Assalamoalikum, hope Ramzan is blessing you all with its abundant goodness everyday

Just watched the sixth episode of Madiha Imam’s and Faisal Qureshi’s zakham. The story has unraveled slightly but the confusions remain quite obvious even now. This episode was mainly about every individual’s take on this mismatched shadi between Khawar and Takbeer. What I found most annoying was Takbeer’s family. They were giving so much importance and so many gifts to Khawar for their daughter’s successful marriage and yet paying no heed to the same daughter’s mental and emotional state. This is the age old irony of our society that daughters are aided in every way to ensure their security in their husband’s home, while closing the doors of her own parent’s home to her. Shabbir Jan is excellent as the well meaning yet dangerously orthodox father.

Khawar swings from making sense in one scene to going totally loony in the next. Unless we get a very good explanation as to why he is like this, his behaviour with Takbeer will keep on making no sense whatsoever. How can he be so ruthless on the first night to making tea for her the next and requesting her to be a wife to him to ordering her to clean the house like a maid to sending his sister to terrorise her and then crying like a child on Tehreem’s grave to being genuinely embarrassed by a compliment. It was like he was a whole new person in every scene. This much is evident that he is mentally disturbed but the spectrum is left very wide. In a moment, he seems evil, abusive and controlling and in the next just insecure and anxious.

Khalida’s character has to be the most calculative and selfish in the play. Being a woman, she believes in sacrificing other womens’ lives for her crazy brother and then goes on to oppress them psychologically in order to make them compliant. I am glad that Khawar and herself are getting some inklings that Takbeer is not like Tehreem. The scene where her husband pointed out that they cannot keep on finding out girls for her nutcase of a brother was very well executed. The irony that she is so dominant in her own household while she expects her bhabi to be totally submissive was shown clearly.

Moosa is the forlorn lover, whose heart is in the right place, but his methods are not very thoughtful. He is still very upset at the unfairness of Takbeer’s marriage and though his acting is not very convincing, his handsomeness kind of makes up for it ?

The show stealer however is our Takbeer. She transforms herself through grief, then anger, then acceptance and now control. Despite all the wrongs that was done to her, she still believes in giving a fair chance to Khawar. Her realisation that her sister may have died of the oppression at his hands was a very touching one. And her determination to stay strong for little Ahmed is so admirable. The way she acknowledges Moosa’s feelings and yet reminds him that she is in Khawar’s nikah was extremely strong of her. I do not think she realises the extent of Khawar’s mental disorder and the battles that lay ahead but she seems ready to face everything head on.

Firstly, I had thought she would suffer so much at the hands of Khawar that her parents will regret and ultimately she will end up with Moosa. Now it looks that she might be able to turn Khawar over a new leaf, though it’s not going to be easy, given the promo in which Khawar is tattling on her by saying that Farhan has taken her to Moosa while Farhan and Takbeer are seen taking Ahmed to hospital. Talk about negativity …

These two episodes marked the end of this drama which failed to make much sense in all the duration of its airing. There were some good pieces of acting, some strong characters and a nice family environment of the drama but the storyline was seriously lacking, and veterans like Faisal Quraishi and Shabbir Jan could not make up for it,nor could the brilliance of performance by Madiha Imam.

The second last episode was wasted on a non sensical issue by Sultan as if he had just come to Pakistan to take away Takbeer’s daughter which is beyond reasoning as Musa and his family were so wholeheartedly accepting of Fatima that taking away a fatherless child from her mother was never meant to be an issue, but quite many scenes and minutes were spent away on this. Then miraculously Khawar was discovered by the police and saved even though it suspected him on bring a mafia head earlier. Then he enters when he is spoken about in a conversation and Takbeer takes a stand for him that she never could for Musa. All her family wants her to get rid of him but she pays no heed.

Once outside, Khawar did another extremely impulsive attempt at suicide but was saved and became all remorseful. It was very bizzare the way Takbeer went on to see him repeatedly in the hospital and prayed for his safety and all, but on another level, it makes kind of sad sense. A woman is never weak but a mother always is. There is always this fear that your second husband might not love your child as much as his or her biological father. This deep rooted fear does make women take decisions like Takbeer did and it has nothing to do with feminism or not, but everything to do with the deep , instinctive, self sacrificing love that every woman has for her child.

Musa was not given closure and was probably the most unfair part of the whole plot. Someone who loved so unconditionally should not have been left in he middle of nowhere like this. shehzad Noor did pretty well for his first major role , but there should have been some sort of an ending given to his story. An explanation, an apology or a discussion of fears, something should have been shown from Takbeer’s side for him. Without that, the viewers are in as much of a limbo as Musa himself.

It cannot be said that this drama made for an interesting watch or consumed a meaningful hour, because it really did not. However, some good performances were a part of it right from the start.

It was advertised in the form of a play showing mental illness but it failed miserably in that aspect. Mental illness needs to be researched and studied thoroughly before setting to show it in some way or the other. People in our society are extremely orthodox about this issue as it is. Sufferers face years of agony before speaking up in the fear of rejection, so showing a villainous personality with mental disorder is not going to help anyone.

Madiha Imam does deserve a special mention in the last review. She was very good in her acting from day one. Actually it was only her who made the drama bearable. Her character and its portrayal was very relatable as someone who tries to please her loved ones before herself, a woman torn between her heart and her duties, a girl embracing motherhood for the sake of her dead sister’s child, a mother who believes in risking her own love for the sake of her daughter’s union with her father. So many women in this world face these dilemmas daily and just like Takbeer, relationships, motherhood, obligations and responsibilities almost invariably always win. Hats off Madiha Imam for making Takbeer’s struggles so real.

The drama has lost all common sense by now. You just cannot understand anything. It looks the story was written by someone else while the characters of Takbeer’s family were created by someone else. On one hand, Takbeer, her mother, her brothers are genuinely nice, kind people and so are Musa’s family. On the other hand though, the story makes no sense. Where is Khawar? Why are those people keeping him captive? Why is he not telling them about his relatives if they are only after his wealth, which he was shown to have quite a lot of? If Takbeer cannot marry Musa because she is still Khawar’s wife according to Khalida, her husband and even Sultan, then what was the court’s decision of Khula about? Why did Khalida have that sudden change of heart on hearing about her pregnancy and why did she become so mean again? Just because her son told that Takbeer was out shopping with a man? Didn’t it occur to her that it could be Farhan? Whose side is Khalida’s husband on, anyways?

If Nuzhat was going to be such a good and cooperative bahu, then why was there so much issue in the earlier episodes? And most importantly, who are this Ayesha and Mustafa and why have suddenly Mustafa started beating and suspecting Ayesha? Did I miss something or have they really introduced a problem without introducing the characters first? Or was it just a filler episode and there can only be certain times Khalida’s scheming face and said aloud thoughts can be shown on screen, so they randomly brought some Ayesha and Mustafa in the picture??

Just when I though Zakham was finally going to make some sense and give the characters their due, it just loses all its marbles. There was a hope about Takbeer and Musa coming together and putting an end to the series of Zakhams that Khawar had been giving the sisters of this family. However, they just put them both on the back burner for these episodes and brought random things like Nuzhat’s change of demeanour and Khalida’s much awaited pregnancy and some Ayesha and Mustafa in the plot today.

I would again request you people to enlighten me if you understood any more of the drama and the direction in which it is going. Please share your thoughts…

These episodes of Zakham started with running around in circles and ended on the same theme. There was nothing, absolutely nothing useful that happened in the drama. The characters are stuck frozen in time, their transformations are unreal and their stories unrelatable. Filler scenes were added to waste the viewers’ time. The plot has been lost somewhere in the middle and now they are showing scenes just for sake of completing episodes.

Always being in favour of margins of doubts and seeing the glass full,I believe this drama’s glass is completely empty, totally bereft of anything worth watching. I wonder how successful actors like Faysa Quraishi, Madiha Imam, Shabbir Jan agreed to be part of all this madness. How can you act in a drama which has no top and no bottom and no sense and no closure.

One weird thing about the play is the ability of characters to turn over new leaves and shed their skins at one serious scolding. That was all it took for Nuzhat to become a completely different person after wasting a few episodes on showing how evil she is. Similarly, after spending almost half the drama depicting the terrible Khalida hell bent on destroying Takbeer’s life for no good reason, she has suddenly had a change of heart to become a very dutiful wife and mother. All it took was a serious scolding from her husband. Such an easy transformation. So these two episodes, she was totally and blissfully busy with her son, having no interest in Takbeer anymore and that is the end of Khalida’s story. Atleast till the writer needs another twist and gets her a psychic transformation once again. Anything is possible folks and does not need to have any semblance to reality. These sudden transformations of the main villianesses are enough to put you off this drama, and there are these other mysterious stories of Khawar’s disappearance, Khalida’s pregnancy, Sultan’s settling abroad and being there on phone all the time, Khawar’s reality and the police track and so many random unexplained things like some Ayesha and Mustafa’s domestic troubles.

On the other hand, Takbeer is in a weird state of mind. Now that everything is happening and she is having a chance to live again, she is upset and it’s not very clear why. Musa’s family is totally understanding and accepting of Fatima and yet Sultan has suddenly landed to take Fatima and raise her as his own. Nuzhat has had a complete change of heart and is such a good wife and bahu now, yet Farhat was warning Takbeer to keep her away from Sultan because he will get angry. What for? And another question, is Takbeer divorced now or not? When the court grants divorce, is there still any ambiguity whether the woman can re-marry or not. This drama is certainly creating one. Every episode, Khawar is shown the same way ; hurt, torn, hungry and reminiscing the details of how he tortured Takbeer and Tehreem. Life is passing by, episode after episode and Khawar is shown just to remind us that the show is not over not.

This play has lost all direction now. Please share your thoughts if you were consistent enough like me to bear these two hours of torture this week as well.

Zakham has to be one of the most roller coaster drama to be seen in a long time. Every episode brings a whole new set of problems, while the previous ones are still unanswered. There were some good improvements regarding Takbeer and Musa in yesterday’s episode, but things have taken another turn and a whole new dimension today.

This time the focus was on Nuzhat’s character and so much importance was given to her and her mother’s schemes that it is more of an evil bahu saga than a psychopathic husband tale. And not another one faking pregnancy report to keep her husband under her thumb please!!

On the flip side, Madiha Imam is still the saving grace of the play. Her presence and personality is extremely realistic and relatable. She is trying to keep her head high amidst all that is happening with her. She has been dealing with evil and scheming relationships since her marriage and yet she has not lost her positivity and charm and goodness and loyalty of relationships. Ismat Iqbal is also giving a good performance. Her helplessness at her daughter’s plight was very evident today. Nuzhat and Farhan were also good in their respective roles.

The one thing that is standing between Musa and Takbeer is still divorce, which is prolonging and makes me afraid that Khawar will return before that and Takbeer will face his scorn once again.

Aside from Nuzhat’s antics there was not much in the play today. She is shown as one of those phenomenally jealous women who are so driven by the typical saas and nand fights that she is creating problems where there are none. She is going all out to compare herself to a fatherless infant and showing her heartlessness. When Takbeer was sitting and remembering her relationship with her bhabi Farhat poignantly, it was very touching to feel the loss she was going through because of Nuzhat’s demeanour.

Share your thoughts about the drama please…

Episode 19 of Zakham today was mostly focused on the new entry Nuzhat, who is a new face. I could find her playing Madiha Imam’s bhabi in drama Saanp Seerhi but I could not find her name. She is a bit amateur in acting, especially when in the same shot as the naturally talented Madiha, but she has managed to convey the essence of her character appropriately. Takbeer is very unlucky when it comes to having sisters in law. One is getting jealous of her from afar and begrudging every happiness that comes Takbeer’s way and second has now entered in her household with evil aspirations for her.

Farhan is still his usual loyal and optimistic self and is too good himself to see the wrong behind other people’s intentions. Seeing Nuzhat’s disdain for little Fatima, he was rightly angered, but he still apologised for raising his voice. The irony of fate is that a gentleman like him got married to the vamp of a wife and his sister who is as nice as him also was dealt a very cruel blow in the form of Khawar. Speaking of whom, he is nowhere to be seen, with no clue as to what happened to him.

Khalida and her husband are launching a new campaign to find Khawar, this time to ensure that Takbeer doesn’t get a chance to remarry. Her husband talks sense in one episode and then becomes like Khawar and Khalida in the next. He supports Khalida while disagreeing with her at the same time. Don’t understand what he really wants.

Takbeer’s and Musa’s families are shown gravitating towords each other  in the nicest of ways.  She was very sweet in looking after Musa’s mother when he was away.  His mother was also very grateful of Takbeer’s efforts and care for her. Musa has started becoming hopeful and expressed his love when driving her home. Takbeer on the other hand is still haunted by all that happened to her and is too fearful to dream of new beginnings with Musa.  The scene where she was looking at Fatima and then remembering the feelings between her and Musa shows how torn she is at this point in her life.

Overall it was a good episode though not too fast paced but still moving forward. Things seem to be falling into place, except for Khawar’s mysterious disappearance.

Share you opinions about the episode please.

So this episode of Zakham shed light on Farhan’s efforts to help Takbeer get rid of Khawar and the tortures he made her go through.

It was generally a better episode with some happiness seeping into their lives by Farhan’s engagement and upcoming marriage. It was good to see Takbeer smile and focus on something other than her own miseries which are always shadowing her happiness. I do not know when will Sultan and Farhat return since every phone call is ending with his announcement that he is arriving soon and a similar conversation starts in the next call.

It might seem odd that a brother is collaborating with his sister’s ex fiancé for her divorce so he can get married to her, but under these circumstances, it seems like the most logical and natural thing to be done. Farhan has to the best brother in the world. If more Pakistani brothers were the same with their sisters, our domestic abuse rates would fall dramatically just due to this one thing.

I don’t understand all the legislation but I am sure there must be something in our law that would help such women get freedom from the wedlock of absent husbands. There is a glimpse in the promo when it seems like the court has declared Takbeer divorced in the absence of Khawar. He was so abusive that seeing Takbeer happy and herself in her parents’ home, I’m sure we all are also vouching that Khawar never returns. He has such a mad character that even watching him gives you stress. His absence is making the drama much more palatable. Hope Faysal Quraishi fans are not offended, but truth be told, his role is horrible.

When the khulaa notice reaches Khalida, she rushes to Takbeer’s house and the woman is so indecent that she started throwing accusations at her without considering all the people who were sitting together there. One other character that surpasses even Khawar in  its spiteful essence is Khalida. She is hands down the most loathsome sister in law I have ever seen. Takbeer and Farhan showed utmost restraint when dealing with her and that showed the difference in theirs and Khalida’s and Khawar’s upbringing. When Javiad was defending her the next day, his words were sounding lame to his own ears, and that is why he came back so angry at Khalida for all that she had said to Takbeer. I don’t know why is the spotlight on Khalida now. Maybe both she and her brother have the same kind of psychological disorder, which was initially mentioned about Khawar.

I hope the directors show some kind of happiness in Takbeer’s life very soon. It is becoming harder to watch such a tender character as her suffer so much.

Musa was also great in today’s episode. He is like a silent rock behind Takbeer and Farhan. He is cautious, strong and caring and he and Takbeer are not having any romantic conversations now but respectfully waiting for the moment when circumstances will full allow them. Yet, they carry glimmers of hope in their hearts for better times quietly. It was also very refreshing to see Musa and his mother not making an issue that Takbeer has a baby in her life now. Rather, they are wholeheartedly anticipating Takbeer’s imminent freedom like she is the same person whom they loved before her marriage . Takbeer will turn from very unlucky to very lucky very soon if her divorce is granted.

Stay tuned xx

This episode was full of more zakhams with no marham in sight and ofcourse the nasoor Khalida is still here, still as spiteful and still as selfish.

The play revolved around Takbeer’s meeting with Mehwish and their patchup with Musa’s family which I dare hope will lead to the desired outcome, and ofcourse Takbeer’s father’s death. There was such sadness in today’s episode. First around Takbeer’s vulnerable happiness which Madiha Imam is nailing perfectly. She is portraying every emotion flawlessly as the abused wife who does not know whether she should feel relieved of getting rid of an abusive husband or wait and hope for his return dutifully. The confusion, the sadness, the defeat of fate is etched out in every expression.

Her meeting with Mehwish was also executed nicely. Even though it might seem odd on the surface that she told Mehwish every tragedy of her marital life while standing outside a shop but the relationship that they had shared makes it feel quite normal. She was her best friend so she wasted no time in doing small talk after so many years.

The highlight, however, was Takbeer’s meeting with Khalida. I don’t understand what is Khalida’s agenda. I can understand she is jealous that her brother is lost and Takbeer is all hale and hearty but why she called Takbeer’s father to tell it all, which lead to his demise is quite perplexing, and why was she so indifferent to Fatima, since she is the only one of her brother’s flesh and blood and she can make her feel the most connected to him.

The aftermath of death was shown very realistically on screen. Their were too many tears today but surprisingly they did not seem fake or forced.

On the other hand, Mehwish, Farhan and I’m sure Musa is also having twinges that what could have been is being given a second chance. It is too much for Musa to vocalise his hopes yet but he will get there very soon, hopefully.

The story is quite unclear even till now and no assumption can be made as to where are the writer is leading us. So, the review is again ending on the same note that hopefully next episode will be more clearer.

P.S. I really wish talking on the phone when driving would not be shown as a norm in our dramas.

After watching today’s episode, i was like WHAT JUST HAPPENED ? The story has taken an abrupt turn on an unknown road with obstacles it does not know how to navigate.

Just now Ahmed had died and the whole family was mourning him. After that, Khawar was suddenly seen giving property papers to Takbeer and then he left, only to be kidnapped for ransom, and then police declared him a prominent member of the drug mafia who is on the run.

Did it make any sense to all of you? Am I the only one who is lost?

I had thought we would get to know more about why Khawar treated Tehreem and then Takbeer like a mentally disturbed and unstable husband. Why did then Ahmed die? And why was Khawar kidnapped? I could still take that as part of the story… but the police? What about that angle? Why are police calling him a drug dealer? Who is Khawar? And why did Khawar say to kidnappers that he had no one. Surely he knew Takbeer’s family would help him, especially since he now has an unborn child to think of as well. Or was it because he was so hopeless after Ahmed’s death?

The question of the drama has shifted from why is Khawar like that to who is Khawar?

Also, why has Sultan sent his wife abroad? They are such a well to do family and he is so family oriented. Why did he feel the need to send his wife for delivery abroad and nationality for the child and all? Eludes me completely.

A special award for the most selfish woman on earth should go to Khalida. The lady is so blinded by her self serving ideas that she has no compassion for anyone. Firstly, she was selfish enough to ask her husband to stay away and let Farhan rot in jail in place of her beloved brother whom she claims to be so close to. Secondly, she calls Takbeer’s family as if they are her personal servants to ask for the progress in finding Khawar. Sultan gave her a good curt reply but she deserved even more. People like her are just so self centred that they believe everyone’s existence is crafted for providing them services. She was loathsome in this episode.

All in all, the episode raised many more questions on top of the questions that were already there on top of those that rose in initial episodes. Madiha Imam and Faysal Quraishi were good in the limited scenes they had today.

If any of you can enlighten me about the plot, and the recent twists, please do so.

This episode of Zakham was power packed with some extremely sensitive and emotional performances. However, there was one man who stole today’s episode, fair and square. The veteran Shabbir Jan once again proved why he is one of the most loved actors spanning many years of Pakistani dramas. His acting from the scene when he was praying for Ahmed’s life, to when he was expressing regret over his decision for Takbeer, to when he was teaching her about the mystic ways of Allah and how to find solace in His decisions,  to when he was looking at Musa with sorrow and nostalgia of what could have been and he only has himself to blame for it , was all phenomenal. It was mind blowingly real, natural and carried me away with the wave of emotions of a father who did what he thought was right but he was wrong and his daughter has to pay the price for it. The agony such a father would feel was nailed by Shabbir Jan and then some more.

The other performances of today were also very impressive. Madiha Imam, Faysal Quraishi, Ismat Iqbal, Fahim Abbas.. everyone ‘s acting was right on spot. The death scene itself was quite abrupt and leaves a lot to be desired, but the performances that followed more than made up for it. Madiha Imam is usually amazing in all the scenes except when she is with Ahmed, right up to his last scene. When he was crying last night, she could not portray the real expressions of worry a mother would have. I don’t blame her though, she is quite young and not a mother herself, but I was reminded of Sanam Jung in Dil e Muztar, who had portrayed such a scene to perfection. Other than that scene, Madiha Imam was very good. Hers and Shabbir Jan’s scenes were the highlights of today’s episode and justly so. She was wonderful as a mourning parent and so was Faysal Quraishi.

The remaining episode was focused on the aftermath of Ahmed’s untimely death and it was very precisely shot. Despite dedicating all those minutes to the outpouring of grief, it did not feel dragged. Khawar’s sitting at night on Ahmed’s grave and Takbeer requesting her parents to bring him back, it was all very well coordinated and just the right amount of screen time was given to everyone.

Musa and his mother’s arrival and her conversation with Takbeer as well as Musa’s with her father cleared away a lot of bad feelings between them. Musa and his mother are genuinely very nice people.

Khalida and her husband were also great today. I don’t know the name of the actor playing her husband but his acting is very suitable for the role. He is like a rock to Khawar and Khalida and in his serious and detached attitude fits perfectly where he is in the play. Yousaf also seems to be his real son, since the resemblance is very obvious.

The promos show some interesting discoveries about Khawar.. stay tuned xx

The fourteenth episode of the drama brought some very sweet and amicable scenes to the screen. It was wonderful to see this one episode relatively free of tension and stress and conflict and of course Khalida.

Somehow after threatening Takbeer with the suicide note, Khawar mellowed down and told her he would not resort to this. Then he wept and explained to her that he is hungry for love and attention and that he has no one in his life to ever support him. Takbeer and I think all of us fell for this vulnerable side of him. I could totally relate to her anger evaporating, as I felt that same with mine. The next scene where she came down to sit with him on the porch and tried to take him out of his misery was beautifully executed and both Madiha Imam and Faysal Qureshi performed brilliantly. Madiha has been the undisputed winner throughout the drama but yesterday Faysal Qureshi’s acting matched up with her. Even though Faysal closed up before really revealing anything significant but their chemistry was a treat to watch. She was feeling for him and trying to help him as best as she could, while he appreciated her for this concern and acknowledged her efforts, could not bear to reveal whatever deep dark secrets he is hiding.

The significance of the mazar and dam track eludes me. I totally fail to understand why is it there. Maybe it will have some light shed on to it later.

In Takbeer’s parents’ house, suddenly Sultan announced that his wife is going abroad for delivery. The news and its details was a shock to Takbeer’s parents, and rightly so. One thing that stood out was his father’s stance to it. How do parents unintentionally discriminate between their kids. A father who is so supportive of each and every one of his son’s decisions, becomes so rigid and non understanding when it comes to his daughters.  No wonder, Sultan is so mature, so balanced and so wise. His father’s unwavering support for his son is wonderful. If only he was as good as a father to Takbeer, she would not have to go through so much pain in her innocent life. Even Tehreem was not able to share her troubles with her parents, even though they were consuming her.

Everything was going well in Khawar’s and Takbeer’s house until that fall out in the end about Mehwish’s wedding card. Considering the tension, it might have been wiser for them to drop Takbeer’s card in her parent’s house, but still it wasn’t reason enough for Khawar to be so mean to her all over again. It was like the last scene was just shown to remind that Khawar is still the same person and not to raise our expectations of him.

The next episode seems quite happening.. Keep watching and reading..

So the thirteenth episode of Zakham was all about Khawar and his mental illness and the sympathy card he played. The drama is not taking the story any forward. Rather, it is showing the same situation in different colours in each episode and their results are also eerily similar. Let’s take a look at the highlights of this episode.

Firstly, Takbeer’s father and brother were shown very concerned about her and really empathetic with all that she had suffered at Khawar’s hands.. With that realisation comes their decision that they will keep her in their house, away from Khawar and all the atrocities he subjects her to. Even Khawar’s over acting to show his yearning for Ahmed did nothing to weaken their resolve. They stood their ground and after much persuasion, let Khawar meet Ahmed. All this is a sign of impending freedom for Takbeer who just dared to start breathing deeper, away from Khawar and his suffocating behaviour which she had been bearing silently for quite sometime now.

Khawar runs to Khalida like a lost puppy and for the first time, she refuses to support him, but the way she did gave an insight into Khawar’s mental illness. Khalida’s advice was extremely twisted. Even though she was acknowledging that it was Khawar’s fault, she was still inciting him to take his son away from Takbeer, all the while telling him that he had been at fault and should try every trick to earn her forgiveness. If she had been raising him with this kind of narcissistic, double faced behaviour, no wonder he turned out the way he did. Later, she was lamenting to her husband, only worried that Khawar did not contact her again, with zero concern for all that must be going in his life at the moment.

Khawar’s failed suicide attempts were the most non sensical scenes I have ever come across. He again surprised with his uncanny ability to weave such intricate webs at the sane time when he is behaving as a psycho case. The missed bullet noise to blackmail Takbeer into coming was very well thought out and when she reached there, he was performing on the peak as a mentally challenged man, with spit flying out of his mouth and words spilling incoherently. How he is so cunning and disturbed at the same time is the biggest unsolved mystery of this drama.

Takbeer’s father and brother have again fell for his drama as usual, and forced Takbeer to go back home. It was so anger provoking when her father was shown so worried about him and that they should have consoled him more because he has taken Ahmed’s illness very seriously and has turned into a psycho due to one calamity falling in him after the other. It was extremely unfair of him to disregard all that Takbeer went through. From losing her only sister to ditching the love of her life for her family’s sake and being abused and suspected by a husband she never wanted to marry in the first place, being pregnant for the first time while already caring for the baby she has at home, if someone deserves sympathy, it is Takbeer. Yet Khawar gets all the sympathy after he unsuccessfully and half heartedly  attempts imaginary suicide.

Once again Takbeer’s fate has put her in his path. Her dad and brother, though disturbed seem to have sacrificed their daughter once again. Any sensible father would never have left her daughter with someone so voilently dangerous. Her brothers were somewhat reasonable in fearing that he might kill their sister, but her father wants to give Khawar another chance, even at a risk of her daughter’s chance to live. That was so utterly sad to see that a woman is used as a means to appease someone’s tantrums, and Takbeer herself was so silent, so shocked from the start of this suicide drama because she had resigned herself to her fate that Khawar will once again succeed in dragging her into his hell hole. Madiha Imam did not have much words in this episode but she is consistently outshining all other stars, including the veterans Shabbir Jan and Faysal Qureshi.

The last scene again emphasised the confusion this drama is centred on. Khawar started off by asking Takbeer to hit him with the same prod he used on her as if he was consumed by guilt and ended by him being harsh, threatening and manipulating enough to silent all her future protests. In reality, I don’t think such a suicide note would be if any significance if he took his own life, since he had the right to divorce his wife if her character was so unbearable for her and if he thought her family was supporting her in committing adultery. If they are going to use this as a base of all the future domestic abuse, I really hope they realise it’s absolutely ridiculous and totally futile.

The promo showed Sultan and his wife going away from home. Stay tuned to find out how that affects Takbeer and her marital problems..

The latest two episodes of Zakham have been aired back to back but this one was much more interesting than the last. Not only has the story moved forward but also the characters have taken a major shift in their stances.

Thw episode starts with Takbeer becoming a bit more independent and going out of the house for essentials, which is not sitting very well with Khawar. Then came the uproar of Takbeer’s pregnancy, after which the episode moved forward at quite a pace. Khawar in his illogical, unreasonable and pervert state of mind is seen torturing himself over thinking that this might be Musa’s baby. When he pours his dirty stream of thoughts in front of Takbeer, she does not take it lightly. She rightfully creates a big fuss and Khalida in her shrewd ways tries to silence her once again, but this time Takbeer has had enough. What happens in the after math of Khawar’s dirty doubts brings out all the more ugliness in both him and his sister.

Takbeer leaves for her father’s home. She knows where and how to stand up for herself. I think she is one of the most intelligent women our dramas have ever shown and despite her restrictive circumstances, she is not going to let her husband get away with abusing her character in the worst possible way. Madiha Imam was beyond phenomenal in this episode. She was so natural that if the drama becomes a hit, Takbeer would be to her what Khirad was to Mahira.

Takbeer does need to say much, her expressions speak volumes but when she does speak, she takes the audience by a storm. Her conversation with her bhabi when she questions her that why this happened to her even though she had just been a dutiful daughter was absolutely amazing. Madiha Imam is bringing to life the turmoil, the anguish and the physical and mental exhaustion a woman suffers when living with a psychopath and a narcissist. She is exercising her patience to the limit but Khawar never fails to do the thing that will make her lose it. He wants to break her spirit into obedience, but she has enough self preservation left in her to fight his dirty tactics. She again stole the show in her scene with Sultan when she looks at him incredulously when he wants to confirm that she never met Musa after marriage.

Farhan was certainly immature in going to Khawar’s house but it was understandable, since he is the youngest in the family and loves Takbeer to the moon and back. It was natural for him to be so mad to go get hold of Khawar’s collar, however, that gave him and his sister the opportunity to turn the tables around and put all the blame on Farhan’s reaction, rather than Khawar’s action. When Khalida asked, shareef gharon mai aisa hota hai, I wish someone had reminded her how shareef and khandani her own brother proved himself by doubting the paternity of his unborn child.

Khalida’s husband finally had some lines in the show and he was talking quite a lot of sense, though Khawar and Khalida are beyond any of that. He is telling Khawar the exact truth that since they have confirmed Musa is not around, there is no point in not admitting his fault since he can pry Ahmed out of Takbeer’s hands but not his other child which Takbeer is carrying. I doubt Khawar will understand any logic but it was still a very good try by his brother in law.

Hum nay to sir e mehfil

Phir tham lia hai dil

Episode 9 of Zakham was slow but amazing in the small details that were shown. It had a very accurate picture of domestic abuse which does not kill a woman or break her bones but breaks her spirit in a number of ways. There are these little things liks pretending to be nice to her when someone else is around and a bully otherwise, cutting off her support system,  doubting her valid reasons like illness for fake excuses, putting work load on her in a way that she has to bear it and then reprimanding her for not doing it with a happy face. These are the exact things that happen to crush a wife’s morale and self esteem and consumes her in hidden ways, so much so that one day she wakes up and her own reflection is a stranger to her. Such are the ways Khawar is shown oppressing Takbeer and retrospectively, as she remembers now,  demolaralising Tehreem as well.

The scene where this episode started was all too familiar, Takbeer and Ahmed absent for a genuine reason, Khawar’s head spinning like a  maniac that she has gone with Musa and then Khawar pretending he is relieved when he finds Takbeer is alright while he is seething inside. This time, however, Sultan took a good step in taking Takbeer away for sometime, though Khawar was soon there to make sure she is back again. His alter ego was once making him feel bad about mistreating Tehreem but now it is back to taunt him for not being a man enough to doubt Takbeer’s every step and give her a hard time about it. It once seemed like a guilty conscience speaking, but now it is more of a crazy sneaky man. Even Khawar’s alter ego is unsure of what it really wants from Khawar.

I may sound like a broken cord but nine episodes have gone by and we do not really know how and why Khawar is like this. The writer seems to have confused an insecure and childish man with a two face calculating one. Hence, Khawar swings between one and the other depending on the scene. He was mean enough to expect Takbeer to cook a multi course dinner for his sister’s family without any consideration for her health and then changed the word Shaitaan to shararti for   Ahmed for Tehreem’s sake. That shows him just as an immature person hungry for attention, and then when he suspects her for having an affair with Musa, he behaves like a lunatic who is hallucinating. Then again, when he pretends to be so nice in front of Takbeer’s family and changes his tone to a vile one as soon as they are out of ear shot is like a very calculating and controlling husband who knows exactly what he is doing to oppress his wife. The effect all this is having on Takbeer, however is shown with a lot of clarity. She is confused, exhausted, sensitive and tearful as any women would be under these circumstances.

Ther was not much in the episode regarding moving forward of the story. The story seems stuck where it did after Takbeer and Khawar’s marriage. Musa is shown going abroad, so he won’t be around to badger Takbeer for some more time. Rest is all the same, with all the characters with the same state of minds. Her parents are softening towards Takbeer but still do not question Khawar in anything he does. Like they can question him about the absence of a maid in the house, despite Khawar earning so well. Why can’t there by anyone to help Takbeer take care of household chores when he is certainly capable of paying them? Why cannot Takbeer go out of the house to fulfill her basic needs? Is she a house prisoner that she is or unable to go out and buy a carton of formula for Ahmed when it’s finished? If Khawar’s work at office is so important that he cannot leave it for grocery shopping, why does he not let Takbeer have the independence of doing it? Maybe it is because they, themselves are of the mindset that women need to be kept at their place; requesting, re requesting and then waiting for that request to be processed, even when they need small usable things. That is why Takbeer’s father was so against the idea of a working woman. Work brings financial independence and that is almost the only thing a woman needs to stand up for her rights. So they want to nip it in the bud by not allowing any working women to enter their household. That is just so sad.

Keep watching and commenting please.

Assalamoalikum,

So we have just seen episode 8 of zakham and honestly, except for Madiha Imam’s character and her powerful performance, we are just going around in circles here. There was no development at all in the drama except maybe showing Khabarovsk even longer than we first thought and his sister more evil than previously shown and Takbeer’s dad even more unreasonable than depicted earlier.

The only strong point of the episode was when Takbeer rose her voice and refused to apologise to Khawar when three stupidly egoistic men were verbally pouncing on her. They had her cornered but she still stood her ground, for which she was absolutely correct. The way Khawar insulted her mother and banned her from coming to their house again, was enough for any self respecting girl to want to leave that man. But alas, Khawar unfortunately holds the trump card at the moment. He knows how blindly her father trusts him and not his own flesh and blood. Later, when her father was shown regretting being so harsh, failed to strike a chord since he should be more supportive of her daughter when she needs it, rather than feeling sick with his own mistreatment of her in her absence.

And as to why Moosa was standing on the road in front of their car and how they flared in anger on seeing him was beyond my comprehension. How did they judge he is still after Takbeer? Because he is walking on the road when they are coming back from her house? Takbeer’s father and brother are almost at par with Khawar in their stupidness. Maybe even more since he proved to be quite crafty with his pretense as the meek, humble and wronged husband infront of them and they fell fully for it. Later, when Takbeer came out of the bath in distress and Khawar tried to kill the baby was not impressive at all. Faisal Qureshi did not do any wonders to the scene or maybe by now, Khawar is such a disgusting character that even Faisal does not seem likeable anymore.

The only high points of the drama were Takbeer’s behaviour infront of these oppressive men in her family and her conversation with her mother. When she asked her mother as to why she never inquired about her older sister’s anguish in this house, there was a mutual jolt of pain that passed between them and without saying it aloud or blaming anyone, mother and daughter yearned and grieved for Tehreem, silently acknowledging what she must have endured.

One funny thing was that Takbeer’s mother came to meet them the next day and Ahmed was as good as new. No sign of the bandage or wound that created such upheaval in both houses just a night before.

Hope the drama picks any pace now, we have understood quite well that Khawar has a mental illness, Takbeer’s elder brother and father are hopelessly chauvinistic and Moosa’s heart is in the right place but he has no strategy for saving Takbeer which her really wants to do. For last three episodes, drama is roaming around these three facts…

About time something more happened in the play.