Tonight’s episode brought together three icons of Pakistani fashion- HSY, Vaneeza Ahmed and Deepak Perwani. Vaneeza has always struck me as an intelligent woman coupled with elegance. She refers to herself as a business owner. She has been the face of Vlawn for many years and is moving to opening up her own outlet. She stated style as being subjective- she draws inspiration from various cultures and thinks it is constantly evolving. Motherhood has transformed her life completely and her baby Inayah has helped her reevaluate her priorities. Vaneeza spoke about her husband Ali, and how she had known him for 18 years but it was facebook that brought them together in the end. In retrospect, she stated that she might not have taken up certain projects but she feels there is more to come. However, she made her stand very clear that she would never do an item number- especially since she wants to become a role model for her daughter. Speaking about the current generation, Vaneeza stated that there is extreme jealousy and competition nowadays and botox and cosmetic surgery has taken over.

Deepak Perwani, one of the leading designers in Pakistan was recently awarded as the 6th biggest brand in the world. In his own words, Deepak stated that he is obnoxious and insane- a complete control-freak, he exercises control on all elements of the designing process. He works with only two assistants because he strongly believes that too many ideas can ruin a good thing. He loathes stupidity and procrastination. He feels criticism shouldn’t come from someone who doesn’t know the art of designing but in the same breath he added that he is too big to discuss names. Vaneeza took the liberty of asking both Sheru and Deepak why they design short outfits that are not the norm in Pakistan. Deepak stated that his clientele is such and if he were to design more conservatively, he would be termed as designing bhehenji waley kaprey. I liked Vaneeza’s retort- business toh bhehenji se hi araha hai.

As far as social media is concerned, Vaneeza avoids it completely- she likes keeping her life private. Deepak is on twitter and facebook but he added that he doesn’t like how social media has replaced traditional media and human interaction. Both of them said they took up acting because they were bored of doing the same thing. Vaneeza added that modelling requires one to hold a single expression whereas acting allows you to take on a variety of roles/ expressions and emotions. Deepak said that acting therapeutic. Both the guests stated that the models currently aren’t maintaining the standards seen earlier- na shakal achi hai, height ka issue hai, models hi nahin hain…

Finally, it was time for the contests. Love or Don’t Love had each guest answering to all 10 pics- I don’t see the point of bringing up politicians though. I think it serves no purpose and no one wants to know their political affiliation or lack thereof. Ajnabee Kaun Ho Tum had Nadia Hussain calling in for Deepak and Adnan Siddiqui calling in for Vaneeza. Neither could guess the callers so they were tied going into the third and final round. The Q & A round had Vaneeza answering more of her questions to ultimately win the Rs. 50,000 Contradictions voucher. I have said it before and I will say it again, the guests couldn’t care less about the prize- the contests are a waste of time and no one ever seems genuinely interested to play. Other than that, it was a fairly okay episode. What did you think?

Yours in watching,

Kanwal Murtaza

The developments in tonight’s episode of Firaaq were definitely very unexpected and interesting as well. I am sure that many viewers like me were expecting Roomi and Paymaan to get married in this episode which no doubt would have been a very unconvincing twist in the story. Roomi never loved Paymaan, if this marriage took place it would have been because of external influence than anything else. I am pleasantly surprised at the turn the story has taken, Tabbasum’s death was predictable after watching the preview of this episode last week but the way her death was covered was another pleasant surprise. The fact that most part of tonight’s episode focused on Tabbasum was most certainly the right thing to do since Tabbasum’s character has been the highlight of this drama and Uzma Gillani was absolutely brilliant right till the end. Tabbasum’s conversations with everyone in the family including Roomi wrapped up her track beautifully. Tabbasum made sure that Haider knew just how special he was, she apologized to Paymaan once again and asked her not to repeat the mistake she had made. The fact that these scenes were not over dramatic yet very touching made them a treat to watch. The void that Tabbasum left in Haider and Paymaan’s life was apparent from their body language and conversations but there was no excessive rona dhona which was great.

Roomi decided to tell Paymaan the truth (finally!), which was another convincing development in the story. It would have been very unbelievable if he kept this secret to himself. We have been very confused about the timeline till now, it was nice to hear Sara clear that confusion! Imroze left Paymaan seven months back and Roomi talked to him five months back and then too he called to say goodbye. After finding out the truth Paymaan’s sole purpose in life is to find out what happened to Imroze. Sara’s obsession with getting Roomi and Paymaan married is still beyond me! Once again Sara focused all her energies on ensuring that these two end up together and refused to believe anything that Roomi said. I am glad that Roomi turned out to be smart and did not fulfill the dying wish of a friend without giving it a second thought.

It looks like Paymaan’s life in Karachi is going to be the main focus of the story from now on. The question whether Imroze has divorced Paymaan or not is still a mystery because when Paymaan was leaving for Pakistan Sara said to her that even if she finds Imroze there was no relationship between them anymore so there was no point in going there looking for him but in the preview of the next episode Paymaan said that she felt like a widow!

I must say that Paymaan’s character is much more likeable and lively now that Imroze is out of her life and she has a new purpose in life. I felt for Haider more than anyone else while watching this episode. Overall, this was a pretty good episode which I am sure gave many viewers a reason to look forward to more. Is Imroze dead? If he isn’t then why didn’t he ever get in touch with Paymaan? A lot of questions need to be answered, I hope that the next episode is just as entertaining as this one and the story keeps on moving forward at this pace. I also hope that the mystery unravels in a way that is believable.

Fatima Awan

Ohkay so, it was more like a filler episode where the focus was on Hashim, his family & his troubles, but nevertheless I enjoyed watching it because it offered a lot of good moments of Annie & Rohaan plus obviously because it’s Shanakht we’re talking about. :)

I think the whole scenario of Hashim working with Annie & Rohaan was positive in a way that he got an insight into their relation by being with them. Throughout Hashim has only gotten a chance to see how Annie & Rohaan treat each other & how Annie maintains a balance between her personal & professional life while having Rohaan by her side. Fortunately, I didn’t get any such signal this time around that Hashim was getting impressed by Annie for some other reasons but he was only judging her as someone’s wife who’s a very wise & good person. However, I really didn’t get why of all the people, Hashim felt it was his responsibility to judge Annie & let her know that what she was doing wasn’t the right thing to do. Instead of worrying about others, it would be best for Hashim if he pays heed to his own issues. I think as much as Hashim dislikes whenever Shireen draws a comparison between Annie & Faryaal, unwillingly & unconsciously he’s doing the same thing because he just can’t stop thinking about how Annie treats Rohaan with respect & how she takes care of her husband whenever he sees Faryaal being herself.

Once again I’d say that Shireen’s being unreasonable. When Faryaal was at home, she was unhappy about it & now when Faryaal has decided to do something for herself, Shireen’s still unhappy. I feel Shireen also needs to come out of her fixation of Annie because be that as it may she’s happily married. Instead of wondering about how Annie would’ve taken care of her household & her useless son Hashim, Shireen should now work on herself & her DIL to make things right. I don’t know why but I kind of felt bad for Hashim when he showed up at office all disoriented because Shireen & Faryaal really don’t understand that all this is taking a toll on him too.

I really didn’t also get Hashim’s way of telling Faryaal about the certain set of rules of his family & his mother. Supposedly, he thinks he’s the son, therefore his mother will ignore all that he does but Faryaal has to take care of everything & everyone on his behalf. Well, there’s news for you Hashim, things don’t role that way. I totally agree with Faryaal’s statement that untill Hashim starts taking care of his family, she won’t do that too because it’s his responsibility first & not hers. I still don’t find her wrong, & even before blaming Shireen, I think Hashim’s at fault big time & then comes Shireen who thinks it’s ohkay to allow her son to walk all over her but she wouldn’t allow her DIL to even breathe freely.

& yes, I’d request the writer & the director to stop making Rohaan travel all the time because every time he speaks about travelling or about the flights he has to catch, I get a panic attack LOL! So, please for the sake of viewers who love the pair of Annie & Rohaan, just let him stick to his office & home. No more business meetings pleaseee!!! :)

I absolutely loved the answers Annie gave to nosy Hashim, because he really needed to stop at that. I loved the way they’ve shown that Annie doesn’t allow nor does she tolerate any opinion of anyone if it concerns her husband or her relation with him. Over all, it was a pretty decent episode, but I am really getting tired of non-issues of Shireen especially. Hashim & Faryal’s track is still ohkay & I liked seeing how Hashim is getting to know Annie & Rohaan more as a couple & I wish that soon he realizes his responsibilities as a son & a husband which will help him in shaping his life a lot. Share your thoughts please. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

A new episode of HSY confirms my theory that the guests make an episode a hit or a miss. After last week’s snooze-fest, this week Sheru brought together the hit pair of Mehwish Hayat and Ahsan Khan. Actors, dancers and singers- how many people excel in three different fields? Together, they are a dynamic duo and good friends. I was surprised to find out that they had only worked in 3 projects together- Mere Qatil Mere Dildar, Meerat-ul-Uroos and Kabhi Kabhi. But I think that we see them together performing on various awards shows, etc that it seems like a lot more. Ahsan Khan commented that everyone wants to see them together especially after Kabhi Kabhi was a super hit. When did that happen? I’ve noticed that if the guests have good chemistry, Sheru seems more focused and makes an effort to keep them engaged. Ahsan Khan stated that he gets bored doing the same type of work although he has worked in over 60 dramas. He very boldly stated that he has taken up all sorts of stupid work and it took him a while to change his image. He feels that the masses help you achieve stardom since they are the driving force behind the ratings. Out of his various serials, I feel he stood out in Neeyat– even though the drama itself didn’t do well, his role was memorable.

For the most part, both Mehwish and Ahsan seemed to be on the same page. Ahsan reiterated the importance of item numbers in a film; Mehwish stated that she has no qualms doing item numbers so long as they are done aesthetically. Both felt that actors shouldn’t be restricted and if an opportunity arises to work in a foreign film, they should definitely give it a go. Having watched every single episode from the beginning, I’ve noticed Sheru tends to ask the same questions over and over again so it was interesting to note the variety this time around. He brought up botox- Mehwish said that it would work for models but not for actors since their expressions are key. He asked about the attitude of senior actors and Mehwish replied there are times when senior actors have tried to put her down probably due to their own insecurities. Ahsan Khan tried to stay diplomatic while answering the questions but he has a playful, naughty side that he had a hard time controlling. His response to Sheru’s hypothetical question about being stuck on an island and referring to himself as a pervert, gave an insight into that.

Ak kal ki generation ka motto hai- Mein Houn Live. Ahsan commented that he has limited interaction on social media especially since he doesn’t like the idea of fanpages that resort to all sorts of tactics for buying likes on their page. Mehwish, the self-proclaimed selfie queen loves Instagram and regularly posts pics of herself. Interestingly enough, neither of these two celebrities are ever caught in the midst of a controversy. How do they manage to stay away from creating gossip? They unanimously responded that they remain focused on their which leaves little time for much else. The contests took up the second half of the episode but this time around, they didn’t seem as boring in comparison to previous episodes. Ahsan Khan didn’t hold back in clarifying his take on Danish Taimoor (I don’t get a good vibe) nor Mathira (I don’t like her image). Ajnabee Kaun Ho Tum had Noman Ejaz calling in for Mehwish and a completely unrecognizable Bushra Ansari for Ahsan Khan. Lastly, the 5 Q & As had Mehwish sing a couple of times. A much livelier episode and I hope Sheru can keep this going. What do you think?

Yours in watching,

Kanwal Murtaza

Things moved forward at a snail’s pace in the last few episodes but this episode was like a roller coaster ride!! The entire episode proved to be a visual treat but the pace at which the story moved forward was actually quite confusing. This was definitely an engaging episode which left me with a lot of questions but kept me glued to the TV screen nevertheless. Aabis Raza needs to learn the art of covering the developments in the story in such a way that they neither feel rushed nor too slow. The first half of the episode was perfect in every way; I could completely relate to Paymaan’s state of mind and after quite some time now Sanam Saeed was really into her character. Paymaan blamed herself instead of blaming Imroze. The way Paymaan’s family came to her support was touching and it made the whole scenario interesting rather than dull and depressing. Paymaan and Tabbasum’s reunion was shown beautifully too. Paymaan’s dialogues were written very well, they reminded me why I fell in love with this play in the first place. I felt like the old Paymaan who we saw in the first few episodes before she met Imroze was back once again; she was sad but she spoke her mind and that too in a way that was impressive. Paymaan looked for answers desperately but nothing could explain Imroze’s disappearance to her.

Roomi’s loyalty to his friend is surprising and almost unreal. I still find it impossible to relate to the fact that he has feelings for Paymaan. He isn’t well appreciated as a painter but he has a very lavish lifestyle, did he have a rich dad who left him with a lot of assets? Doesn’t he have a family? Looks like Paymaan and Shams are the only two people who have family in this drama. If Roomi is going to get married to Paymaan and if he has a family then they should be a part of this arrangement as well or maybe not!!

Things started getting confusing in the second half of the play. When Sara suggested that Roomi and Paymaan should get married, I was shocked! I couldn’t help but wonder how much time had elapsed since Imroze left Paymaan because it all sounded too sudden and rather inappropriate. Sara did not even take Tabbasum into confidence before suggesting something so outrageous. Has Imroze divorced Paymaan? He told Roomi that he was going to divorce her but we did not hear anything of that sort in this episode. I hope that he did because otherwise if these two get married and he reappears at some point then everything will be very awkward! I have seen this happening in a few dramas and I don’t want it happening in Firaaq.

Overall, this episode was in no way perfect but definitely much better than my expectations. It would have been much better if things were not rushed in the second half of the play. Sanam Saeed performed really well in this episode and she looked beautiful too, I guess Imroze’s exit from the play may prove to be a good omen after all;) The preview of the next episode just like the previous few weeks gave the major developments in the story away. I am not going to go into the details of the preview here so that people who haven’t watched the episode yet can skip it if they wish to keep the suspense alive!

I didn’t miss Imroze one bit, did you? Do share your thoughts about this latest installment.

Fatima Awan