We all know that Mirat-ul-Uroos is essentially the story of two sisters who are poles apart, it is the story of Akbari and Asghari’s grandchildren, but after watching these two episodes it seems like Mirat-ul-Uroos is also a story of three sons in particular who are the apple of their mothers’ eyes and even though they may not be little children anymore but to them their mothers come before everything else and the mothers still look out for them as if they were still kids. It is also the story of how their wives deal with this scenario. Asghari (Samina Ahmed) lives with her son Wajahat, until now we have seen Wajahat’s wife Rafia to be very compromising and has very good ties with Asghari. Like her Mother-in-Law her eldest son Hammad is her pride and joy. Hammad (Mikaal Zulfiqar) does not believe in moving a finger without his mother’s approval and I am waiting to see how he deals with things once Ayza (Amina Sheikh) comes into his life because her presence is definitely bound to change things. Ayza has been brought up by her grandmother Akbari (Ayesha Khan) and although her father and grandmother both think she is perfect in every way, I guess all of us could tell that she is nowhere near that. Ayza is spoiled and very opinionated and finds it difficult to stay in her mother’s house for too long since there are way too many rules for her liking. Nasir’s wife has tons of drama coming her way since Ayza and Akbari are there to stay. Ayza has daadi wrapped around her little finger and she likes to have things her way. She plays the “my parents don’t love me enough’ card to perfection.
Ayza’s sister Aima (Mehwish Hayat) is not like her in any way, she is sweet and subdued, so Ayza and Aima would be another one of those sisters who are completely opposite to each other. Aima and Hashim ( Ahsan Khan, who may just be the male version of Ayza!) like each other and all Hashim needs is a job in order to go ahead with the proposal.
To be honest, after watching the first episode I was not sure if Mirat-ul-Uroos would be the kind of play that will be engaging enough to keep me looking forward to more because some of the conversations seemed too long but few of the characters immediately caught my attention. Ayza’s character in particular seemed very interesting right from the get go and held my interest for most part of the first episode. Not to mention that the havoc she is going to play with Hammad’s life would be something to look forward to in particular. Akbari is an equally interesting character, her double standards and know-it-all attitude makes you laugh, Ayesha Khan is one of those actresses who have been around for such a long time and it is a treat watching them on-screen every time. While Asghari is very eager to get Ayza married to Hammad (she obviously does not know her well enough!), Akbari won’t hear of it.
Since Umera Ahmed has written this play, I am looking forward to some mind blowing dialogues that will give us something to reflect upon. I have to say that I was not much impressed with Momal Sheikh’s acting in Aiteraaf but I like her as Hamnah and until now she has done a good job.
In my opinion the best thing about this play is that it is going to be a family drama and there will be something for everyone, the women married in joint families in particular can relate to it. Every exemplary big brother, an elder sister whose flaws everyone around her fails to see, a middle child who has to work very hard to be heard and most importantly the relations the two daadis’ have with the entire family. The downside is that the story is nothing out of the ordinary. We have all seen so many plays about two sisters who are complete opposites and ones about sass-bahu fights too that the script will have to be extraordinary in order to stand out. The second episode was much more engaging than the first one so I am hoping it will only get better. For now, I am still waiting to be thoroughly entertained in a way that the play keeps me glued to my seat.
Fatima Awan.
