Ohkay so, another week, another brilliant episode of O Rangreza. I love how the layers from each & every character are still being lifted to give us more & more insight into their minds & souls. I must say if there’s one word that I would use to describe this drama, it would be mesmerizing, like every single aspect about this drama is on another level, be it in terms of writing or direction or art direction & even acting, it is rare to find perfection of this sort in our dramas these days & I am glad O Rangreza is proving out to be such a treat for the viewers who tune to it!
I love how the writer makes sure to shift the focus on different characters in different episodes, it maintains the novelty even in the middle of story where the viewers might think they have understood everything about the characters. This time around, the focus was on Mumtaz & also on Sassi. I feel for Mumtaz a lot, I most certainly do, but then again, like I said last week, I am not sure how long I’d be able to feel for her especially seeing how she doesn’t believe in doing anything to change things around her. There was a lot of focus on Sassi & Mumtaz’s relationship as well where time & again Mumtaz was reminded of where she stands in Sassi’s life!
Since Sassi is so not used to listen to her mother, I didn’t really feel that there was a need for Sassi to lie to her that she was going to see her friend when she was actually going to visit Sonia Jahan’s place. Sassi is used to ignoring what Mumtaz says plus when she had already made up her mind, she could’ve told Mumtaz honestly where she was going because Sassi is upfront, honest & straight forward. Anyways, Sonia Jahan steered Sassi’s thought towards Qasim in a way that even Sassi couldn’t decipher for now. Sassi has always seen Qasim as her ‘buddy’ who she can boss around easily that is why it seemed like a news to her when Sonia said that there was something special between them.
I enjoyed the conversation that Sonia & Sassi had. Even though Sassi is in an awe of Sonia & she is too young to read between the lines but I have a feeling that Sonia will make Sassi familiar with a lot of aspects of men & their mentality that Sassi hasn’t really paid attention to. The first lecture that Sassi got was about not falling for a man because of his looks, it was too obvious that Sonia Jahan was sharing her own bitter experience of a failed relationship with Sassi, that is why she not only seemed disturbed but depressed as well. Even though Sassi is not too mature to understand what Sonia is sharing with her at this stage, but since she pays heed to everything that Sonia says, I am sure Sassi will start grasping all these things in her subconscious slowly & will be able to relate to everything later!
I liked how Sassi went to see Qasim, like she obviously misses him & but is too stern to admit that therefore it was her way of seeing him & making sure if he was doing alright. This is what I love about Qasim & Sassi’s relationship the most, like it is unconventional & unique, there’s nothing typical about it, even though the way Qasim smiles at her & lets her know that he is happy, Sassi never reciprocates those emotions & that’s what makes everything even more interesting. There was no need for Sassi to come & threaten Qasim but she just came because just like everyone else, even she was missing him.
So, Qasim hasn’t gone to his uncle’s place, he doesn’t want to burden him & then he is also hiding the fact that he is staying in his shop because he doesn’t want to bother Mammo either. I love how obedient Qasim is to Mumtaz, at least there is someone who acknowledges her & gives her some right to have an authority over. We can see that Mumtaz does try her hands on having some sort of power or control but it only works on Qasim & not anyone else, including her own daughter. I think Mumtaz’s conversation with Khayyam regarding Sassi was another way of showcasing how helpless she feels in front of both her husband & her daughter. Mumtaz can see that Sassi is getting a bit too independent for her & even Khayyam’s liking, that is why she wanted to inform Khayyam to at least do something because she is well aware of the fact that the moment Sassi will commit some mistake, Khayyam will blame Mumtaz the most. Even though Mumtaz tries but there’s always this defeat in her approach which shows that she has given up even before seeing the results of her attempts & that I think is the actual reason why everyone walks all over her because she herself is not confident enough!
Oh well, Sonia Jahan spoke about Khayyam turning her into a puppet whereas she doesn’t know that Khayyam is doing everything to qualify as her stooge himself. Khayyam went to see Qasim only because Sonia told him to & not only that, he also rewarded Qasim on securing 2nd position because this is what Sonia said as well. It is demeaning how right in front of Mumtaz, Khayyam shows this side of his that would be ideal for his wife, like he obeys & listens to Sonia Jahan whereas this is how he should be in his marital relationship. It shows that Khayyam is perfectly capable of being a good husband but just because he has no interest in Mumtaz, he doesn’t put much effort rather he doesn’t even bother!
Another conversation, another reason for Sassi to think outside the box. Sonia once again subliminally told how she was just an illusion & just like all the other men, even Sassi saw her as that without trying to get deeper into her existence to see & understand who Sonia Jahan actually is. I am actually interested to see how & when Sassi will start analyzing the bittersweet truths that Sonia has whispered in her ears over these conversations, like Sassi has met her plenty of times to get over with the ‘star-struck’ phase, now she needs to get over that in order to understand Sonia & her struggles.
Overall, this episode was amazing & I had a great time watching it. I loved the tiff Sonia’s Manager & Sassi had & how Sassi settled the score. I am sure there’s going to be more to this tiff & I am definitely looking forward to it. Oh well, I loved loved loved the dream sequence of Qasim & Sassi, the chemistry between Bilal Abbas Khan & Sajal Ali was so strong in that particular scene, it was just beautifully & perfectly portrayed. I just love the usage of the OST, I think the editors & the sound engineers should be commended for using this song so intelligently, it just ties everything together in a very unique way, it’s like they know that the song is something else but haven’t overused it or over-relied on it. The direction keeps on getting better & better & the same can be said about the performances too. I must commend all the actors especially Irsa Ghazal, Noman Ejaz, Bilal Abbas Khan & Sajal Ali for taking their performances a notch higher every single time. Sana Fakhar is very graceful & elegant as Sonia Jahan, she has given her 100% as well & it is a treat to watch her. After watching the preview of the next episode, I just can’t wait for the next episode, looks like this will be the first time when Sassi’s bubble will burst where she thinks her father as an ideal man who believes in giving women a complete ‘freedom’ that they desire & require. Please share your thoughts about this beautiful episode of O Rangreza.
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.