Mansoor gave his “verdict” on Laila’s character in tonight’s episode when Laila’s mother called him in the hope that he will be willing to patch things up with Laila. Mansoor thinks that a woman who leaves with her daughter for her mother’s house in the middle of the night is a “hooker” but what do you call a man who goes alone to meet his lover in the middle of the night? The double standards regarding men and women that exist in our society were highlighted in tonight’s episode more than ever. Laila’s brother may not have been there for her when she needed him the most but he still feels that he has the right to tell Laila how to live her life. Laila is made to feel like she is the protector of her family’s dignity and in order to keep her family’s dignity intact she must sacrifice her own self-respect and happiness. Laila’s mother does not give her daughter an ounce of respect. I don’t agree with the way Laila’s mother is handling the situation, she is only making things worse for her daughter but I can definitely relate to her character. Our society in general has this attitude towards women; people love to label them and they love to judge them maybe because they are easy victims. And women who go out in search of their own pehchan face the same difficulties which Laila is facing. The dialogue about the kind of relationship which Laila shared with her brother when they were younger was very poignant .. (Zolpidem) ” lekin bhaiya phir aik din bara ho gaya “ !! And then he realized that he was a man, which made him far more superior than his sister and that changed everything!

Laila’s mother thinks that a muraba or some spiritual healing might give Laila the patience she needs in order to put up with the problems of shadi shuda zindagi which are generally considered normal because every woman at some point goes through everything that Laila has been through and is expected to put up with. Now the question is that if something wrong is very widely accepted in the society, does that make it right? When Laila’s mother said “insan sub kuch bardasht kr leta hai”, I found it ironic because what she actually meant was that a woman is capable of enduring anything at all! Dialogues like “mard ka ego hota hai” clearly meant that women don’t have an ego or self-respect because only one person in a marriage can keep their self-esteem intact! After all ego hota hai, hoti nahi hai!!

Laila thinks about the time she spent with Mansoor, starting with the day she got married to the day when Mansoor handed her the phone asking her to talk to his girlfriend. She also thinks about the conversations she used to have with her father and her father’s words reinforce the idea that she too deserves to be happy. She does not need to go through all the pain which Mansoor put her through only because her mother, family and the society expect just that from her.

Kukoo seemed to be doing well without Khurram except for the candlelight dinner scene in which it looked like she was finding it hard to combat loneliness. Kukoo has however learned her lesson well and she also wants Laila to know what is good for her without enduring the kind of pain which Laila had to endure. Kukoo accepts that she wouldn’t want Laila to make the same mistakes she made…“aik mard se jaan churanay ke liye dusre ka khanda mat dhoondo, talash krna hai tu apne aap ko karo…mujh se hi kuch seekh lo”. The relationship between Mrs. Khan, Kukoo and Laila has to be one of the most beautiful aspects of this play. We don’t get to see women looking out for each other in Pakistani dramas the way these three do.

Tonight’s episode was more of an extension of the last one; it focused on the repercussions of Laila’s decision. Laila has her mind made up and she is not willing to give her relationship with Mansoor another chance. Kukoo has moved on as well. Will Laila be able to stay strong considering how much opposition she has to face? Will she find her own pehchan or will she have no choice but to rely on another man? Bee Gul’s script is powerful; many writers might not even venture into writing something that maybe seen as a “threat” to the status quo that exists in our society! Khalid Ahmed’s direction has been superb throughout; the play has a very artistic feel to it. All the actors have done a commendable job but Iffat Rahim and Sohail Sameer in particular have totally won me over. I actually missed watching Mansoor on screen tonight.

Do share your thoughts about tonight’s episode.

Fatima Awan

Ohkay so, we’re done with the second episode of Shanakht & I can’t wait to see more. The way the story is unfolding, they have managed to stir the curiosity & for all the right reasons. I must say, I am totally impressed by the acting of all the characters (minus the over-actor playing the role of Hashim’s friend) because they all look so real & have given out the genuine feel to their characters. The direction has been great without any such evident loopholes that can’t be ignored. I am hooked to the show & can’t wait to find out what happens next.

This episode revolved around the ordeal Hashim felt when it came to the point of giving his & Annie’s relation a name. Subconsciously Hashim grasped all those notions that he might’ve come across regarding Annie’s choice of Hijab. Apparently, Hashim himself was the one who helped Annie convincing her family when she decided to go for Hijab but no matter how supportive he was of his cousin or best friend, he still can’t seem to come to terms with the fact that he wants to spend a life with a girl who shares a different mindset & has her own ideology. Hashim may respect & put Annie to a high regard, but he certainly doesn’t think she’s worth spending a life with. I must say, the opinion Hashim shared was quite unpredictable. Like Hashim’s mother Shireen said, she thought he’d jump with joy at the idea of his & Annie’s marriage, but what took her by surprise was an unexpected hesitation that he showed.

Annie on her own was struggling to maintain a balance between her mother & her endeared friend Ayesha. Ayesha has been the one who has tried to help Annie the best way possible but for Huma, Ayesha is just someone who has made Annie disrespectful & rigid. Annie for once didn’t understand the reason why Ayesha was keeping a distance but after finding out, Annie respected her friend’s confession & made sure she didn’t do anything that would upset her mother because her friend Ayesha helped her in understanding her mother’s point of view a bit better. Annie didn’t show any signs of disappointment but deep within she felt ashamed for the things her friend had to go through.

The focal point of this episode was the potential marriage of Hashim & Annie, where Annie deep within showed acceptance towards it because for her nothing more than her family’s happiness matters anymore. Even though Annie decided she should’nt think too much about it, she understood that even if it happens & the elders decide their marriage, she’d be pretty happy with it because Hashim has always been a supportive figure & a friend to her.

Hashim really was torn between his choice of a partner & his parent’s choice but he wanted to make up his mind & a visit to Ayesha’s home gave him a decisive push that he was looking for. Sadly for Hashim, a guy with a beard is no one but a terrorist. A simple household is nothing but an exhibition of backwardness & regression. Hashim was so blinded by his hatred that he forgot to see how cordially he was welcomed by a stranger in his house. How nicely he was treated but just because Hashim wanted to see & hear what he wanted to, he decided that he can’t put up with Annie’s choices too.

All the conversations were done beautifully & I really liked the conversations between Hashim & Annie. As much as he wanted her to convince him & even a little sign on the lines that he wanted to read would’ve been enough for Hashim but just because Annie decided to stick to the truthfulness without giving him any false hopes that she’d change herself for him, Hashim heartbrokenly decided the otherwise. Annie has decided something & she wants to stick to it no matter what & this gives her character an edge of a head-strong girl that we all wanted to see. I love Annie’s character for the fact that she’s determined & strong-headed yet very soft spoken, which puts her in a very positive light.

Annie’s parents are pretty happy about Hashim & Annie’s marriage but they really don’t know what’s yet to come. For a change it’s nice to see a good sisterly-like relation that Annie & Kashaf share. Not sure what might happen between them when Hashim’s parents will give a proposal for Kashaf instead of Annie but for now, their little conversations seem real & very genuine. Interestingly, a new family of Ahmad’s business partner was introduced & luckily they are searching for a prospect wife for their son Rohaan. I think we all can predict what will happen when they will get to meet Annie at Hashim’s birthday gathering.

So my verdict is it is so far so good. Can’t wait to see more. I think Maya Ali looks simple yet gorgeous & she has played her part as Annie way too well. I think the casting was done to perfection & everyone fits in their roles really really well. Share your say on this episode of Shanakht.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

“It is good to have an end to a journey; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Today marks the end of a wonderful journey – a journey we all lived, a journey we all cherished ,a journey that will be remembered and will truly be missed for a long long time.

Yasmeen tried her best to convince every single person of Afzal’s family to accept the fact that there is no place for her in their house. Afzal’s family loved Yasmeen from the day she came in their lives, but they never thought of her as Afzal’s wife to be and now that everyone was familiar with the hidden truth, there was no reason for Yasmeen to elongate her stay in Hyderabad.

Farah’s love for Afzal proved to be so pure that she accepted that all this while, she was the one who wrote letters to Afzal. Sabtain wanted to marry Lubna but she put a condition infront of him before accepting his proposal ; He has to make Farah realize the power of true love. But he failed completely; Eventually, it was Yasmeen who turned the table and compelled Farah to confess her love for Afzal. Indirectly, it was a plus for Sabtain and Lubna was all hers in the end.

I am completely speechless and have no words to explain my state of mind. I am unable to express my feelings after watching this end to a wonderful journey. Afzal and Farah waited and waited for each other’s confession for so long or confession hue bhi tou kesi.. From the day , when Afzal became bhaie ,I had this thing in my mind that Afzal will ultimately pay for killing those people; No matter whether they were innocent or culprit, he took lives and he will have to pay for that. Deep down in my heart, there was another corner that was yelling that Afzal should not die and I was sincerely indented at that corner’s side and was hoping for a very happy ending to such an eventful journey.  But at the end, it was Khaleel Saheb’s script and with his signature style, he came up with a real sad end to a stupendous journey. Still, I absolutely loved the direction of very last scene where Afzal confessed his love. Farah was waiting for him to talk more and more while Afzal was taking his last breath.. jaanay woh kesay log thai jin k pyar ko pyar mila.. 

The success of this show is not merely result of single person’s struggle. It is an outcome of hard work of each and every cast and crew member of Pyarai Afzal team. Dialogues were the soul of this show; Khalil ur Rehmaan Saheb penned down a wonderful script and to give life to the splendid story , cast of the show evolved and extracted the best out of themselves. I am unable to figure out even a single name whose performance was not up-to-mark. Hamza Ali Abbasi outdid himself and this character of male protagonist,Afzal, will surely leave a mark and will prove out to be turning point in his acting career . Aiza Khan and Sohai were under a dark shadow of  type-cast ; Farah Ibrahim and Yasmeen’s role gave them a completely new look and unleashed them from a shell of doing same roles again and again. I am sure, after this serial, we will see them signing variety of different roles. Firdous Jamal did a splendid job and turned out to be most beloved Maulvi and father, he proved himself as a versatile actor and more than that he proved people’s perception regarding Maulvi’s to be wrong. Arfa and Lubna were the best and most loyal sisters I have ever came across in any show.

Overall, it was an epic show with powerful dialogues, mesmerizing characters and flawless performances. Pyarai Afzal will definitely be missed and I am guessing that it will be going to turn out as an old classic for our next generations..

Rabia Basharat.

P.S I would like to thank each one of you for making this journey memorable and enjoyable. Special thanks to Ammar, Aiman, Naveed Zarrar, Areeba Mohsin, Sharmeen, Atty, A, Shariq and Malika and each and everyone of you for enduring me and my reviews, for your continuous support,appreciation and for pushing me to the extent through the long discussions that made me fall in love with this show even more.. :)

Well, 14 episodes down and I feel that the story is getting a bit monotonous now. Yes, there were some developments but I didn’t find anything totally out of the ordinary.

I just fail to understand Munazzah’s psyche. At first, she forced Mehar to marry a man who was old enough to be her father. And now that Mehar has finally come into terms with the reality, I don’t know why Munazzah doesn’t like it when Mehar defends her husband. Plus that conversation between Sidra and Munazzah at the beginning of the episode was totally uncalled for! I mean, it’s crystal clear that Mehar has wholeheartedly accepted Saqib as her husband, so now what’s the point of discussing that, ‘Saqib itna acha shohar hai. Mehar ko kab aqal ayegi? Uss ko kis cheez ki kami hai akhir?’

Saqib finally left for Sharjah. Seeing Mehar teary and emotional went on to prove her sincerity. It was only then that Munazzah realized Mehar has accepted Saqib as her husband. Don’t you think this realization came a bit too late? If there’s one actress in our TV industry who can cry real tears effortlessly, it’s definitely Sonia Hussain! Maybe I am wrong but Waseem Abbass looked a bit bored today. His dialogue delivery and expressions are getting repetitive now. That departure scene was well-executed though. And yes, one more piece of info: there are doctors these days who offer transport services to their patients’ behenois :P I mean, I completely understand that Shariq is doing all of this to prove to Sidra and her family how efficient and caring he is, but come on guys! Who does this these days? But then again, they call it a drama for a reason, right?

Firdaus Aapa marked her entry this time. Oh my! She is clearly the most irritating, finicky and ungrateful lady I’ve seen. No wonder her daughter-in-law couldn’t tolerate her! She is way too hard to please and I am surprised how a strong-headed girl like Mehar has survived a day without complaining!

Shariq and Sidra’s intimacy is clearly making Mehar jealous, and the last scene totally caught me off guard. Shariq should receive an award for blurting out all the important details in one go. What he said literally went on like this:’ Sidra, how are you? I know you don’t mind but I am calling to inform you that I am sending my mother to your house for proposal.’ TADA! Did I mention that he said all of this without a pause? I hate to be the bearer of bad news Dr Charming, but actually it wasn’t Sidra-it was Mehar who picked up your phone call! Yes guys, you heard me right! It just so happened that Shariq called, Mehar picked up the phone, and though our hero is a doctor but he is too naïve to know that BEFORE you start talking just like that, you first inquire who’s on the other side of the line!! Well, the episode ended on that note so we are now left with assumptions only.

So, this was it for this week folks! We all can sense Mehar’s growing jealousy but it’s difficult to imagine her as the villain of the play. The thought of Sidra marrying Shariq will surely fill her with disgust but I seriously can’t imagine her being an obstacle in Sidra’s marriage. Alas, we should all give up on the actress playing Sidra’s role.

Let’s see how the story unfolds now. Share your thoughts on this installment. I will be looking forward to your feedbacks!

Maryam Mehdi

I am sorry but this drama has taken the most ridiculous turn ever. Seems like the writer was really bored so she barfed this story all over the pages, without any insight & without any know-how of penning down a proper story with some real & honest characters.

Just because Haya shooed Awazar away in the first scene when he threw a tantrum at her for speaking to Mustafa, Awazar has had a quick realization that just because some girl told him off & hurt his peanut ego, he now can’t live without her & wants to get her just because for a moment she didn’t nappify him. I wish Sofia had done the same thing so that Awazaar would’ve stayed in his limits. Just because she literally spoon fed him all along these years while she was married to him, he is now taking her for granted.

Awazar has fallen so much in love with Haya that he feels Sofia is nothing but just a ‘ghalti’ between them? Why is it that the victim Sofia has all of a sudden become a villain Sofia? I heard Awazar saying ‘Allah ne mujhe ijazat di hai dusri shadi ki’, which made me think that Awazaar appko Allah ne justice karne k liye bhi kaha hai dono biwiyon k saath! All of a sudden Awazar now wants Sofia to just vanish from his life so he can enjoy his life with a Pakistani wife in Pakistan with his Pakistani mother in his Pakistani home eating Pakistani pakwaan, wearing Pakistani shalwar kameez & Pakistani chappal. So, my point is, when he was SO Pakistani, why did he get married to an Indian in the first place? Just so easily he thinks he can throw Sofia out like a Tea-Bee, so what gave him a right to destroy 4 years of her life?

Maham of Shukk as Ruby of Slowly Slowly, hmmmm, déjà vu anyone? Why’s it that this lady always acts like an agony aunt who is reminding every single girl about how her husband’s falling short of his responsibilities & is taking his wife for granted? I think she really needs to do better. All this while, Sofia came across as a wife who was so over-protective of her husband & to be honest, before his 2nd marriage Awazar never gave her a reason to doubt or question him, so when did Sofia feel a need to share her marital imperfections with her friend, who is now rubbing it all over her face?

Looks like every single character in this drama is either rubbing themselves on others or is living in a fool’s paradise. Awazar hated the idea of pretentious breakfast to make Bee Jaan happy when he was angry at Sofia for speaking to Mustafa, so didn’t he forget that he himself is making Haya pretend to be all happy & carefree in front of his Bumble Bee all this while? Bumble bee hated seeing Sofia buzzing around her Beta Bee, so why wasn’t she worried when he came to USA & didn’t even bother visiting her for 4 good years? I mean this thing is beyond my understanding that Bumble Bee hated seeing a colleague getting candid with Awazar, why didn’t she question him before about who he was working with & who he was friends with? Don’t tell me that Bumble bee thought her Beta Bee had no linkups with any girls in Amreeka?

Nothing in this drama is making sense. Haya; who in the first 5 seconds of the episode came across as someone who knew how to stand up for herself later became someone who was ready to lead a life on someone else’s tukray? She is now waiting for an approval of Sofia so that she can continue living in a zinc-clad jannat of hers with her thakkela Awazar? I mean PHULEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

This episode of Laa was slow as compared to all the other episodes that have gone on air so far, since it did not manage to engage me the way all the previous episodes have, I couldn’t help but notice some of the loopholes in the direction and the narrative. The story took an ugly and unexpected turn today when Dilawar found out that Daniyal is his brother. Everything happened really fast but I must say that the scene in which Dilawar shot Laila could have been shot in a much better way. Surely someone like Dilawar is used to killing people or is he really a chooza seth? He looked terrified when he shot Laila like he had never hurt a fly in his life. Until now Laa did not give me much to complain about; I ignored the repeated coincidences, I have enjoyed the filmy feel of the play till now and a few loopholes here and there did not kill the overall feel of the play for me because Laa gave me something to look forward to every week and it has been very entertaining. This episode however was slow for my taste and much of what we saw in it made little sense. Firstly, a person like Dai Maa who has blood on her hands is not in a position to question her son for having an affair/affairs. I did not get how she concluded that one of Dilawar’s girlfriends must have told Laila what kind of a character he had. People like Dilawar take pride in having girlfriends and even mistresses, it comes with the status sadly.

Daniyal recalled being at Laila’s house when she went to visit her family but he was never shown in that particular scene in the last episode. In fact two minutes before that scene he was shown sitting with his father in Lahore and tonight he delivered the money to Laila’s house and went straight to the hospital which would mean that Laila’s family lives in Karachi or some place near Karachi. In addition to that Daniyal had more pressing issues at hand at that time with his father sick! Maybe I missed something, if anyone out there was able to make sense out of these two scenes please do enlighten me.

Laila’s character was getting more interesting by every passing episode, I would definitely want to see more of her. We got to find out more about the double life that Laila has been living all these years. Daniyal’s mother wants to hold on to her son therefore she is on a mission to find him a wife but his father on the other hand wants his son to find out who his mother is so that he can be at peace. Daniyal’s father has faith in him; he knows that he will still come back to them even after finding out who his real mother is.

Daniyal’s life has taken a turn for the worse because he has been framed by Dilawar (perhaps). The viewer’s didn’t get a chance to see why the police thought that he was the one who shot Laila but I am guessing that Dilawar must be behind this latest development. Daniyal and Hina will come face to face once again in the next episode but in the wrong circumstances. Laila and Dilawar are the only two people who know that Hina is Daniyal’s mother, Laila is fighting for her life and Dilawar would want Daniyal to be behind bars for the rest of his life.

Although this episode was strictly okay especially when I compare it with the sort of entertainment Laa has provided us with till now because the loopholes in the direction and narrative were too obvious this time around. The story still has tons of potential; if Laila survives, she will tell Hina the truth and Hina will fight her son’s case.

Do share your thoughts about tonight’s episode.

Fatima Awan

Tonight’s episode was majorly about Sajeela and her desires ; Sajeela thinks that she has the ability to conquer Haider’s heart again but she has completely forgotten that how pitilessly and cruelly she crushed Haider’s feelings under her feet and left to live a happy life with Mazhar. As time is the best healer and teacher; Haider’s wounds got partially healed because Aiman came in his life but Sajeela learned new lessons in her life; Mazhar was a coward, gutless and merely a fraud for whom she left her family and a loving Husband and now that their relation is no more, she wants Haider back in her life. She thinks of Haider as a toy or puppet with whom she can play whenever she want but this time, Haider is firm and knows exactly what to do. I literally enjoyed watching  spark and glow on Aiman’s face when she saw Haider ignoring Sajeela.

Sajeela tried every possible way out to convince both Haider and Bibi that she is feeling sorry for what she had done in past. Haider didnot pay heed to whatever Sajeela said and Bibi treated her the way she deserved to be treated.  Sajeela developed the feeling of insecurity after noticing Aiman’s closeness to Haider and for that she attempted to plant seeds of doubt in Aiman’s heart.

Aiman was left in a doubt for a moment but she recollected herself ; To assess the level of affection and more than that, to make herself feel satisfied that she is important for Haider, she called Haider for lunch. After all those sad times, Haider found  a companion in the form of Emma. In her presence, he forgets everything and at the very time Emma becomes his whole world. Despite of the age difference, they had something common; Deprivation and Starvation – Deprivation of living a happy and peaceful life, starvation of love and affection and when Haider and Aiman are together those empty spaces in their hearts fills up immediately.

Shaheer tried to propose Aiman but Aiman,being in love with Haider , can’t even think of marrying someone else and for that, she completely ignored Shaheer. Poor Shaheer kept on trying and luckily, he met Haider. Eventually, Shaheer found the light at the end of tunnel when he came to know that his father is friends with Haider and Taufeeq. Rakeeb ko Chayai ? Rakeeb ke khaatir daari kaun karta hai yaar.. ! .. Sajid was so right, Haider was blessed with such a big heart that he even welcomed the one who wants Aiman in his life and more than that, Haider knew that before.

Sajeela kept on insisting Almaas that she wants Haider back in her life. Almaas, being practical woman, put all the facts and figures in front of Sajeela but she was in no mood to hear anything that is giving even a single glimpse of Almaas denial.

Preview of next episode seems very interesting ; I am not going to tell that what will happen next but gear up yourselves to watch some emotional drama next week.

Share your thoughts on this episode.

Rabia Basharat.

The team of Woh is back with a sequel titled Woh..Dubara. I have been looking forward to this sequel because the prequel proved to be a complete package; it was entertaining and different. Angeline Malik is the captain of the ship once again and the sequel has been written by Syed Atif Ali. I remember when the prequel was on air Syed Atif Ali was not sure if this new genre of drama will click with the viewers or not, I am glad that the play got the attention and viewership it deserved and the experiment did not fail.

Woh..Dubara has also been shot in the same house where the prequel was shot. The house is still haunted by the demon who has now taken over the body of Faisal’s daughter Saba. Zubair (Shahood Alvi) along with his wife (Yasra Rizvi), child Ali (Bilal Khan) and brother Umair (Ali Abbas) move in the haunted house. He knows about the tragedies that took place in the house but chooses to ignore everything that happened because he thinks that it is not going to effect him or his family in any way. Umair is due to get married to Emaan (Sana Askari) very soon that is the reason why they moved in this house in a rush. All the family members in the house are very close to each other. Even the housekeeper of the house (Sultana Zafar) is treated like a family member because she has been with the family for a very long time. Emaan and her mother (Seema Sehar) however are bad news as Bua rightly puts it. Emaan is headstrong and unreasonable and her mother encourages this behavior. Zubair’s wife on the other hand is willing to compromise because she wants Umair to be happy.

In this episode the demon seemed to be inspecting the members of the household one by one so that it can chose its victim. Ali is the first one who sees the demon and is now “friends” with it. The strange happening in the house are ignored by everyone. The main protagonist in the show this time around is going to be Sana Askari, I hope that she will give us the same stellar performance which Arij Fatyma gave in the prequel. The cast is very strong, one thing I love about Angeline Malik’s plays is that the scenes are always short and to the point and I have faith in the writer Syed Atif as well.

Overall, this was a fast paced first episode which introduced the characters in a very good way. The camera work and picture quality was upto the mark and it definitely gave me something to look forward to. If you want to watch something different, entertaining and of course chilling then Woh…Dubara will definitely fit the bill.

Fatima Awan