So, either it is because when you watch a drama without any strings attached you feel differently and when you sit and watch each scene and listen to each dialogue as a reviewer it is a different story – or, I have the anti Midas touch for any drama I think is interesting to review – suddenly stops being just that!! Or maybe these couple of episodes are just dragging the story a bit and the drama will hopefully get back on track soon especially as its nearing the end now – yes, hoping that must be it!

I had wondered what Khawar’s reasons may be to literally push Saleem towards Gulshan and now I know. He was definitely not a true friend, we had established that at the very start but I had thought he may be a mufta and just a faarigh person with warped ideas and beliefs and rubbing them off on his friend but he has a proper agenda now and that is to make sure Saleem falls for Gulshan and that Noor also suffers for having ‘meddled’ in his affairs and having a hand in Saleem seeing Khawar’s true colors. I am amazed that Saleem who can be so stubborn and obstinate when it suits him, chooses to fall for Khawar’s half baked statements and is chummy with him all over again. The conversation between the two at Saleem’s shop was very convincingly done where you could see Saleem being all chuffed up by the attention and respect Gulshan and her family were showering him with.

Although Noor and Saleem’s track is ‘supposedly’ the main one in this story, we also have a few other stories running simultaneously. A lot of screen time went into Waseem and Zeb’s story in the past few episodes and now the focus was more on Sofia, her brother and Mehru. I actually like Mehru and her husband’s relationship where the two find lots of comfort with each other so even though I felt bad for them with the shart Sofia’s mother in law has laid out, I wished there was more focus on Noor and Saleem. Noor still has not been able to tell Saleem about her pregnancy and I cringed when she is sitting reflecting and her mother in law echoes the same thought earlier as to how now that Saleem will hear of the baby he will change his attitude towards Noor. Masla he saara yeh hai in our dramas and society, ‘shaadi ho jaye, theek ho jaye ga’, ‘bacha ho jaye, theek ho jaye ga’, and the sad bit is that while the ever scheming saas/nand/bahu or desperate in love woman characters are sometimes hard to relate to, statements such as these are very common. Which is why even though this episode seemed to drag a bit, yet a lot of scenes and characters were quite easy to relate to. Noor’s thoughts as to how Saleem may change now, Saleem lapping up attention from new corners, Tabassum Khala’s statement as to how a man when ‘fed up’ with his wife is drawn towards seemingly greener pastures. It all happens far more often than we would like it to I suppose.

One thing I was thinking about now was how Saleem’s heart has totally hardened towards Noor. The complex of being lesser educated, the seed of suspicion of something between her and Waseem, hearing of her broken engagement – has that all made him so bitter? There were the moments when he would watch her and feel remorse for his behaviour, when he dressed in the suit to make her happy then missed her when she was away – has that all taken a backseat now that Khawar’s brainwashing and Gulshan’s chamak dhamak has blinded him? Speaking of blinding, uff what was with all the lighting in today’s episode? Especially in Noor and Gulshan’s scenes when the sunlight would flare in the background – very annoying.

There were very little in fact, wait there was no scene between Noor and Saleem in today’s episode and although Saleem’s antics, I know I know, make him a dislikable character but Syed Jibran’s acting is so delightful, the gold watch, the visibly chuffed up ego is so spot on I can not help but be impressed at how he has translated Saleem’s character so perfectly! I really can not stand Gulshan’s scenes for the way she speaks is OTT especially as she talks the same way to her mother and sister too! I feel my head must tilt at very odd angles in slow motion while following her scenes the way she cocks her head and gazes from side to side. Man!

Twenty episodes down, Saleem slowly but surely falling for Gulshan, Noor’s suffering in full swing, Sofia and Saas, Mehru and Saas – I do not see this drama ending in the next episode or two. I just hope things pick up and looking forward to seeing how Saleem reacts and his interaction with Noor when learning of the khushkhabri. Saleem miyan will get his nihari – I am left craving for some myself now! Please do share your thoughts about this episode.

Kunwal Javid

Ohkay so, this episode of Seeta Bagri was interesting as it unfolded the events in everyone’s life in a very casual manner. I liked this episode for the fact that they have kept things quite light-hearted even though they have showed the struggles of some of the characters alongside too. Even though I know things will become a bit dense & serious in the upcoming episodes but it sure will be an interesting ride to watch because the director has succeeded in establishing a connection between the characters & the viewers!

Nandini has completely fallen in love with Ratan Lal, it is more of a love at first sight thing but she proved that her love wasn’t going to fizzle out because she started taking a stand for him. Ratan brought Nandini to Badrinath’s place because she asked for his help & had nowhere to go in a new city. It was actually quite sweet to see everyone being so welcoming & supportive of Nandini. They all are big hearted people & that is why Nandini felt at home in no time. Nandini woke up from a nightmare as she was scared that something might happen to Ratan. Nandini did say that she has never been scared in her life that is why she survived on her own, it was only because she didn’t have a fear of losing anything or anyone precious to her, but it was kind of sweet to see that just because now she has fallen in love with Ratan & she fears losing him, she started to get scared with the thought of something bad happening to him!

Ratan & Mala are not siblings but they are first cousins. It looked like it was Mala’s father who had some debt but just because he died & couldn’t pay, Ratan decided to take that responsibility as he couldn’t marry Mala off to those people whom her father owed that debt to. It was actually quite heart-warming to see Ratan bearing the responsibility of Mala like a brother & facing the brunt for her sake. Ratan is a hardworking man but the time is not in his favor these days but looks like Nandini has come into his life to sort his issues out. Nandini has already started going out of the way for him because she can not see him in trouble, that is why she didn’t even think twice before paying the money on his behalf as she wants to prove her love without burdening Ratan at that too!

Even though Seeta could see where Nandini was getting to but she had this faith & trust in Ratan, which showed she wasn’t insecure but sadly, hearing about Ratan’s marriage with Nandini shook her a lot as she didn’t see it coming at all. Not sure how Seeta will react & what would Ratan’s reaction be, I am sure he will have a feeling that Nandini was trying to ‘buy’ his love, which actually wasn’t her intention. Even though I liked Nandini’s character on her own, I most certainly don’t ship her with Ratan because they both are a mismatch. Mala & Nandini’s scenes were done nicely too, they added some light-hearted moments in the episode.

Overall, this episode was a decent watch too. I love everyone’s acting, especially Sarwat Gillani’s, she really has acted effortlessly in this drama & her dialogue delivery has improved so much. Syed Jibran has acted flawlessly as well, he has owned the character of Ratan just like Sarwat has owned Seeta’s. Definitely looking forward to the next episode already. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Seeta Bagri!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

I’ll be honest. I was looking forward to watching how the last episode plays out. While a small part of me tried to be prepared for a cliché and predictable ending where all is forgiven and everyone lives happily ever after, I did deep down think that the way this drama has been presented so far we would be saved from such an ending. I inched through the episode like someone treading in the dark all the while thinking you may bang into a wall. While I had thought I might need to dig into the typical idioms bag such as ‘reap what you sow’, ‘what goes round comes around’ (you get the idea) – I was instead presented with a rushed sermon on how dare women try to dream and the only ‘idiom’ that comes to mind is – what the hell?

I was left guessing till the end how things will fare out – I will give the writer that. But the whole idea of a woman berating herself for daring to think of herself instead of caring what society wants her to think and then her daughter and all confessing how they had been wrong and Mehwish had the right to dream and do what she pleases with her life – fell flat. So this is where the writer was getting with all this. While I, personally had no issue with Mehwish remarrying and that too a younger man what failed to get through to me was the fact that she would let it be the man her daughter was engaged to and then moreso, her attitude later and how she treats Zara. So even if the writer may have been trying to present a liberating perspective for how women should be treated, it went haywire.

I kept hoping for a heart to heart, an emotional interaction between Zara and her mother. Didn’t happen. And that stood out like a sore thumb for me – the lack of emotion and feeling between the two. Yes, Zara was worried about her mother and wanted to lay her life down just to have her live and Mehwish wanted to end her life so she could put Zara out of her worries – very noble and very honourable, yes, yes, but not once were there any hugs, any heartfelt dialogues. Zara’s speech at the end which seemed to give Mehwish some relief was not very convincingly delivered but oh well, maa tau Mehwish hai and she accepted it so who am I to complain,eh?

Faisal ‘inn ko, unn ko’ mourn kar kay will go back to Amber. If there was one thing I had been hoping for it was for Faisal to suffer at least in some way, and no those few tears do not count! I guess the whole idea had been to show how a woman must suffer the consequences for daring to tread a new path but where this whole story had been so controversial surely there could have been some surprises come Faisal’s way. By the way, Farhan Saeed had in my opinion fast become quite an actor to reckon with but his acting fell short in today’s episode. His bland reaction to the news Mehwish has cancer while I could have shooed away by saying he was shocked still felt very odd for announcing the next door neighbour’s cat had disappeared may have garnered more of a reaction, methinks!

This has to be one of Samina Ejaz’s lesser evils, I mean, less painful projects for save a few episodes the drama did have its interesting moments. And the biggest plus is that it has gracefully ended on the 18 episode note. While Maria Wasti is an actress who delivers effortlessly I really could not help noticing her makeup which remained quite intact till probably the last few scenes. The scene when she returns from the hospital with her make up intact and then the camera shows Chachi’s face (all dolled up) then Zara’s (all dolled up) and then Tahir’s (all dolled up) – yes, Tahir too! LOL.

Farhan Saeed acted well through out which is why I expected more from him in the last episode and while it is not as if he was wooden but personally, I felt he could have done better. Saboor Ali as Zara has been very convincing but while she has given up the hoarse screams it seems she has substituted that with another annoying habit, something I could not help noticing which is that she purses her lips at the end of every sentence and I found that a bit distracting. Not being overly critical but well, it sort of took away the edge of what could have been a more impactful scene at times, I felt. But besides that I can not believe I watched an entire drama starring Saboor Ali without wincing at her scenes, for I had almost believed that would not happen after Bhai.

Thank you to the readers who took out the time to read these reviews and contribute to the discussions especially Fatima, mrsmehmood, Fizza and Be La. No more Big Bang, Samina Ijaz, Saboor Ali and Faryal Mehmood for me for a long, long time though! What did you all think of this last episode? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Kunwal Javid

Ohkay so, looks like things are about to wrap up & that gives me joy thinking that this drama is coming to an end soon hopefully. I think it’s high time they should end it because they have almost covered the entire story & if there’s something left, it is Washma & Shaheer’s reconciliation.

So, Shaheer already knew everything that Nishat & Imdad were upto, but being a thorough gentleman & someone who didn’t want to put his sister & brother in law down, he stayed quiet, thinking that may be some day they themselves will realize that they were wrong, but it just didn’t happen. It was actually a relief to know that Shaheer knew that everything Washma was saying was true & she wasn’t fabricating a lie against Imdad. Shaheer finally spoke the truth but still didn’t say as much as he should have because he still respects Nishat enough & may be he still believes that it is Imdad who is wrong but Nishat has never wished ill upon Shaheer. I am sure Shaheer’s trust will shatter once again when he will find out that it was because of Nishaat that his wife Abeera left him!

I liked the fact that Washma took a stand against Shaheer, it was like she had some self-respect & knew that she wasn’t going to die without him, so she stopped her family from intervening in her personal matter, because it would’ve made her look weak & it would’ve turned her into a bechari who couldn’t fight her own battles. Washma knew that Shaheer was wrong, that is why she stayed firm on the decision & didn’t even think about going back as she wasn’t wrong in the first place & she was only trying to help her husband!

Areesha’s intervention came as a pleasant surprise, it looks like she has finally understood that Nishat wasn’t such a well-wisher as she posed to be & she never wanted Shaheer to have a life partner because that way his wife had become entitled to his wealth, that is why Areesha understood Nishat’s wrongdoings & decided to take matters in her hands. I liked how Areesha decided to speak to Shaheer in order to make him realize that sending Washma away was a wrong decision on his part, also Areesha spoke to Washma in order to tell her the truth about what Nishat has done in the past as she was doing it again but this time with Washma.

Looks like Nishat will soon be left alone because Imdad will show her, her right place. Imdad knows that if Nishat can deceive her brother, who trusts her blindly, then she can deceive anyone, that is why Imdad rubbed the reality on her face & chose to ignore her demand of apologizing to Shaheer. Imdad knows that Nishat cares about money, may be more than maintaining a healthy relationship with Shaheer & she still wants to enjoy a chunk of his wealth, which she may not get if Shaheer’d disown Imdad. I am sure it will be Imdad who will tell on Nishat because he knows he has already been exposed so he has nothing to lose, but the one who will get affected by it the most will be his wife Nishat!

Overall, this episode was decent or may be I felt this way because the precap suggested it might end soon if not next week. Let’s see. Please share your thoughts about this episode of Aap Ke Liye!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, this episode of Moray Saiyaan was interesting too. I like watching this drama because it qualifies as a lighthearted entertainment. The cast is appeasing to look at & the locations are breath-taking. At this stage, the drama is not too dense nor the situations are too serious, so for me, Moray Saiyaan is the sort of a drama that I can sit back, relax & enjoy watching.

This episode mainly covered the budding relationship between Ghaziyan & Zubaria. Ghaziyan has his sights on her & he is not ashamed to admit that, however Zubaria has other priorities in mind. The most important thing for Zubaria right now is to get educated & also to not do anything that would compromise on the trust her father has on her. Zubaria knows that it has taken her family a lot to allow her to pursue her education while living alone in a hostel, so she most certainly can not afford to divert her attention on something else.

Ghaziyan got a chance to spend more time with Zubaria but what I liked the most about the entire thing was that like a true gentleman, Ghaziyan introduced himself to Zubaria’s family. Zubaria knew that her sister in law Afshan might create some issues but she also had an idea that her father & brother won’t mind because Ghaziyan wasn’t a complete stranger as he was Gul Zeb’s nephew.

Zakia is someone who has harbored a lot of grudges in her heart over the years & during one of her conversations, it felt like she also blames her brother Waris for her failed marriage. What I deduced from that conversation was that may be Kabeer was already married or may be he had a son but he chose not to tell to his friend Waris & wife Zakia, that is why Zakia couldn’t forgive her husband because she is the sort of a person who finds it hard to let go. Also, as much as we have been introduced to Zakia’s character, she can easily malign her heart but she can not forget things easily, that is why she still is not on talking terms with Gul Zeb & doesn’t fancy the idea of curbing the differences in order to reconcile with her sister or her husband. I am sure if Zakia will make an effort, Gul Zeb will walk an extra mile for her but Zakia is most certainly not in a mood to do that & now with what Ghaziyan is upto, Zakia has all the more reasons to blame Gul Zeb for her misery!

So, Ghaziyan has proposed marriage to Zubariya. As much as I like watching Ghaziyan & Zubaria together & as much as I like seeing them as a couple, I find Ghaziyan a little too impulsive & immature because in the first episode & also in the precap of the next episode, things were made clear that he was actually & officially engaged to Nimra, so now that he has spotted Zubaria, he has forgotten all about the promises he made to Nimra & may be he has also forgotten about his love for her & that slightly puts him in a bad light because if he had been a man of his word, he would’ve never done that. Also, I am sure as much as Zubaria doesn’t appreciate the attention she gets from Ghaziyan, she won’t be thrilled with the idea of being the reason behind Nimra & Ghaziyan’s break up. But then again, a love story is never complete with some twists & turns, so this is what is going to happen but even though I have said it before, I will say that again, I’d hate to see the sweetest girl like Nimra go through a heart break because of Ghaziyan’s immaturity & sudden realization about his love for Zubaria.

Overall, this episode was a treat to watch too. I love love love the locations they have chosen, it just lightens up the mood. I also enjoy the conversations Ghaziyan has with Zubaria, where he is always teasing her & she has the best comebacks to silence him up. The precap of the next episode suggested a lot of drama, I am sure Zakia won’t be happy with the news of Ghaziyan not wanting to get married to Nimra. Poor Nimra will suffer & Zakia will easily put a blame on Gul Zeb for transpiring everything because Zakia is someone who doesn’t think rationally & loves putting a blame on others that too with so much of conviction. I will thank the director for keeping things to the point & visually appeasing. Definitely looking forward to what team Moray Saiyaan has in store for us. Please share your thoughts about this very sweet episode of Moray Saiyaan.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.