OO EM JEE! I don’t know how much I’ve missed this play & finally so glad to have it back on-air tonight. So good to get the weekly dose of Shanakht & I must say I am absolutely impressed with the theme of this play. I think very intelligently they’ve stepped into another boundary of showing how two people can not only have a positive impact on their families but how their attitude influences the life of others as well. I think I am never going to have enough words to praise the mindset of the writer for coming up with such a unique story with so much positivity & so many well-placed intricate lessons.

Finally, Annie has become a very important part of Rohaan’s family. It was so good to see her MIL especially making an effort to show how much she’s pleased with her DIL & how much she endears her. I love the director’s take on this aspect that families do tend to take some time in accepting new family members & it does depend on both the parties as to how they mend their ways & walk an extra mile to adjust to each other’s calibre. In this case it depended on Annie to contain herself & give Rohaan’s family the time they needed to wholeheartedly accept her & luckily for her, that time has arrived.

I must say I love the way this story has moved forward. I think this story has had so many phases that flowed in conjunction & everything was executed with perfection. It started at a point where both Annie & Rohaan had to face the objection only of their families. They then worked on themselves just so that they can lead by example. While their families were still somehow struggling to accept their transformation, they both got married. Now it was time for both the families to accept their new family members. Annie & Rohaan once again stayed determined because of the power of Imaan, knowing that one day their families will not only accept them for who they were but will also shower them with the love that they both deserved. Now when this level has been taken care of in a way that first the immediate & then the extended family got to understand their way of life, the third phase of the story has begun where now the writer has tried to show that when you are on a right path, you not only have a positive influence on your family members, but also on your relatives & on your social circle as well. That’s why we saw the change in Haris’s attitude & now seems like Shireen, Faryaal & Hashim are left to get influenced. I must say this has been such a nice journey to experience because I loved the way both Annie & Rohaan’s characters have shown to be so influential & positive that everyone around them is getting persuaded to change their perspective about them & the people who are religious like them. I never thought that this drama would have so many detailed lessons without being so preachy & boring. <3

It was pretty evident that Haris’s parents didn’t know anything about what was going on between Kashaf & Haris. They obviously supported him because they were oblivious of the personal details of how much Haris himself was at fault but now it was time for Haris to understand that what he did was wrong & he had to made amends. As much as he didn’t want to, he himself couldn’t resist getting impressed by Rohaan’s sensibility & his forgiving nature. It was good to see that without dragging the matter further, they showed that Kashaf & Haris reconciled where it was Haris who realized his mistake without having anyone convince him once again. The conversation Kashaf had with Annie was beautifully written where very subtly Annie tried to make her understand that she needs to elevate the level of her Imaan as well. I so wish we get to see the happy-go-lucky Kashaf once again because hopefully her tough days are numbered & with this, Huma acknowledged Rohaan as her own son, which was heart-warming as well.

I think finally after a long gap we got to see Rohaan having some chit chat with her sisters. It was absolutely a treat to watch him being himself. I think Rohaan’s journey was as tough as Annie’s because he was seeing his wife, mother & sisters struggling to come to terms with each other but now when that was sorted, we got to see the real Rohaan who believed in only spreading smiles around him.

Ohkay, before saying anything about Hashim, Faryaal & Shireen’s situation I must say I disliked the way Hashim looked & smiled at Annie – Home-Wrecker Alert anyone? LOL! I know he was just looking at Annie with admiration because she has grown into this decent & graceful lady that anyone would think highly of her but sorry Noor Hassan has had a track record of such sort that I can’t help fearing something unpleasant. :/ Anyways, I think Shireen is being unreasonable where she expects Faryaal to become responsible & learn how to fulfil her expectations overnight. She must understand that she must give the benefit of doubt to Faryaal as a newlywed because she definitely comes from a different background & has a whole different mindset. I don’t know about you guys but I actually enjoyed & giggled seeing Faryal’s predicament because her character totally justifies the behaviour of a newly wedded young bride & I don’t see any problem with her. She’s just being herself & only wants to be pampered by the man she loves & who supposedly loves her too. I think it now depends on Hashim to maintain a balance between the two ladies & also make ways to draw them both closer to each other. As much as we know about Hashim, he has always been impatient & a quitter, that’s why in just a few days he seemed so frustrated at his domestic situation. I think this was another great development in the story that Hashim & Rohaan have once again come in contact with each other where they’ll spend more time together so that Rohaan will be able to help Hashim in overcoming the commotion that’s has overtaken his life. I think before doing anything, Hashim needs to bring a change in himself because very easily he gets agitated at his family members which only showcases his weaknesses & nothing else.

So, this is it from my side. I can’t stop praising this drama. I must say when Shanakht began, people in general thought that it would be just a very typical, preachy & one-dimensional drama which should be dissed because nowhere in Muslim countries do girls face such objections & without having a chance to get acquainted with the beautiful characters of Annie & Rohaan, they focused more on Maya Ali’s Hijab style & stuff like that, but I so wish that people give this drama another chance & watch it patiently just to see that the story of Annie & Rohaan is more than just a story of a Muhajabba & a man with a Beard. Shanakht is a story of two people with ethics, morals, values & substantial, positive & influential characters. Share your say please. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

For some reason, Tonite With HSY took a brief hiatus and it returned on air this Saturday with the jodi of Jaanum– Saba Qamar and Bhai Jaan- Adnan Siddiqui. What is it about being on the hot seat with HSY that compels everyone to switch to English? I’m pretty sure the viewers are more than happy to have their favorites converse in Urdu- it is an Urdu program after-all! Saba was dressed in an outfit by HSY- finally! Although I have to say, it probably wasn’t the best outfit he’s designed. Toning it down a few notches may just strike the balance we’re hoping for.

Saba was candid and confident- she’s done well for herself over the past decade or so. From a simple Syed girl from Gujranwaala, her journey to stardom has been phenomenal. She’s currently one of the most sought after actresses but she knows when to say no- Gannd nahin karna parha kaam ke liye… Kaam koi bura nahin hota; buraayi apkey apney andar hai! Aapkey demaagh, aapkey dil mein hai… Ironically, for someone who started with such strong words, her statement Sharam ke pardey ek baar utrein toh phir sharam kahan reh jaati hai felt a tad out of place. Saba brought up her age- actor ka age se koi taalluq nahin hota and clarified that she was born in 1984 which makes her 30- yeh aur baat hai ke Meera ji mujhse bhi choti hain… She admitted she’s suffered a few heartbreaks but Yoga has helped calm her down and keep her grounded. HSY brought up Hamza Ali Abbassi and Saba openly acknowledged that they are just friends and gave her side of the story to the controversial facebook post. According to her version, Hamza was playing around on her iPad and he posted that status himself.

Next up was Bhai Jaan– Adnan Siddiqui. Mr. Abhi Toh Mein Jawaan Houn spoke about his obsession with fitness, sticking to a conventional style which suits him irrespective of fashion trends and his jawaani. HSY added that he was in awe of him since his modeling days. Adnan Siddiqui has been around showbiz for over two decades. But to be honest, except for Uroosa and the recent Mere Humdum Mere Dost, I’ve never really been amazed by his performance. I think he may have had a role to play in being underrated- opting for every random project and doing repetitive roles hasn’t done much for him. Adnan has worked alongside Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart but was overshadowed by his co-stars. On his reasons for refusing a role in Waar, Adnan added that he has stayed away from Pakistani Films and when and if he decides to make his entry, he wants to come with a bang. He added that he’s in the same age group as the Khans of Bollywood and it’s highly unlikely that he will land an A class role- however he would be willing to work in a negative role- or a role like those given to Irfan Khan. Saba added that she will only work with the A league of actors in Bollywood- be it the Khans or Ranbir Kapoor. Both of them seemed genuinely fond of Bollywood actors and movies- Saba listsed Tabu as one of her favorites while Adnan Siddiqui spoke highly of Irfan Khan.

Both Saba and Adnan had amazing chemistry since they were on the same wavelength. The age difference didn’t seem to effect them until Saba announced that she calls him Bhai Jaan. Bhai ka toh pata nahin, magar aaj kal yeh inkey jaanam zaroor hain! Then it was time for the competition *YAWN*. Love or Don’t Love was once again fishing for controversy. Adnan mentioned that Saba Qamar doesn’t like Fahad Mustafa- I wonder if Fahad will react once he finds out. When Hamza Abbasi’s pic popped up, Saba Qamar didn’t respond- she blamed it on being swayed by Adnan’s gestures. Ajnabee Kaun Ho Tum was won by Saba who guessed the caller Junaid Khan but Adnan couldn’t guess Maria Wasti who did a pretty good job of changing her voice. In the final round, HSY insisted that they role play while asking each other the questions- Saba Qamar was playing Meera Ji and Adnan Siddiqui was Pervaiz Musharraf. Saba Qamar is a natural at mimicry but Adnan didn’t do too bad either. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the choice of guests makes the show work. HSY’s inputs are far and few- he doesn’t really steer any conversations but he is getting a little more in his element and seems to be improving. For me, Adnan Siddiqui has already performed the role of his lifetime as Haider Masood. I honestly wish he would pull back and rethink his career choices- but as he said, there is no right or wrong decision in life; you just have to take one. Unfortunately for the viewers, he takes one too many of them!

So, what are your thoughts? Does anyone know why the show was off-air these past few week? Did you enjoy the episode?

Yours in watching,

Kanwal Murtaza

At last, the whole ‘Shikwa’ journey has come to an end. After so many tantrums, cheekh pukaar, rona dhona, thappar  and hospital kay chakkar, it took them 27 episodes in total, to finally convey their message: Muhabbat ka taluq dil say hota hai, umar say nahe! The message itself is thought-provoking but incessant dragging and some unconvincing elements made it  ambiguous. This is clearly not the way to wrap up a show. They wasted sooo many episodes in Firdaus Aapa, Sidra-Shariq and Zeba Jii and the ending that was supposed to be lucid and logical became rushed and irrational.
Mehar’s daughter, Maria (Noor Khan) is a girl who would simply be labeled as ‘’boring’’ by other people of her age. This was evident in the conversation between Maria and Ali, where Ali, like any normal teenager said that he enjoys action and comedy movies whereas Maria expressed her interest in more serious, historical movies. Also, she openly confessed that she likes sober and mature people and immature guys like Ali are simply NOT her ‘type’. I liked the way how Ali took her rejection and realized that there’s no use running after her if she is not interested. She is head over heels in love with her Media Sciences professor, Sir Feroz (Faisal Rehman). Hayee a moment of silence for all those viewers who were not expecting things to get any worse. See, I warned you all to be prepared for anything team Shikwa throws at us. I think it was a mistake on the director’s part to introduce this track all of a sudden that too in the second last episode. From her brief encounter with her professor, I could glean that Sir Feroz never gave her any misleading signals and he discerned the line between a teacher and student. But Maria finds some hidden ‘charm’ in him and she remained persistent, even after he told her about his divorce. Doesn’t Maria remind you of serial, ‘Malaal’s Maahi (Sarwat Gillani)? Mahi too confessed that she likes serious and mature, Al-Pacino or Robert De Niro sort of guys. AND that’s why she fell for Danish (again played by Faisal Rehman):P. But ‘Malaal’ was an entirely different league of course and we can by no means compare it to Shikwa! Hey, don’t you think Faisal Rehman could have been a much better Saqib? He has the aura, the personality and best of all, he makes his presence felt. Also, he has a good fan following and I am sure many more people would have watched Shikwa after seeing him play the lead against Sonia Hussain because a considerable part of the audience had a hard time digesting Waseem Abass in the role of a gentle, romantic husband since we have always seen him playing the cold-hearted, betiyon say bayzaar abba. He doesn’t actually have the hero sorta aura the audience is always looking for.

Many readers were raving about Noor Khan’s impressive acting skills and indeed, she is a talented new-comer and I hope to see more of her in future. And one thing I found really pleasant was the bond Mehar and her daughter share with Adeel (Tipu Sharif). Adeel is the one who stood by Mehar all these years and looked after Saqib’s business. It was refreshing to see a bhanji confiding in her mamu. Haha, I was surprised to see Tipu Sharif playing the role of that once seedha saada, mobile phone ki zid karta hua, Mehar Baji wala Adeel.
‘Mera maazi phir say meray saamne aakar khara hogaya hai.’ This pretty much sums up Mehar’s state of mind after she learns about Maria’s interest in her professor. Mehar was forced to marry someone twice her age and her daughter, on the other hand, is herself choosing a middle-aged man over a guy her age. Kia yeh khula tazaad nahe hai? ;) Mehar, from her personal experience, knows how this age difference affects marital life. As much as she appreciates Saqib for his decency and integrity and loves him for who he was, she knows it all too well that as time passes by, the difference in age becomes more prominent and obvious than ever, and by referring it to her own case, she mentioned how she wasn’t able to understand the worth of Saqib’s genuineness and when she finally did fall in love with him, life got even harder as Saqib’s frailty grew by the passing day. Saqib passed away; leaving Mehar all alone with the huge responsibility of Maria’s brought up. Therefore, Mehar’s opposition to Maria’s hasty decision was quite justified as she didn’t want her daughter to go through the same circumstances. Maria’s outburst reminded me of Mehar’s outbursts but I don’t completely agree with her. Look, I agree that Mehar, all her life, was indulged in self-pity but to say that she doesn’t know a thing about love because she never loved Saqib, would be a bit too harsh because despite everything, Mehar did have genuine feelings for him. After her outburst, we saw karma striking again and Mehar too lost her consciousness and recalled all those times when she had been harsh with her mother. Ohkay, her mother was helpless, majboor and mazloom BUT I still hold her responsible for a lot of things that went wrong in Mehar’s life. Firstly, the decisions she made for Mehar always lacked foresight and sensitivity. Before forcing her young daughter to marry someone as old as Saqib, she should have taken into consideration that in cases like these, usually the husband dies earlier and his wife has to deal with widowhood at a young age. And I didn’t like the way she started seeking suitors for Mehar after Saqib’s death. Once again, she didn’t bother to put herself in Mehar’s shoes.

Coming back to the last episode, the unconvincing part was that in the end. it was Ali who managed to persuade Mehar to succumb to Maria’s wishes?! I mean, to begin with, Ali’s role wasn’t even significant and I wasn’t expecting him of all people, to change Mehar’s mind and in turn, the course of the ending. And what happened following that was even more implausible: After Mehar’s green signal, Maria went out (literally) in the search of her Professor Charming AND perhaps the worst aspect of the ending is the way she and Sir Feroz got together. This Feroz guy was NOT interested in Maria, remember?? Then why is it that he changed his mind at the eleventh hour? Matlab, this suddenX10 change, without any STRONG base or background is way beyond me, qasam say! Some of you may think that what made him change his mind was the way Maria took a stand in front of her mother but no, we are not talking about a 17-year old guy who can easily be blown away by a heart-felt speech. We are talking about an adult, educated, not to forget a ‘divorced’ professor who very well knows how impulsive and obsessive a young girl can get
So in the end, all I could scrape together was that Maria and Sir Feroz are together and Mehar has let go of her self-pity phase. You know, a teacher-student relationship is based on respect and dignity. It concerns the exchange of knowledge, but the light such tracks shed on this muqaddas relationship is not something the young generation should be introduced to. Therefore I believe that this play could have ended far earlier, at a much more pleasant note. The biggest draw-back of this play was the way it was stretched like a rubber band to the point where almost every character and track lost its charm.

Sonia Hussain totally outdid herself as Mehar and I will surely remember the impulsive, emotional yet sensitive Mehar because of Sonia Hussain’s splendid performance. Irsa Ghazal was outstanding like always. Waseem Abbas did a commendable job, considering the fact that earlier on, he had been ultra-busy with mastering the role of a zalim and shukki shauhar/abba.
Did you watch the last episode? How disappointed or pleased you are with the ending?
Maryam Mehdi
P.S: Since it’s the end of the ‘Shikwa’ journey, I would take this moment to thank all my regular readers who made this experience a memorable one, especially Sabahet, Amirza, Farah Ahmed, Ms Khan, Ms Asim, Silver Eyes, A, Tricksy, Aima and even if I haven’t mentioned your name, don’t forget you all have proven to be wonderful readers :D And yes, how can I forget my fellow awesome reviewers, Areeba Mohsen and Fatima Awan. Thanks a bunch, guys!

Ohkay, so fair enough. Let me just say this drama had a fairly decent ending which I wasn’t expecting at all. I will definitely praise the bits that deserve to be praised. I think the developments that they showed in these last 3 episodes were what we all were looking for. I’d once again say that this drama had a lot of potential but may be the unnecessary stretching till 30+ episodes did the trick in losing the plot & pace of the drama. I think ever since the drama began, if they had revolved the plot around Bashar Momin, his character, his background, his feelings & his story, this drama definitely would’ve garnered a lot more fans. I think I’d definitely blame the writer & the director for losing the track & drifting the focus from important aspects to the meaningless ones by giving a lot more coverage to & wasting so many episodes on the supporting characters than needed.

Like we all discussed, Bashar was too softy of a don. I think in one of my reviews I did predict that Rudaba will change him, which was obvious as he was like a lost soul that needed some love, attention & guidance but the way they reached to this point wasn’t convincing at all. I really wish they hadn’t stooped so low to unleash such dark & diabolic side of Bashar because now when he rebounded from it, I had a hard time feeling for him as much as I wanted to. Obviously, Bashar fell weak & all the negativity really burdened him, which he couldn’t cope up with, that’s why he decided he didn’t want all this in his life. Saira & Tayyaba always resonated the negativity to keep him going but now when Rudaba was exposed to all this, Bashar found out that she is a different being who couldn’t bear all that & this is what made him regret doing everything that he ever did to her, in a fit of hatred & anguish. I know it would sound surprising but I kind of enjoyed the scenes between Bashar & Rudaba, I think this is how a love story should be like, less yelling & more talking. Bashar really wanted to make up for the things Rudaba had to face because of him & it was good to see him being repentant repeatedly.

I think the sudden intervention of media & police wasn’t convincing once again. Obviously, they had to show that Bashar being a don was always at a risk of losing his freedom & life but I think we were never given any grounds to know what Bashar did & what level of crimes he was involved in, that’s why it never really made any sense. I so wish they had focused more on his professional life rather than the personal lives, that too of his family, so that we could’ve found the recent turn of events a tad bit interesting.

To see Buland again yearning for Rudaba wasn’t appeasing at all. I mean how much of a self-respect-less can a man be? Did he really think that Rudaba would still be so in love with him to leave Bashar for such a spineless man like him? I think the director & we all could’ve done without him because he was useless even now just like he was useless ever since the drama began.

I think Saira got the shut up call rightly so & just when she needed some. Bashar said it loud & clear that nothing can part him & Rudaba, which was fine because the things later Adil said to her made sense as well. She has been a very self-absorbed & rigid person who never gave importance to anyone, but I think it was about time that she learnt a few lessons of life too.

So, everyone found a closure. Rudaba earned Bashar’s love. Saira learned how to mind her own business. Bashar decided to start afresh & Buland finally let go of his one-sided love for Rudaba. The ending was fair I believe but I’d still say that this drama had a lot of potential if only it was tackled properly. I so wish they hadn’t gone for such an OTT approach in executing this drama. I am sure if they had focused more on the quality of script & acting & hadn’t spent time in meaningless angles & larger-than-life appearance of everything, they might’ve given out a fairly decent play with a bit of acceptable filmy touch to it. I also feel that they should’ve invested more time on the central character & should’ve given him the required coverage to let us know why the drama was named Bashar Momin, some story starting from his childhood to his struggling days & some showcasing of how he got to such a point that made him such a ruthless yet successful don, I believe would’ve sufficed. I think if they had wrapped the drama within 20-22 episodes, it would’ve been a lot more interesting because in between, the drama & its story definitely lost the track as Adil, Saira, Tayyaba & Buland dominated the whole story while Bashar only seemed to be that person who was tending to their issues like a head of the family without having a life of his own. I so wish they had equalized the coverage of the supporting & the main characters to make a balanced & engaging drama. I must say the only person who did justice to his character in terms of acting was Faysal Qureshi & I think he certainly deserves to be credited for this. Share your say please.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

ps: I must say by the end I so wished he’d get rid of his BM ring & I was the happiest when he finally let go of it, haha!

After the last two episodes which were rather shocking and somewhat abrupt, with this episode the story moved forward in a more convincing manner although there were bits which still made you wonder about the issues Imroze has and also it seemed like everything was happening at once.

Shams’ reunion with her mother couldn’t have been shown in a better way. I had a bad feeling that the storyline may get even more complicated from here on but Tabbasum and Shams are off to a great start. Tabbasum tells one last thing which she thinks Shams should know before they start over again. The scenes between Tabbasum, Haider and Shams were very touching. Tabbasum will play a pivotal role in bringing Shams and Sara together, I am waiting to find out if Shams changes his stance regarding having children. I cannot help but praise Mazhar Ali’s convincing and natural acting over and over again. I really hope that we get to see him in dramas more often. Uzma Gillani like always was brilliant while showing how happy she was and how much Tabbasum has changed.

Imroze and Paymaan looked like husband and wife for the first time today, we definitely needed to see more of such scenes in the previous episodes as well. Paymaan finally discovered the marks on Imroze’s body and questioned about them – better late than never! It was strange that everything happened at the same time, the reunion, Roomi realizing that people were using him and change in Imroze’s behaviour. Roomi realized that people treated him like a door-mat, he does not want to solve anyone’s marital problems or pick someone’s kid from school. This particular scene actually made me laugh! I am glad that Roomi finally showed some emotion other than being kind to people all the time, it’s about time that he got tired of playing the agony aunt! The second Imroze talked to Roomi, he was back to being a husband to Paymaan although in the last episode he was doubting his wife just as much as Roomi but for some odd reason which the viewers were not shown Imroze does not blame Paymaan for anything any more. He wants Roomi out of their life and start over again. I wish we could know the reason behind this sudden change in Imroze’s behaviour. We were shown Imroze thinking out loud over and over again about how his wife had cheated him and now all of a sudden without any thinking whatsoever he is convinced that Roomi is the only one to be blamed. Roomi’s lectures to Imroze regarding how he should be spending more time with his wife did not help at all! I must admit I did feel for Roomi after watching tonight’s episode.

The way Imroze felt about the change in Paymaan’s outlook and the scene on the beach went to show that Imroze is a very conservative person which could also be because of his insecurities. He tells Roomi that he never wanted to marry someone modern and then later on the beach he says to Paymaan that everyone was looking at her. Well, at least we know now why Imroze fell for Paymaan!

The preview of the next episode was a big blunder because it practically showed everything that is going to happen in the next episode. I am not going to share the details here so that the viewers who have not seen this episode yet have the option of not watching the preview because if they do then they surely will have very little reason to watch the next episode! The only mystery is finding out which disease Imroze has otherwise we pretty much know now what turn the story is going to take from here.

Fatima Awan