Our hero managed to grab the attention of his Zulekha by his unconventional ways. Zulekha might not be consciously thinking about Yousuf but subconsciously he managed to make more of a place in her heart than any of her suitors. Zulekha has been brought up in a very strict environment but she has a very strong personality. She does not have the guts to show her disapproval for both these rishtas directly in front of her father in particular but she knows she can do everything she can in order to scare Ali Hamza away and she is going to do just that. Apparently every second man in Zulekha’s family is in love with her and will do anything to marry her. I must say that watching Maya Ali play a role she has played many times before too isn’t very exciting but watching the light/comic moments was definitely a relief. Maya Ali is somehow very often given roles in which she is a smart girl who is not interested in getting married therefore she has to look for ways to escape marriage. Ali Hamza was definitely not what I had expected him to be. There is a very good reason why Zulekha does not want to marry him. The actor who played the role of Ali Hamza was very convincing. It is really good to see new faces in this drama and also actors who act well but we don’t get to see them on screen very often.
Afia Begum has an agenda and she will do anything to ensure that her husband does exactly what she wants. In most of our dramas only the husbands threaten the wives of divorce (which is also very unpleasant of course and something I have criticized many times) but in Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar’s dramas we see the women threatening the men in this manner when they want to get something done. We saw Rasheeda threatening Amin with divorce and Afia did the same in tonight’s episode. Both characters are poles apart of course but both of them believe in having their own way. The way Zulekha’s father refused Ali Hamza’s rishta was very amusing. Zulekha’s father has already decided when he is going to marry Zulekha off. Waseem Abbas is playing his part really well.
The opening scene of the episode revealed that Yousuf’s mother was not his real mother. The step-mother and step-brother jokes were really funny. It is good to see a step-mother who does not come across as a step mother at all. She is strict no doubt but I guess when you have a husband like hers you have to be strict in order to balance the situation. Yousuf’s father is an exact opposite of Zulekha’s father. He finds it exciting that his son is in love with someone and he can’t wait to know more. Yousuf is still in denial about his feelings for Zulekha, something which was quite evident from both the conversations he had with his friend. The conversations between Yousuf and his friend are definitely one of the best things about this drama so far. Yousuf’s best friend’s sister Madiha (Mansha Pasha) is in love with Yousuf. Her love for Yousuf is very different from Yousuf’s “love” for Zulekha. Madiha has fallen in love with Yousuf over the years while Yousuf’s love for Zulekha was sort of predestined. I wish the women in Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar’s dramas would stop getting physical with men in order to get their attention! The men feel uncomfortable but the women don’t! I love watching strong women on screen but this does not count as “strong’! This is the kind of bold most of us probably don’t want to see.
Yousuf’s dream sequence was really well done and it had to be my favorite part of this episode. There was a reversal of roles and situation in his dream which showed Yousuf’s wishful thinking and also that he could not get that incident out of his mind.
Mera Naam Yousuf Hai doesn’t have anything new to offer but it has been directed really well and it is not very heavy duty at least till now.
Do share your thoughts about this second episode, I will look forward to your feedback.
Fatima Awan