Ohkay so, production of Momina Duraid, writing of Aliya Bukhari & direction of Shehzad Kashmiri; Mana Ka Gharana hit our TV screens tonight. Honestly speaking, the promos enticed me to give this drama a go & to be honest, I actually liked the very first episode. The only thing that still keeps me a from expecting much from this drama is the writer herself because she happens to have Aahista Aahista & Mausam to her credit, but on the other hand Shehzad Kashmiri is known for working in quality projects, so I hope that the reason why Shehzad Kashmiri decided to direct Mana Ka Gharana was because it happened to be a good script & it is because of him that I am giving this drama a chance to see how it evolves & also in a hope that this time around Aliya Bukhari has come up with something different, interesting & great.

Mana Ka Gharana actually includes Mana’s (Sana Javed) father Ghalib (Humayun Fazal Chaudhry), her mother Saleha (Raheela Agha), her cousin Khizer (Shehroz Sabzwari) & her paternal uncle Maalik (Shamil Khan). They all are a close knit family & they happen to live in a small hill station. Ghalib & Maalik are Khizer’s maternal uncles & looks like after Khizer’s parents passed away, Ghalib decided to raise Khizer himself. Khizer is a patissier, he owns a bakery named ‘Bakeology’ & he is very passionate about his job. It looks like Khizer is a bit mature & responsible for his age & he is doing really well for himself. Also it was too evident that Khizer has a soft spot for Mana & he believes in doing every little thing that Mana asks him to because he wants to make her happy.

Maalik happens to be a professor & looks like he has a daunting past that has forced him to resort to isolation. Even though he shares a very cordial relation with everyone in the family, he likes to maintain his distance & isolation in order to deal with his stuff himself. As far as I could understand, Maalik was once betrayed by someone that he truly loved & that is why he has become quite bitter when it comes to females & doesn’t believe in coming in contact with them ever, even if she happens to be a house maid.

Saleha has worked really hard to keep the whole family together & just because of her compassionate nature, she decides to invite Ghalib’s first cousin Zarri (Erum Akhtar) who is being ill treated by her own sister in law. Zarri grabs the opprtunity & informs them that she has decided to shift to their home for good & that’s when everyone starts worrying about Maalik’s reaction as they know he doesn’t like any sort of interference & can’t tolerate anyone’s presence in his home. Maalik finds out about Zarri’s plans after she arrives & that’s when he decides that he won’t be staying in the same house. Ghalib tries to persuade Maalik so that he can be a bit more understanding about Zarri’s tough circumstances but he doesn’t budge at all.

That’s where the first episode ended but I liked how they introduced all the characters & told us about their natures. Mana is a care-free girl but when it comes to her family, she is quite considerate, like she was worried for her uncle Maalik & she was also concerend about Khizer’s work. I really liked the relation both Khizer & Mana share, they are just like typical cousins who fall in the same age bracket which allows them to be friends with each other without any formalities. Zarri’s character seemed a bit mysterious & I am sure she is going to change the dynamics of Mana’s Gharana because she seems to be a bit opinionated & doesn’t hold back in voicing out her opinions.

Overall the first episode was quite impressive & I had a good time watching it. There were a little comical moments that evoked a smile & this is what I feel made things a bit relatable & realistic because even in our daily lives, we do experience such moments. I loved the locations that they have chosen & the direction was superb. The production value was great which is a done deal for any drama that makes its way on Hum TV. The camera quality was crisp & the visuals were beautiful. I also loved the house they have chosen as their location, there was something earthly & warm about it. Sana Javed looked beautiful & it was refreshing to see Erum Akhtar back after such a long time. She has been out of the picture for quite some while now but I am glad she has decided to make an appearance again. I really liked the look Shamil Khan is sporting, he really looks refined & mature because of that. I didn’t like the OST that much & I hope it isn’t used a lot in the episodes to come because it can get a bit overbearing I feel. Just a little thing that I felt was odd was a little too much usage of English in their communication, they all belong to a small town & yes, they are educated but the way they spoke didn’t really suggest that they belonged to that place as their language was more like what we hear in the cities. So, this is it from my side for the very first episode of Mana Ka Gharana. Please share your thoughts about it & let me know if you liked the very first episode or not? :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, we’re through the second episode of Tere Mere Beech & I must say, I like the pace of the show for now because we saw the different phases of Hareem’s life being covered in this episode & I guess they did a great job by not dragging the matters any further.

Hareem’s life has taken a major flip after Shabbir’s death. Hareem really though that she’d be able to battle with her uncle but she was mistaken because no matter how much she mattered to Shabbir & how much he thought of her as his own child, the fact still remains that he had adopted her & she isn’t legally entitled to anything that Shabbir had promised her. I also think it was Zahida’s fault to let Hareem know that her husband was planning on making Hareem the heiress because if that wouldn’t have happened, Hareem wouldn’t have threatened her uncle, he wouldn’t have taken his gloves off & Hareem would still be living with Zahida but sadly, now she hasn’t only lost her father but her mother too.

I liked the way Hareem tried to take things in her control because it was good to see a girl standing up for herself. Yes, she did look naive because she didn’t know what she was getting into & whom she was dealing with, but at least, she put forth her opinion authoritatively & that for a change was good to see. She didn’t let her father’s death or her illiteracy hold her back & she was like a tiny warrior who was out there ready to face any obstacle that came her way. Obviously things didn’t go as per she planned but for a moment she did shake the grounds for Qadeer & that in its own is an achievement for her.

Honestly speaking, I don’t get Nighat’s concern for Hareem because like Hareem said, Nighat lost that authority & chance the moment she handed over her daughter to Zahida & Shabbir. Also, I don’t think Nighat’s approach in Hareem’s case is reasonable because she is too harsh on Hareem despite knowing the fact that Hareem doesn’t think of her as her own mother. Nighat has never tried to make a connection or a relation with Hareem so why does she think that keeping a firm hand with her would make things any better? This way she is only pushing Hareem away from herself even more & Nighat should also understand that for Hareem Zahida & Shabbir are her parents & the moment she gave Hareem to them, she gave them the responsibility of raising her so now it shouldn’t matter to her as to how her daughter, that she now wants to own, has been raised.

At least it was good to see that in such dire situation, there was one well-wisher Salma who helped Zahida & Hareem. I like the way they highlighted the issue of bloodline & family wealth because it does happen where no matter how bad their personal relations are, people always take pride in their bloodlines & family ties. Even though Qadeer hated his brother & even planned on killing him to take over the family wealth, he still thought that just because Hareem doesn’t belong to that family, he was supposed to take charge of the wealth after his brother’s death because that’s how things roll in villages where an adopted child like Hareem isn’t given that much of an importance, that is why Qadeer’s wife Salma mentioned it clearly that in Qadeer’s eyes, Hareem is a nobody & he wants to protect the family wealth from going into her hands. Also, very effortlessly they cleared off the doubts that we had regarding Qadeer being responsible for Shabbir’s death because if they had left it unanswered, it would have bothered us & also if Qadeer would’ve been responsible, the story would’ve taken a very different turn & I am sure it wouldn’t have remained interesting.

Anyhow, even though Zahida managed to save Hareem from Qadeer, she understood that it was hard for her to continue living with Hareem that too in the village, that is why she sent her to Nighat & vanished from her life as Zahida knew that this was the only way to keep Hareem alive. Zahida was always well aware of what her in-laws were capable of that is why she didn’t take much time in parting herself from Hareem because she didn’t to make her life even more difficult than it actually has become & that too after she could see that Hareem was unable to understand the gravity of the situation. Hareem was persistent on fighting for her right which lawfully she wasn’t entitled to, that’s why Zahida decided to let go of her.

I am glad that they didn’t drag things further & just in this episode they got done with the whole scenario of family animosity. Now Hareem has arrived in Karachi & she will get to live with Nighat, which means a new phase of her life is going to begin where she will come in contact with Fahad. I am not too sure if Nadia & Ali’s track will be any different because so far it looks very typical where Ali’s mother is going to be a vamp & she will be making things difficult for Nadia. I hope there’s more to their story, which means that I will continue to watch Tere Mere Beech in order to see how things unfold. Sanam Chaudhry has acted really well but I hope we’re done with her yelling too because it was a little overbearing for me to listen to her screams. She is a bit too loud for my liking but yes, as far as her acting is concerned, she really has done a wonderful job. Share your thoughts about the second episode of Tere Mere Beech please. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

I know it will come as a shock to everyone but I want to thank the team of Tumhare Siwa for coming up with such a perfect sit-com on Friday nights. I actually found myself laughing out loud during so many scenes because like my dear readers know, I love finding humor in the most terrible situations, so Tumhare Siwa is doing just exactly the same thing for me these days!!!

Oh well, can I start off by asking where was Rania’s family when she was planning this madventure for her husband Aazar? A family that was no where to be seen or heard in the first 13 episodes (which pretty much makes the first half of the drama) has taken a birth in a jiffy & are now showing concern like they were never out of the picture? Honestly speaking, if they were keen on showing someone as Rania’s well-wisher they should’ve hired someone older to her & in fact a sister would’ve been better because the way her brother was showing concern in such a zanana way, let’s be honest guys, no brothers talk like that. Also, I am not too sure why did they pick Mustafa Changezi to play the role of Rania’s saviour because a boy who should be memorizing nursery rhymes at such a tender age doesn’t look appropriate using such heavy words like ‘lawaaris’ etc. He is a total misfit in this drama but then again, everything about this drama is a complete miss so chalo aik aur bachkana miss hi sahi!!!

Honestly speaking, I have never heard Tania talk about anyone else, like literally anyone else except Rania & Samra. She surely has some mental disorder where she is in capable of looking at others & talking about them. Now she has directed the arrows of her concerns at Samra because she happens to be her Bhabhi # 2 after all, so itna to banta hai. All thanks to Tania that her uncle-numa husband has gotten this ‘umanng’ to get Samra by hook or by crook. I know it was awful seeing a man like Baber hitting on Samra but frankly speaking, that was the time when I laughed the most. If they really wanted to show someone who would be interested in Samra at this stage, they should’ve hired someone else because to see Tahir Jatoi doing all that was a little hmmm not a little but totally & completely awkward! Anyways, Samra not only allowed him in the house but made karak chai for him, which later resulted in another conversation between the two where the topic of discussion was Baber’s sir ka dard (which was a news for me because all this while I thought he never had a head actually) & the karak chai that helped ease his headache. Samra ke karnamon mai aik aur karnama add ho gaya, where she has now survived a flirting that Baber directed at her. She is strong I must say. One thing that’s totally bizarre is that the girl who has gone through so much is so gullible that she is incapable of reading between the lines!?!?! Why do they have to show women so weak & brainless that they can’t understand or read what the other person’s intentions are? It is ridiculous!!!

Accha, once again, I so don’t want to belittle the deceased but before leaving the show, was he even unable to get a decent car for Samra? Chalo I do understand that despite being a pilot he didn’t have a bank balance to bear the medical expenditures of Samra & he didn’t have a house of his own, but really, a pilot didn’t have a decent car…hmmm, I so am not buying that. Also, why does Samra become such a gugu when she experiences such small mishaps? Her car didn’t start & she called Aazar asking mai kya karoon? Behan please Taxi pakrain aur bachi ko lene chali jayein, shukriya! This whole dependency that Samra’s displaying is so outdated & yawn-provoking!!!

Anyways, the thing I hate the most happened in this episode too where Neni (or rather Naani, because there’s nothing child-like about her) inquired about a thing called divorce? If they really want to add these little packets, why can’t they use them with their innocence? Why do these writers always have to rely on these immature grandparents like Naani or Dada (referring to Neni & Dani) to act as reporters & take the story forward? Why is it that all of a sudden Samra has stopped speaking to Rania? Ohkay we do understand that Rania has left Aazar’s house & isn’t speaking to Samra but couldn’t they show that Samra called Rania generally & found out that she wasn’t staying with Aazar? Nope, I am sure this idea wouldn’t have crossed the writer’s mind because he was depending on Naani & Daada to do the honors!

I think this drama has broken the records of all the dragramas (drag-dramas) that we have seen in the past. 15 episodes are enough to show the misery that these immature & not so intelligent people inflicted upon themselves, so chop chop, it’s time to come up with solution & a conclusion to this dragrama ASAP, because even though it was senseless to begin with, they have shamed the senses of the viewers enough. Please share your thoughts about the sit-com named Tumhare Siwa. ;)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, just like we all discussed & predicted, they so didn’t need this particular episode because it was more like a recap of the terrible journey that Apa Ji has lived through. They could’ve easily ended the drama last week by showing that things got sorted between Wajahat & Saba & Arshad threw Apa Ji out of his home!

So, Mahnoor’s confession helped Saba overcome the misunderstanding that she was clinging onto about her husband Wajahat. Not that I am against what Saba did, but I wonder why do all these spouses in our dramas are so insecure that they choose to doubt their husbands & wives just so easily? Wajahat doubted Saba for cheating on him & now Saba did the same but then Saba had the reason to because she saw the photos but what Wajahat did was uncalled for because he chose to believe a random guy who popped out of nowhere. Anyways, Saba deserved so much better but if she is miserably happy with this brain-dead fellow called Wajahat, to phir hum kya kar sakte hain!

I really really really liked Samia’s character because she was the only woman of substance in this drama & she proved it right till the end. She tolerated everything that came her way because she never had a support of her husband but slowly & gradually she earned his respect & trust & after that she was on a winning spree. I must say the only character that emerged stronger than ever throughout this journey was Samia. She showed what a woman is capable of if she on her own will decides to fight her battles herself & doesn’t care about anything as far as she knows what she’s doing is right. I was actually happy that Samia requested & somehow ordered Sharafat that she won’t be staying under the same roof which will be shared by Rukhsana as well & yes, Sharafat earned some points back when he understood what Samia was going through & came out with a solution to ease her pain & support her as soon as possible.

Once again, it wasn’t Arshad who told Rukhsana to leave, she left on her own but once again lied to Bee Jee that she’s the one who ditched Arshad because she really thought that this would give her some sort of satisfaction & would ease her pain that she was feeling after being dissed by Arshad. Honestly speaking, I really want to know that after creating so much mess & after creating havoc in people’s lives, what was she expecting that she’d be forgiven easily? She was her own enemy & that’s about it. She wasted her whole life in a false hope that if Arshad wouldn’t have left her, she would’nt have done such things but nope, that’s not how things roll. One way or the other you’re expected & you’re supposed to move on but those who chose not to do that are at mistake & no one else is responsible for your own shortcomings. I think only writer & Bee Jee are two people who had sympathy with Rukhsana whereas she didn’t deserve an ounce of it actually!!!

They literally used the second half as a recap to show Rukhsana reminsicing about her past, which I feel was a time wasted & was more like a filler in this otherwise content-free episode. Also, the way Rukhsana made it back to her brothers’ home was too random. I am sure this must’ve been another one of her plans that got materialized because she would’ve known the route that Wajahat takes, so she deliberately must’ve sat there in a hope that Wajahat will come & find her & being a brand ambassador of khidmat-e-khalq Wajahat had to stop the car, unbuckle the belt, had to open the door & approach her! Anyhow, Rukhsana embraced death silently after getting a chance to apologize from Saba & Samia. I actually don’t really feel anything at this point because I think the ending came too late & literally killed the suspence, curiosity & the charm of this drama that we all had & that is why I am not convinced with the ending that Rukhsana met. I wanted someone to knock some sense into her but the way Sharafat & Wajahat got liberation after Rukhsana’s death once again made them look spineless because they were depending on karma’s move? Why didn’t they take the situation in their hands ever? Why were they always so chilled & casual about the whole scenario & never bothered about finding the solution to the mental problems that Rukhsana had? It’s like Rukhsana had them bound to herself even when she was alive & also when she died, so that they will be able to find happiness as she were to leave them alone because they would do nothing to grab it themselves!!! The only person who did something productive & wise about it was Arshad who took her to the psychiatrist thinking he was taking a well-needed initiative.

Anyhow, this drama was a case of a hit & a miss. The first season was a hit & the second season was a miss. Saba who had a lot of potential chose to go into a deep slumber ever since she got pregnant. I so wish that she had gotten in contact with Arshad Junior & they would’ve played some mind-games with Rukhsana to bring her down. It’s like the writer couldn’t maintain a balance between the villain & the hero(es) (if any) & that is why the villain was always dominant & one step ahead of everyone else whereas the heroes were following the footsteps of a turtle. Things actually were interesting in the beginning because it was a drama based on such a story that we haven’t seen before but too bad that it was reduced to the typical typical typicalll dusri biwi scenario where a hopeless & helpless man was seen running like a headless chicken because he got his head chopped off as a result of multiple marriages! Also, I most certainly don’t agree with the sympathetic words that Wajahat uttered in order to justify Rukhsana’s behavior. What he said suggested that he was putting a blame on Arshad & his mother for turning Apa Ji into a vamp, but sorry, I don’t buy that. She herself had so much evilness in her that she nurtured it & brought herself to a point where she couldn’t see anyone happy. Also the limits that she crossed with Arshad even before she got married to him was also her own choice, so when she was sane enough to go to such extreme, she should have been sane enough to go easy on her brothers & their wives too!

Anyways, the direction was good but the only complain I have is regarding the pace that was slowed down unnecessarily. Iffat Omar was phenomenal & so was Uzma. Honestly speaking, I only started watching this drama because of Iffat Omar & still believe that she did a commendable job, I wish I could say that about her makeup artist though who made sure that they used such foundations that didn’t match her skin tone at all & that is why, such a pretty face ended up looking quite unpleasant. Uzma joined in the list too & she also became one of the reasons why I followed this drama right till the end. Sara Khan looked haseeeeeeeen in literal sense of the word. She is very pretty & talented & actually my favorite as well. The boys were spineless & that’s why their acting or their presence didn’t matter much but yes, the only guy that was impressive in this drama was Imran Ashraf (Arshad Junior), he really is a very very talented actor & I hope we get to see him in more dramas. I so wish his track was extended a little & he was given a bit more screen time too where he would be seen avenging Shareefa’s death! I liked Shareefa’s character too & she still holds some sympathy in my heart because she deserved a better & happy ending also the actress that played her character did a phenomenal job as well. The ladies for sure were totally impressive. Production value of this drama was good too but I really hope that Hum Tv stops following the footsteps of ARY Digital where when they sense that the drama is doing well, they decide to stretch it like a chewing gum. I hope they take notice of the fact that when chewing gum is streteched more than its elasticity, it loses everything, the shape, the taste & is contaminated by germs, so this is exactly what happens with the dramas too. We’ve said this time & again but this time around I’m using bachon wali example in a hope that someone from Hum Tv actually for the first time ‘understands’ what I am saying in easy words!!! Please share your thoughts about this journey that has finalllllllllllllllly ended!!! Phewww!!!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.