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
