem Abbas & Samina Peerzada that he made them the focal point of the drama while completely forgetting about the ‘good things’ that the story had to offer!

There were a few good things that this drama offered which deserve a mention too. First & foremost, the character of Washma, it was good to see such a young girl being so confident about herself that she took everyone’s life by storm. Washma entered the marriage with Shaheer for the sake of adventure but it was her love for him that pushed her to such a limit where she challenged the system that was prevailing in her husband’s personal & professional life. Washma surely made this drama worthwhile. It was also good to see Shaheer transitioning from a very rigid person to someone who learned to go with the flow because Washma introduced him to a new perspective of how one can life their lives. It was equally appeasing to see such a strong & positive bond between a Nand & Bhabhi, because it is a rarity in our dramas. Yes, Washma & Maryam both had a fair share of cat fights with each other but it was also a reflection of how much they loved each other. Maryam empowered Washma every step of the way. Maryam challenged Washma & pushed her to the limit & it was actually because of Maryam that Washma got the courage to face the obstacles. It was equally amazing to see Waheed supporting his sister through thick & thin because he had his blind trust in his sister which was also refreshing to see. Waheed was an unconventional sort of a brother who didn’t deal with his sister by keeping his ego intact, he trusted her, he knew his sister won’t do anything wrong that is why he took matters in his hands as he knew that for the most part of it, his sister wouldn’t be wrong. Then comes the relationship of Washma & Shaheer, which was so unique, created at a spur of a moment but changed their lives & would last forever because they both began to love each other & accepted each other with all their faults & shortcomings. I so wish, I so so so wish we had gotten some more insight into their relationship because now when the drama has ended, it just doesn’t seem enough. I tuned to the last episode of this drama all excited thinking Washma & Shaheer will have some beautiful moments to share, only to find out that they were spotted together in the last minute of the entire 40 minute episode!?!?!?! Anyways!

The director surely needs someone to teach him how to keep a steady hand while directing a drama, as the way the camera moved actually made it quite tiresome to watch Aap Ke Liye. The entire bokeh effect that the director added as a wow-factor was an epic fail too, because most of the times I felt like touching the TV & removing that white cast off my screen manually to get some clear visibility of the frame as it was so very annoying. Faysal Qureshi & Arif Fatima’s acting was brilliant, so was Saife Hassan’s & Salma’s. Samina Peerzada ruined this drama for me & traumatized me for a long long time because it was hard to keep up with her expressions as most of the times I ended up having a headache. Waseem Abbas needs to get rid of that wig & that ugly beige silky night suit ASAP. It was no fun to watch such experienced actors overacting so much as if they had a point to prove that they know how to act, like we have been watching you guys since childhood so we know you guys can act, so there most certainly was no need to overdo anything!!!

I thank all the readers who watched & experienced this drama with me, thank you guys for making it possible to sit through this drama. Please share your thoughts about the entire journey of Aap Ke Liye!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

After having binge watched seven episodes, this one was obviously a bit slow for me but I am not complaining for it focused on the events unfolding in Urwah and Ameena’s lives after the wedding, but sadly not together. While I had earlier been critical of Ameena’s character and it being a bit far from reality to be normal, I could relate to her today although the preview for next week shows that the loud wailing might be back.

Ameena finds comfort in the form of Aisha Baji which is why she was so upset at her leaving. I have to say Aisha Baji is a breath of fresh air from the negative nands and it was nice to see her trying to help Ameena settle in and understand the importance or rather, position of Urwah in her life. I did feel bad for Ameena though when in her few moments of reflection when she sees Urwah’s picture all she can remember is the moment on her wedding night when he angrily tries to stop her from making noise. All he has done is fret and frown so I can not blame her for being relieved he is gone. Ameena is immature but it is not mere immaturity that makes her behave the way she is and that is the thing that bothers me. For she does not seem extremely simple minded either – or maybe she is. I am still waiting to find out. After her wedding while she is not heavily adorned or made up yet she is making an effort with the make up and jewellery. But I felt for the young girl who found herself suddenly sleeping alone in a new place, and the way she asked her Taayi for an ‘om-late’ was actually quite natural and funny.

While not evil yet, Taayi is not exactly warm. She was not approving of the match yet anyway and I understand her reasons especially since Urwah is far from happy too. She is disapproving of Ameena’s way as I expect any mother in law would be but I suppose we need to give that track time to develop for so far Ameena takes her criticism well and listens to her. I love Taaya’s role where he asks his wife to think of Ameena as her daughter and also how he speaks to her about going back to school. Ameena’s simplicity was actually touching when she laughed at the idea of going back to school now that she is married like she has a label attached to her now and that does not enable her to go back to school.

Urwah has fled back to university and well, not exactly back to Azra. He hides the news of his wedding from all and I was glad to see Sohail was actually upset that he had not confided in him. However, the way he is he takes it in his stride telling him to keep it to himself but the scene between the two and Azra in the cafeteria later makes me think he will not let a single opportunity pass to make Urwah uncomfortable that Sohail knows his secret. I am not sure whether Urwah has decided to not tell Azra for he fears he will be ridiculed or also because deep down he is not ready to let her go completely. Yes, he made the speech of ‘we are from different worlds’ and all that but I do not think he believes it completely. Also, I am finding it really hard to understand Azra’s fascination with Urwah. If she was the creepy, I-must- have- this- guy- who- does- not- seem- too- interested- in- me sort, phir bhi samajh mein aata. She seems fairly normal so just because Urwah is shareef and respects women which for her is a rarity, but then it can not be that much of a rarity that she overlooks the very obvious differences in their mindsets. But then love is blind and all that.

While I understand that Urwah was tricked into coming back so he fled the first chance he got and also that there is the undealt matter of Azra, I do wish Azra ko jaldi nibat shibat kar he comes back so his story with Ameena can actually begin. I wonder how things pan out between him and Azra and how Ameena deals with the challenges of settling in with her Taya’s family and going back to school. What is really working for me in this drama so far is the absence of a truly negative character who has no goal, no aim in life except to cause havoc and misery in the main couple’s life. Iqra Aziz acting was toned down a bit in this episode and actually made me feel for her more. While I still wince at the over –immaturity (is that even a word), I do commend her for trying to get into her character where her body language and the way she sits and jumps up off the bed is far from ladylike, LOL. Shahzad Sheikh’s acting is consistently good. His expressions when he learns that his father knows about him meeting Azra were spot on and I love the attention to detail his character demands such as the huge trainers, the tucked in shirt, the stiff, awkward demeanour. I also like how the director has not relied on painted sets or backgrounds and the scenes where the green open lands and small town life was shown I could almost feel the crisp air and the modern university building scenes were equally appealing. Does anyone know which building/university this is by any chance?

Choti Si Zindagi is working for me as my Tuesday drama fix and am looking forward to see how Urwah and Ameena deal with this new phase of their lives – as individuals and as a couple together. What did you all think of this episode? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Kunwal Javid

Ohkay so, not that I haven’t said this before, I will say it again, Moray Saiyaan is such a cute drama I swear. I had this goofy smile on my face while watching this episode especially during the interactions between Ghaziyan & Zubaria. This drama is exactly a depiction of what Rabia Razzaque herself said that she wanted to show a very light-hearted love story & the creative team of Moray Saiyaan has achieved just that. Even though there are a few issues that are based on the egos & family issues, but the overall feel of the drama is just so appeasing. I am glad where on Mondays, for Sanam I have to especially make black coffee, on Tuesdays, I have a drama which I can sit back & enjoy with a bag of popcorn (just imaginary sketch to show how enjoyable this drama is).

So, Ghaziyan is persistent & even though his feelings for Zubaria came out of nowhere, I really really like his approach where he is not doing everything on his own but is also involving his own father & Zubaria’s father too. Ghaziyan did understand that Zubaria won’t do anything against her father’s wishes, so he went ahead & started getting cordial with Zubaria’s father to score himself some brownie points, very intelligent I must say Mister. That entire scenario was actually quite sweet where Ghaziyan was missing Zubaria so he found himself an excuse to see her & earn some time with her!

I really like Zubaria’s character, it’s like even though she is very serious & focused, she is not used as someone who is just pretty, it’s like Zubaria has a personality & an attitude which makes her look very dignified. Even though Ghaziyan has time & again said things to flatter her & has been very vocal about his feelings, I love the fact that Zubaria hasn’t responded him back in such a tone, it makes her look so mature in a sense that she is not someone who is easy to win over. Zubaria has a stance & she wants it to be respected. Even though Ghaziyan is a very decent guy but still Zubaria has not allowed him to think that she is liking that kind of attention from him.

I liked seeing the relation Zubaria has with her father & that surukh jora was actually a depiction of what he & even Zubaria’s mother wants to see. There was actually something very sweet about the entire scene where Zubaria’s father narrated the dream that he saw & immediately linked it to her daughter as like he said, no matter what parents want their children to achieve or become, by the end of the day, they’d always want to see their children settled & happy with a good life partner & no wonder he had this dream just when Ghaziyan came into the picture, it will actually help Zubaria in making up her mind about Ghaziyan!

So, Ghaziyan finally decided to plead his case in front of his father & he told him everything that he has started to feel about Zubaria. Even though Waris’s reaction was justified but I liked how he gave a chance to Ghaziyan to explain himself because when he did, even Waris was compelled to do some thinking as Ghaziyan had a point where he said he won’t be able to keep Nimra happy as he is not in love with her. I find it actually quite amusing that Zakia single=-handedly has frightened every single soul around her because it looks like even before breathing, they think about what Zakia might have to say about it, haha! It looks like Zakia has created this idea about herself where even though she poses to be strong, she has turned herself into a victim, that is why, till date her brother Waris feels guilty for getting her married to his friend Kabeer. I think Zakia needs to loosen up & should allow others to breathe too because no wonder why Ghaziyan feels more comfortable & relaxed in the company of Gul Zeb, at least she is not such a hilter like Zakia!

This episode shed a light on the fact that Gul Zeb knew Dr. Farah & Dr. Altamash from another reference & it was a reference of Kabeer, who was her sister’s husband, which actually did make sense but then again came as a surprise. I wish before showing their interaction in the 2nd & 3rd episode, they had established this fact that Gul Zeb & Dr. Farah knew each other because in these previous episodes, it seemed as if they were complete strangers & were only interacting because Dr. Farah was handling the case of Aashi. Same goes for Ghaziyan, he seemed quite reserved when he spoke to Dr. Farah all concerned about Aashi’s condition but now even he seemed to be quite cordial with her as if he has known her for a long time, at least long enough to be seeking relationship advice from her. This is the only thing that I found came out of nowhere but never mind, it did make sense because Gul Zeb was once related to Kabeer because of Zakia & now she knew Dr. Farah as Kabeer’s daughter in law I guess!

Overall, this episode was brilliant as usual. I am glad that I am getting to watch a drama like Moray Saiyaan which qualifies as a light-hearted entertainment, even though I know things will get a bit intense in the upcoming episodes but still, it will be an interesting ride. I think Gul Zeb & Waris’s meeting won’t be a smooth sail because he will go there out of concern as he is not thrilled with the idea of Ghaziyan getting interested in someone other than Nimra, so I think he might blame Gul Zeb or tell her to stop Ghaziyan from seeing Zubaria. I really feel for Nimra already, it’s like she is such a sweet soul & she seems to be obsessing over Ghaziyan but not for the wrong reasons as she has been engaged to him all her life, so it seems justified that she gets affected & upset over his behavior. I hope Ghaziyan approaches Nimra properly to share what he feels but yes, I still feel bad that just because Ghaziyan has come across Zubaria, he is leaving Nimra in the lurch, that too when their wedding is on the cards. Aww! Well, let’s see how the story unfolds. Neha Rajpoot & Uzair Jaswal are nailing their characters, yes, they still seem a little effortful in their acting but their strong on-screen chemistry compensates for their overall acting. I really like how witty Ghaziyan is, as in the dialogues that have been written for him are super cool! I will once again thank the team of Moray Saiyaan for picking Islamabad as their shooting location, it takes me back to the time that I have spent there & makes me connect to the entire drama & the characters on another level, so thank you once again. Please share your thoughts about this utterly sweet episode of Moray Saiyaan!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

I am not sure whether I take more breaks on the rare occasions that I work out or I did during this episode! I tried to get into it with all the ‘exciting’ events happening but kept finding myself pressing the pause button and tuning in a few minutes later. This is the second drama that I have been reviewing that has come to an end this week and that too before the 20th episode mark. I do feel very lucky, LOL!

I will admit I did not expect Shahzeb to die and Bari Sahab to collapse like she did. So even though this drama did rely on a lot of misleading dream sequences there were a few twists and turns to its credit, but still that did not manage to engage me totally. Sab ko maar, peet, bhaga kay, there was nobody left in the haveli anyway so it took a heart to heart between the nurse and Zainab which of course, Jahanzeb overheard to make him stop and ponder over how caring Zainab is. Sigh. So, Alisha has devoted her life to social awareness now and Mannat has gotten her happily ever after while we are left to assume Zainab may or may not have gotten hers. A number of things bothered me in these last episodes – why did Alisha have to take Zainab’s name, why call the press conference anyway when she knew it would cause further trouble and someone from Sikander or Bari Sb’s family would try to get to Mannat, when did Mannat and Shahmeer get married, is Zainab not in iddat now so why was she flitting around the city – I could go on. I am not sure if Zainab’s love for Jahanzeb and his constant resistance or rejection whatever you may like to call it, was meant to be bittersweet or romantic but it felt neither to me.

Sometimes a drama has a very typical and predictable story but the execution is such that you watch it anyway and enjoy it. After all, why do people watch chick flicks time and again even though they all pretty much follow the same pattern (I have given up on them, but still). Laaj was more filmy than like a drama with the feuding Sikander and Bari Sb, lives lost during the feud, the shehr wali larki, the parha likha walaiti son, the ‘selfless,undying’ love, the suffering granddaughter – the works. The set was colourful but some bits like the walls in the background and even the scene when Shahzeb dies and the blood was soooooo not convincingly blood made the presentation look a bit sloppy at times. Iqra Aziz has weeped her way through the play so seeing her smile in the last episode was probably the only thing that caught my attention, LOL! I do think that Kamran Jillani is quite the underrated actor and I liked how he portrayed his feelings over Shahzeb’s death. I missed Bari Sb in this last episode and would have been nice to see her conscious again. Asma Abbas as Bari Sb was phenomenal and although her ideas were outrageous at times, her dialogues and acting especially when it came to expressing her views over Alisha and Sikander thoroughly entertained me. I hope I never see Sabika Imam in a drama again. Zarnish Khan is an excellent actress and I hope for her sake she has better luck choosing her future projects where her talent can be appreciated.

I have seen promos of a drama with surprise surprise, Iqra Aziz and am assuming that will replace this one. Doubt I will be tuning into that! I would like to thank the readers who read my reviews and shared their thoughts, in particular Rida, Haider and Sabika and most of all Omm E Nida who would read and comment on my reviews every single week What did you all make of this drama and how it ended? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Kunwal Javid