Munkir Episode 8 & 9 Review – Flawed Characters!

Ohkay so, these two episodes of Munkir took the story forward in a most unconvincing manner. It has been made clear that the writer was bent on not getting Runa & Zain married so he kept on throwing one situation after another, despite them not making much sense, to reach to his goal which is to bring Runa & Gulrez together. I think the story could’ve been portrayed properly if the writer hadn’t added such baseless & meaningless twists in it. The characters are either too exaggerated or too poorly etched out, like if you’re watching Munkir, please bear in mind that almost every other character that gets the coverage is going to make you cringe, however, there are a few sane characters too, so glad to have them in the drama!

So, Gulrez abducted Runa on her wedding day & took her somewhere. Gulrez took Runa to some apartment which showed that he had a place to stay on his own anyways, so not sure what made him go to Runa’s house in the first place because it was suggested that he had nowhere to go in Karachi, that is why while still being on a mission he was using Runa’s place as a hideout? I must say as much as I was interested to see a love story revolving around a terrorist, Gulrez’s character is rightfully mysterious but has been poorly etched out because you just can’t understand what he is thinking & most importantly why. Yes, I do understand that the writer tried to make Gulrez such a character which is hard to comprehend but I guess the writer forgot that the character has to be making some sense as well? Gulrez is shown to be on a mission, like he is still a terrorist at heart & then he has fallen in love with Runa & not only that, he has exposed her to his group of terrorist friends too who give him advises about heartbreaks which actually makes me laugh because I didn’t know that terrorists could be relationship experts as well. Also, whoever has hired a chicken like Gulrez is already doomed because this guy ain’t going to accomplish his mission as he is too busy holding Runa’s Teeka close to his heart.

The entire scene where Runa is questioning Gulrez to know his intentions was so poorly done because not sure why Gulrez was maintaining his silence at this stage because he has already confessed his love to her when they were in Murree, so why was he putting up a show now? Like if he abducted her, he should’ve told her all the reasons behind his move & also should’ve convinced her to be with him or discussed some future plans with her like telling her that he wants to leave all that he does for her sake? Just kidnapping her for a day & staying silent didn’t make any sense at all. Also, not sure how every single terrorist friend of Gulrez has found out about Runa & not only that, they are seen blaming her for fooling Gulrez? Like is he a toddler or an infant!?!?!

To be honest, if I speak about annoying characters, Anjum secures the top place in the list. I just don’t understand that while reporting the incident to Rania, Anjum kept on speaking against Gulrez & kept on calling him akhrot, because if she didn’t hold a high opinion about him then why did she keep on brain feeding Runa into believing that she has fallen in love with Gulrez & he is her Mr. Right? Talk about being stupid to the core!

Even though the writer has tried to make Zain’s religious family look bad but to be honest, I don’t find them at fault because Runa’s family has been acting shady & suspicious since day one, also I don’t really like Runa’s character because I find her weak & to me, she seems to be someone who has no brains of her own, so anything that Zain’s mother says about Runa’s family ends up looking justified because by the end of the day, they are at fault. I really would’ve liked if the writer hadn’t shown Zain’s family to be practicing Muslims because this way he is trying to show them in a bad light that just because they are religious, they are highly judgmental. To be honest, I find Zain’s mother as a concerned woman who only wants to see her son happy with the girl he likes. Zain’s mother might seem rigid but when it comes to Runa, she is quite a caring mother in law who walks an extra mile every single time to make sure Runa is doing alright & she is safe. So, yes, for me, the writer’s attempt of making practicing Muslim look bad is an epic fail. Yes, I will however say that I find Batool’s character quite annoying & sadly she gets so much of coverage that it isn’t even funny!

So, obviously, this cliché is the easiest & the quirkiest way to either move the story forward or to hinder something from happening. Daadi had to die, like she just had to so that Runa & Zain couldn’t get married, how convenient I must say! I wish Molvi Sahab’s speech about putting pressures on girl would’ve made much more impact if the girl he was sympathizing with wasn’t Runa because I find her too stupid & her character a bit too flawed. The only sane characters in this drama right now are Rania, Zain & Majid, even Ghulam Sughra looks like a human being with a heart & some emotions to her credit!

Overall, these two episodes were flawed & quite unconvincing. The characters are boring to say the least & all the situations are way too dramatic & unrealistic. Also, if Zain’s mother is acting irrationally, I guess she has all the reasons to because she has been pushed to the limit. Anyways, not that I am against fancy or dressy hijabs but I just couldn’t bring myself to like the weirdly shaped headbands that the actresses have worn beneath their scarves in this drama. Also, the camel hump actually makes them look odd & weird. I am saying that once again, I am not against fancy hijabs, it’s just that I wish they could’ve added some elegance to it because ladies who wear hijab know how to make it look elegant & they carry it gracefully, but sadly, that can’t be said about Zain’s mother & his sisters as they stand out from the crowd for all the wrong reasons because of their hijab choices being so poor & weird. Not sure why in our dramas they have to always dress up the hijabs because if done rightly, nicely & decently, simplest of hijabs can look beautiful too! Anyways, please share your thoughts about these two episodes of Munkir!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Zahra Mirza

Zahra Mirza got associated with Reviewit.pk in 2012. After moving to Australia, Pakistani content was a way of staying connected to the roots, language & Pakistani culture because it felt home. Eight years ago, review writing began as a hobby but has now turned into a passion.