AWWWWW! So with this episode, the journey of Shanakht has come to an end. I can’t praise this drama & the effort of the whole team enough for giving us such beautiful characters & an equally beautiful play that’s going to stay with us for a long long time. I must say, this drama was a complete package & the note at which it ended didn’t really leave a space for anything else & for me it was perfection personified. :)

The issues of Faryaal & Hashim’s marital life took a bad turn & when they were about to fall apart, people around them made an effort to bring them back together. I actually laughed when I heard Shireen saying she has compromised a lot on her own because that was nothing but a lie. I am glad that Ahmad took the situation in his own hands & tried to knock some sense into the Ma-Beta duo who were hell bent on ruining the peace in their home. Shireen actually needed a reality check because like Ahmad rightly said, she was equally blameworthy for instigating the havoc that overtook Faryaal & Hashim’s lives. Both Shireen & Hashim were responsible for the way Faryaal was behaving because she was justified in doing that as all she had to do was see herself getting compared to Annie for no good reason. I am sure if it wasn’t for Ahmad, Shireen would’ve left no stone unturned to part her son & daughter-in-law. Ahmad’s intervention couldn’t have come at a better time because he saw how constant comparison, nagging & taunting took a toll on Faryaal which also affected Annie in some way.

Faryaal felt she needed to speak to Rohaan because she thought she knew what was going on between Hashim & Annie but I loved that conversation where Rohaan clearly told her how much he trusted Annie. Another beautiful aspect that was covered in this play & was emphasized on enough through their relation was that the element of trust is the most important factor for having a successful martial life. Rohaan knew where Faryaal was going with her allegations & he stopped her at that very moment because he knew both Faryaal & Hashim were facing problems but that didn’t mean Annie should face the brunt for something she wasn’t responsible for.

After days of sulking over what Faryaal said, Annie decided to overcome it with the help of Rohaan & then she decided to deal with the issue because she only wanted to save Faryaal & Hashim’s marriage. I loved the final confrontation between Annie & Hashim where she clearly told him the things he needed to know. I must say once again Hashim proved himself to be such a person who lacks a mind of his own & has no direction in life whatsoever because in the end he ended up getting influenced by Annie as well. I know what Annie said saved their marriage & it was supposed to be that way but seems like Hashim never really used his brains himself & always wanted someone to hold his hand & lead his way. Anyhow, I loved the conversation Annie had with him because it was written perfectly where she really made him realize his mistakes & sided with Faryaal because all this while, she was never at fault. So, with this, the mess of Hashim’s life got sorted & Faryaal was spared from the further misery & I think no other end would’ve suited this drama better.

In the end, I just want to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to the writer/director Amna Nawaz Khan for giving us Shanakht; a beautiful play that we all were waiting for. For me, Shanakht wasn’t just a story of few pious characters but it was more like a journey about how they attained the inner peace & how one such decision changed the course of not only their lives but the lives of people related to them too. Shanakht emphasized on the fact that how people should lead their lives in accordance with the teachings of Islam because when you experience an inner awakening & try to understand what your religion says, it only has a positive impact on your life & then gives you an edge to lead an exemplary, influential & inspirational life. I am so glad that the focus of this drama wasn’t only confined to the dressing or a headscarf & a beard  but it had a very strong message within, which has been relayed loud & clear. A big shout out to the whole creative team of the drama as well & last but not the least, a standing ovation for Maya Ali, Fahad Mirza, Noor Hassan & Kanza Wayne for playing their roles to perfection, especially Maya & Fahad for beautifully breathing life into the characters of Qurat ul Ain & Rohaan because they’re unforgettable & will remain with us for a long long time. I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing this play because I actually fell in love with it the moment I started watching it & it has been a beautiful journey for sure. Thanks a lot to the regular readers & supporters for appreciating my reviews on Shanakht too. :) Share your thoughts & say with me about this episode of Shanakht please & let me know how much you enjoyed watching this drama. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, I think the show has reached to its final stages where the last things are being taken care of & then they’ll wrap up the story properly with a happy ending. Things have gotten worse only so that they can be sorted out once & for all.

I’m sorry to say but Hashim is a perfect example of a hypocrite person who is selfish to the core. First he got married to the girl of his choice because he had some agendas in his mind, by ignoring rather forgetting about his parents completely & now ever since he has gotten married, he has wanted to see such changes in his wife that she is unaware of. How is Faryaal supposed to know what change Hashim’s in a mood to see today? It’s like as the days are passing by Hashim is getting more & more conscious about his wife’s personality, attitude & behaviour only for the worst. I think when Hashim himself didn’t care about his parents at all, how does he expect Faryaal to walk an extra mile for them? What she knew all along is that she was Hashim’s priority because he gave her such an impression & now when she is only focusing on her husband, Hashim has an issue with that too. He needs to know that Faryaal is just being herself where she is comfortable with him & also with the people around her, so his long sermons do not help the situation at all.

I know a few readers might not agree with me on this but I think Faryaal is fully justified in how she is reacting because she has a full right to be frustrated. Ever since she has walked into Hashim’s life, she has only seen herself being compared to Annie & has always been belittled because of her. I think any girl would react exactly the same way when she will see her husband being a fan of some other lady & wanting his wife to change herself so that she can reach the bar raised by the ideal woman & also I think it was way out of the line for Hashim to admit that he regrets rejecting Annie, this would’ve definitely cause a dent on Faryaal’s ego so he shouldn’t expect her to stay quiet on this. I find Faryaal justified because like she said, Hashim liked her the way she was & how in her wildest dream she would’ve thought that one fine day her husband will wake up from a deep slumber & will have an entirely new ideology up his sleeve. Faryaal belongs to UK & she isn’t conscious of those values or constraints a Pakistani family follows, so instead of being frustrated & impatient, Hashim should try to convey what he expects from her a bit more politely & appropriately. I completely blame Hashim for being so selfish & impatient that now all of a sudden he wants everything to happen according to him & he has so quickly fallen out of love & has grown out of his marriage that everything Faryaal does only makes him uncomfortable & unhappy.

Another unreasonable person of this family has to be Shireen. She is bored & lonely; therefore Faryaal is facing the brunt of her MIL’s boredom. Hashim is Shireen’s only child & she’s well aware of how careless & spoiled Hashim was before too, so why is it that ever since he has gotten married, Shireen has only held Faryaal responsible for his behaviour? She doesn’t waste a single opportunity she gets to brain feed Hashim against Faryaal & still she thinks her DIL is the only reason of her son’s agitation? Shireen wants Annie to help her with the redecoration whereas it’s always the DIL who does these sorts of things so that she can show some interest in her home & feels like a part of the family. That’s another way of welcoming a DIL but Shireen has never taken a step towards Faryaal to show her acceptance & then she thinks Faryaal will change herself for her MIL whereas Faryaal doesn’t have a reason to do anything for anyone in that house because instead of treating her with respect & showing some patience & politeness to her, they all have jumped down her throat & have pressurized her which she doesn’t deserve at all. I know people think it’s DIL’s responsibility to adjust, change & even compromise but I think it’s the duty of every single person to act reasonably. Faryaal has herself heard Shireen badmouthing her so many times, so what makes Shireen think that Faryaal will ever be able to respect her & same goes for Hashim, the moment he hears his mother’s sob stories, he loses his calm with Faryaal, so if he was such a mama’s boy, why didn’t he think about his mother before getting married to Faryaal in the first place?

Even though I feel bad for Annie for what she had to go through but I felt equally bad for Faryaal where Hashim screamed at her in front of Annie. I think before expecting anything from anyone, Hashim needs to bring a change in himself because he should know, changes don’t occur overnight, there’s a lot that has to be sacrificed in order to achieve something & if he wants to see Faryaal adjusting to his liking, then he should give her some time & more than that, some respect because by the end of the day, she’s his wife & not some servant who’d only follow his commands. I don’t think even after Hashim will change, I’d ever bring myself to like his mean character because he wouldn’t do anything for anyone but will expect that the universe will revolve around him. Share your thoughts on this episode please.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Hmmmm, it was kind of a slow episode but never mind, may be because they’re showing us new set of problems of a newly wedded couple altogether & also because we don’t think so highly of Hashim, that’s why his issues doesn’t seem appealing for now but after the preview of next episode, I am sure we’ll have an interesting developments in the story because I think this time around Annie will be involved in their fiasco too.

Ohkay, so Hashim is trying to change Faryaal because now he is not comfortable with who she is, how she dresses up & what her mindset is. It’s obvious that they both are having compatibility issues but on the other hand, I think Hashim deserves a credit for at least trying to face his problems & finding solutions for the first time. I still feel it’s important for him to change himself first & lead by example because actions speak louder than words. Till now Faryaal knows that Hashim fell in love with who she was, it wasn’t like one fine day without knowing much about her, he decided to get married to her. Hashim jumped into this relation with his eyes wide open & now if his perspective has changed, he should blame himself first before blaming Faryaal because she is still trying to make her marriage work despite the drastic changes she is seeing in Hashim which are keeping him unhappy all the time.

I think it was rather sweet of Faryaal to show some consideration to her in laws but the way Shireen reacted was totally uncalled for. I really think just like Rohaan’s mother, Shireen also needs some activity in her life because looks like her idleness is really taking a toll on her mental state & rationality. I think for once Shireen needs to understand that instead of blaming Faryaal & altercating with her, if she’d deal with her patiently, it would be beneficial for her own household. I really think it’s unreasonable of Shireen to blame Faryaal for everything related to Hashim. If Faryaal’s guilty, I say Shireen is equally guilty in eradicating the peace out of Hashim’s life as well.

Finally, I think we saw a ray of hope in Hashim’s life because all these problems have brought him to a threshold where he is really thinking about what’s missing from his life & I think this question will change the course of his life. I think this is just the beginning because before expecting anything from Faryaal, Hashim will now try to work on himself because he is the one who really needs to change & only then his life will shape up according to his desires. I liked what Ahmad said to Hashim because the sudden change in his personality will not only affect him but people around him too & it’s better that before expecting others to change themselves, Hashim needs to transform his mentality & mend his ways to make others understand what he wants out of life as well.

I really love how Annie & Rohaan are always a team when dealing with anything in their lives. I really like seeing Hashim, Annie & Rohaan spending time with each other because the couple doesn’t know how they’re indirectly helping Hashim in revaluating the priorities in his life. I think it was a subtle but a right move where Hashim decided to involve Annie & seek her help as he knows Annie has left a great impression on Faryaal & she can really make Faryaal understand the situation better.

Overall, it was a pretty decent episode & yes, now I can watch Shanakht peacefully because the fear of something happening to Rohaan has subsided. Phew! Share your thoughts please. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Hmmmm, this drama is indeed breaking some norms here. It was once again a very well-paced episode but the main focus was purely on Hashim. I do still not understand how his & Faryal’s track will unfold but I wish whatever happens, they end up sorting their own matters by leaving Annie & Rohaan alone.

To be honest, I really thought that Faryal’s mother would push her to stand against her in-laws but all the advices that she gave to her daughter really came as a pleasant surprise to me. I never thought that she’d tell her daughter to compromise & will make her understand how she needs to work on her marriage. After this I really thought Faryal would show some concern but before blaming her, I think the whole blame goes onto Hashim. I really am having a hard time liking his character because to me he seems like a very confused person who has got no brains of his own. One fine day, he woke up & didn’t want to get married to Annie. Another fine day, he got married to Faryal without even giving this relation a second thought. Now he barely has a time for his wife but he’s shamelessly eyeing his best friend’s wife & cousin Annie & what for, I really have no idea about that.

I don’t think Hashim was such a child that he really took his friend’s words about a religious girl seriously that he ended up marrying Faryal because after meeting him again, all sorts of different thoughts started gushing through his head & for all the wrong reasons. I was right; Hashim is a quitter because now instead of looking for solutions, he’s just trying to avoid his problems. He is capably seeing Faryal’s weaknesses & faults but he doesn’t have a nerve to take the matter in his own hands & guide her rightly. Does he really think that just by verbally reminding her repeatedly about the differences between the dynamics, he’d be able to rectify her & mould her? Hashim needs to give her some time rather than avoiding her using workload as an excuse & yes, why is it that the oh-so modern & liberal Mr. Hashim is having a problem with the idea of his wife doing a job? She belongs to UK & that’s such a done deal there, but his shock doesn’t help the situation at all. Faryal has a lot of free time on her hands so it’s better to utilize it because Shireen makes her feel unwelcomed, so to keep her sanity intact, Faryal has made the right decision.

I can clearly see that Hashim has started to take some interest in Annie because he wanted to speak to her but changed the topic the moment Rohaan showed up which I thought he might’ve wanted to speak to her about Faryal but the worst fear was confirmed when he clearly showed his disappointment just when Annie didn’t show up for the dinner. I really think the joint-project was a bad idea to begin with because both Annie & Hashim are oblivious of what’s churning in his mind. I really didn’t like the way he went around telling Annie how inconsiderate Rohaan was & how typical she has become because before saying all that, he needs to know that he has a love-wife of his on waiting for him at his house but sadly, he has someone else on his mind & that makes me dislike his character even more. I think Hashim shouldn’t really let the past memories cloud his mind to an extent where he’d stop seeing the good in his wife & will start fancying Annie as a perfect partner. Hashim himself knows that Rohaan is a very easy-going person & now while working with them he himself has seen how stronger their relation is, so before getting carried away with his feelings, he should rationally back out but then can we expect anything better from such a selfish person like him, who only puts his wishes ahead of anybody else? I so wish Annie tackles him wisely & gives him a shut up call when needed because let’s face it, Annie is way out of his league & I certainly don’t want to see them together, EVER!

Annie has pretty much taken the charge of her house & office & she is maintaining the balance between the two perfectly. It was good to see Rohan’s mother being all praises for her Annie & now when she has gotten to know her, she couldn’t tolerate the way others spoke about Annie as if she was some uncultured person. I think the transformation that Rohaan’s mother has shown is very realistically portrayed & what makes it better is that she has not only recognized her mistake but has rectified it too. & yes, I certainly like the calm & peaceful Huma a lot better as well. It was good to see her having a conversation with Shireen where not because she herself is in such a position, she tried to make Shireen understand how she should give a chance to Faryal as well because Huma was speaking while keeping her own experience in mind. Huma clearly misunderstood Rohaan but was totally impressed by Haris & now she has understood that you really don’t know what lies inside someone’s heart & just because she herself has seen how she was wrong too, she wants Shireen to let go of Faryal’s mistakes as well. To be honest I still feel Shireen’s being unreasonable because she is hell-bent on not budging & is so overwhelmed by the detest she has towards Faryal, that I don’t think anything’ll be able to change that.

I must say I had a panic attack when I saw the accident scene in the upcoming clip but thankfully the crisis was averted. I hope they don’t begin the series of misfortune after all this because first Rohaan wasn’t feeling well & then he had a minor accident. To be honest when I heard them talking about the flight, I was scared but thankfully Rohaan showed up in the next episode’s preview, phew! :)

This episode had some great conversations once again & I really like the way Rohan always steals the moment to praise Annie whenever he can. This time around it was her name that he said a few good words about & it really shows how sweet a relation of a husband & wife is when they’re completely in love with each other. Well, there is a jinx (Hashim) hovering around them & I so wish someone shoos him away, lol!

It goes without saying but I’d have to do the honours so yes; I thoroughly enjoyed watching this episode of Shanakht as well. Share your thoughts, your fears & your worries please. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

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.

I think I’m falling short of words because I can’t find enough decent ones to praise the writer/director Amna Nawaz Khan for giving us such a well-thought & beautiful play. Just when we thought things might get predictable, she surprised us with new developments that I am sure no one could’ve thought of. I never thought I’ll ever get a play that I would like to watch over & over again like Malal but now I know, I’ve got Shanakht. I really want to thank the team of Shanakht from the bottom of my heart because this play is like a perfect & beautiful journey which I am sure is going to stay with us for a long long time.

I think in the previous episodes, viewers were under the impression that the characters are kind of black & white like the good ones or rather to be more precise; ‘religious’ people in this drama are the best & the not-so-good ones or unreligious are the worst but the way we’ve seen the change in the attitude of every single person around Annie & Rohaan really dispelled the impression that a lot of people were getting. I think it’s been tackled & then showcased very convincingly that people do take their time in accepting people who are of a different mindset to them. This is why we found Rohaan’s mother & sisters indulging in a detest for Annie without any good reason but yes, this once again justifies the way Annie’s character has been etched out that just because of her patience & her habit of not paying heed to the negative comments, people around her started loving her. In the beginning of the episode, to hear Rohaan’s mother agree to the notion of having a good daughter in law was really pleasant but I didn’t know that this episode would offer much more in terms of her acceptance towards Annie where we’d have all the more reasons to smile. I am really glad that they’ve shown some sort of guilt that Zubia’s burdened with because it shows that she has a conscience as well & she’s well-aware of what she has done but just when she needed a friend to speak her heart out to, she chose Annie, as she knew Annie will show her the right direction, so once again it shows that Zubia’s character wasn’t one-dimensional or black but rather she now looks very human & genuine where she reacted differently in different circumstances & the situations that she faced made her perspective change. I think Shanakht’s main focus was only on changing perspectives & so far they’ve intelligently untangled the knots.

Obviously, Kashaf is not at fault & her stand for this matter is definitely right that she will not submit to Haris’s inhumanity but I wasn’t too sure about the advice Huma gave her like Kashaf didn’t need to bend at all unless Haris does. I am totally with Kashaf on this & I feel for her a lot but I think Huma has lost credibility because of her irrationality previously. I wish they had shown some more father-daughter sessions because Amjad’s take on this would’ve seemed a lot more rational & stable. Of all the things Huma has done, I think she for once made the right decision where she requested Rohaan & Annie to get involved in this. This once again sheds a light on Huma’s acceptance of Rohaan & the acknowledgement of his wisdom because in such a difficult hour, Huma depended on Rohaan because she had some sort of faith in him. I must say, this is a random thought but I really like the way they’ve shown how Annie has maintained a balance between her families where she is not seen unnecessarily spending time with her own family while ignoring her in-laws. This aspect also needs to be highlighted because even though Annie never had a reason to spend more time at her in-laws because of the way they treated her, she made sure she didn’t use it as an excuse to neglect her new found family. I really liked the way she honestly told her mother that her in-laws were expecting some guests for the dinner that’s why she couldn’t come to meet her that day. I like the way Annie has prioritized Rohaan & his family because she knows she needs to spend some more time with them to help them understand her better.

I think Shireen’s being unreasonable where she is nit-picking on Faryal for petty things. I think even before Hashim said it, it was Shireen who wasn’t so impressed by the changes Annie made in her appearance like her Hijab & now when she sees Faryal dressing up like any liberal girl would, she has an issue with it too. Shireen should understand that even though Hashim shared a certain wavelength with Annie, he never saw her as a life-partner because he clearly wanted someone modern & chic like Faryal, so to see Shireen draw comparison between both Annie & Faryal didn’t really seem justified. I really thought their presence wouldn’t contribute much but I think as a side track, they still make a very interesting story. Let’s see what will it take Faryal to convince Shireen to like & more importantly; accept her but I really doubt that Faryal’s in a mood to do that because she clearly seems ticked off with Shireen’s attitude.

I thought the way Haris treated Rohaan & Annie would be left in the lurch & may be a sudden realization of some other sort would hit him where he might miss Kashaf & realize his mistake on his own but the way what Haris did come back & bit him was surprisingly a very interesting twist in the story. Who could’ve thought that Haris would ever be in such a position where he’d have to seek Rohaan’s help & he’d be compelled & more so, helpless to do so? I really think this was a very smart move of the writer to introduce Haris’s dependency on Rohaan because this will convince & make him regret that even after he ill-treated him, Rohaan still extended some help to Haris when he needed it.

So, this pretty much sums up this week’s review. It goes without saying but I loved watching Shanakht this week as well. It was one interesting episode & I really wish it goes on like that. I did pick on something in the preview where Huma’s saying to Shireen about how Annie gets restless when she sees someone of her own in pain, so this is Rohaan she was talking about? I hope it’s nothing major because Huma really casually said so. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be over dramatic where Faryal will run away because of Shireen’s meddlesome nature & Hashim will once again become single to be like a back-up option for Annie, please NOOO! I really don’t see Annie & Hashim connecting to each other ever because they are two very different people.

Loved the direction, loved the acting & yes, I’m in love with this play. I know this would sound totally random but I really really like the way Kashaf (Hina Javed) has paired harem pants with long tees, it is ‘the most’ comfortable attire to be in, at home. & yes, the whole kangan-for-bahu conversation was really sweet; finally Annie’s getting the acknowledgement that she worked for & more so which she actually deserves. Really loved the conversations of Annie & Rohaan even though they were a little less but still, something’s better than nothing. It is so good to see such a nice couple sharing such a healthy relation with each other. Share your thoughts on this episode of Shanakht please. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

ps: I know the reviews that I write of Shanakht are way too longgg but, can you blame me? :)

Ohkay so, once again it was a fairly decent episode with a little happenings here & there. Even though this episode was somehow limited in progress, the pace was still smooth with one thing or the other happening in it. Really happy with the way things are unfolding in this play & how every episode is different from the other where you never feel bored or feel that the scenes are repetitive.

Isn’t it good to see that Beena has taken inspiration from Annie? Beena on her own has started to conduct a research on the matter as she feels inclined to it & gladly she has Annie’s support. I am sure when Rohaan will find out, not only will he appreciate Beena but will encourage her as well. Obviously, just like Huma objected on Annie’s choices, Beena’s mother is going to react the same way but luckily for her, she has Annie by her side to share her personal experience & incidents with her to keep her motivated & make her understand that walking on this path is comparatively difficult as to how it is by being in your comfort zone.

Rohaan left & Annie got busy with her office routine but what I loved the most were their phone conversations. I think it’s been ages & I probably don’t even remember that when did I last see a couple having a ‘normal’ conversation with each other where they spoke about daily routines, spoke about how they missed each other & how the husband demanded his wife to come & receive him at the airport. I think this is something we haven’t seen lately in our dramas & I always wondered when can we get to see such a couple who has realistic & casual conversations. Isn’t it great that we asked for it & we got it? :)

It was indeed sad to see Kashaf suffering at the hands of Haris. He has turned out to be the meanest person & to turn Kashaf’s life into a nightmare; he even resorted to domestic violence. Obviously, Huma feels for Kashaf & so does Amjad but he was right where he made her understand that relations aren’t cut off on such issues because every problem has a solution as well. Amjad rightly pointed out that Haris was Kashaf’s own choice. It was good to see that Huma reminded Kashaf of Annie & her part in their property, which she is entitled to even if she doesn’t ask for it. Huma has clearly understood that Annie has not bothered her as much as Kashaf has, both before & after her marriage. Obviously, what Kashaf is going through is a rough phase of her life but Huma & Amjad can’t help but draw a comparison between both Rohaan & Haris.

I totally agree to Rohaan’s opinion of Hashim, he actually is a ‘confused’ person who doesn’t know what he wants out of life. The way he tackled his marriage was very immature. Him not telling his parents about the marriage was another thing but the way he kept Faryal in the dark was again really odd. He should’ve at least told her like she said so that at least she could’ve prepared herself for being sidelined like that. I don’t know why but I find this whole Hashim-Faryal wedding aspect a bit forced right now. I am not too sure why but things could’ve happened pretty easily because Shireen & Ahmad were never strict parents but to show Hashim’s negligence & the urge to go for a stealth wedding doesn’t seem convincing to me. I hope in the future they do have something to justify this move of Hashim or else if this whole family is treated as a side track, it would be the right thing to do.

Looking forward to the next episode already as like I sussed, Rohaan & Annie both will come to Kashaf’s rescue & will do their bit in making Haris understand that he’s wrong. I think from now on, the story will shift on Hashim’s wife & Shireen’s issues with her but never mind, as far as we get to see our favourite duo happy with each other, nothing else matters. :) & oh yes, I liked the whole Annie-demanding-gifts conversation too, because it once again showed that they both are a normal couple where wife demands & husband teases her, it was rather sweet. Thoroughly enjoyed this episode, share your say about it as well! :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

PS: You guys might’ve noticed, I am posting the reviews a bit late these days, that is because the daylight saving has started here & the episodes now air at the local time of 2-3AM, because of which I’m having a hard time adjusting to this change. Trust me, I am trying my best & will come back to posting the reviews as quickly as possible so till then, bear with me pleaseeeeeeeeeee. :D
Thank you all for being so awesome. :)

Isn’t it amazing that this drama is getting better & better? I think we’re almost half way through the drama & even though there’s so much that has happened already, still there’s a lot more that’s left to be revealed. This actually shows the dedication of the writer/director to keep viewers so entertained, that they don’t even get the time to even guess or anticipate about what might happen. Seems like the writer has already thought about the whole story so well that she knows what card needs to be revealed at what time, that is why the timing of this play is an added bonus along with the amazing characters, a great story & a perfect pace.

Sadly, Rohaan’s mother is still as unreasonable as she was before. I was kind of surprised to see her reaction at the leaked video of Zubia where she didn’t feel it was her duty to remind her daughter about what’s wrong & what’s right, & instead, she was more concerned about the humility she had to face because of her daughter. I thought may be for once she will remind Zubia of her irresponsibility & will make her realize that what she did was wrong, but her mother was only worried about herself & that’s all that mattered to her.

Even though Hashim; being the only son, has always been very close to his parents & his mother in particular, it kind of showed his hypocrisy where he could spend the time with his girlfriend but didn’t have the guts to tell his mother honestly that he was going out with someone & actually likes her. Very conveniently, he hid that part of his life from his parents & still he believes he’s very liberal. I guess Hashim has always judged people like Rohaan for their double standards, but what Hashim did himself was a perfect example of it & I kind of liked the subtle approach of the writer on this. Hashim knows too well that he belongs to a very modern family where his parents supported his decision of not marrying a Hijabi, but to see him beating around the bush due to Faryal’s presence in his life was a well-thought portrayal of Hashim’s hypocrisy.

Finally, Annie gave a shot at rescuing Zubia from the trouble, with the help of her friend Ayesha & her brother Abdul Rehman. I think this indeed was a very unusual & unpredictable move that of all the people, Annie was able to find a perfect solution to Zubia’s mistake. I think it was a very well-calculated move on Annie’s part where she knew exactly what she had to do. I am glad to see that Annie didn’t just think her responsibility ended where she got the video deleted but she also took a moment to calm Rohaan down & make him understand that Zubia’s apologetic & regrets what she has done. I liked the fact that first Annie handled the problem on her own without bothering Rohaan about it & later, very honestly, she told Rohaan about how she asked her friend & her brother for the favour. This goes to show that even though Annie may seem like a very simple & submissive person, she is independent & strong-willed as far as she knows what she’s doing is right.

I think, once again they showed a positive side of Rohaan where in spite of blaming his mother or his sister for the questionable antics, he held himself responsible for being too ignorant of his sisters where he couldn’t lead them towards the right path. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation Annie & Rohaan had about that matter where Annie clearly told him that at least Rohaan is aware of what he needs to do in life & how he has to stick to the right path. It was good to see that Rohaan understood what Annie told him & decided to ignore Zubia’s mistake. & isn’t it good to see that both the sisters; Zubi & Beena have actually started liking Annie & are accepting her for who she is. They did take some time to understand Annie but now, they definitely can see that she’s a different person who doesn’t believe in preaching others as she is too busy focusing on how to rectify herself first. I think both Beena & Zubia will now take a stand for Annie & rule out all the negativity of their mother towards her.

Even though it’s too early to show the real colours of Haris to us, I think it’s still a good thing that without dragging the matter further, they have started to reveal the ordeals Kashaf will have to face after being married to Haris. He clearly comes across as an ignorant spoiled brat who thinks the world revolves around him. Haris might think of himself as a liberal person but he doesn’t know he’s as staunch as those people he was dissing while using them as an example. Haris clearly labelled religious people as hypocrites but when Kashaf tried to show him the positive side of Rohaan as to how he was taking care of Annie, Haris straight away said he can’t be like those husbands who give much importance to their wives. Huma has also started to see the difference between Rohaan & Haris because clearly, she looked disappointed at the new demand that Haris proposed to them. I think even though for the sake of comparison between the two guys; Rohaan & Haris, the irrationality of Haris is understandable but to see Kashaf suffering because of such an immature person is kind of sad.

I really liked the conversation between Haris & Rohaan & I feel it was very well-written because it covered all the issues that people these days do debate about. Haris obviously came with a baggage where he felt he had to look down on Rohaan for being religious but all the answers that he got in reply to his questions showed that when he couldn’t handle the situation, he resorted to rudeness, where he kept on debating for the sake of it without making much sense at all. For a change, I feel it’s good to see that Kashaf was supportive of Rohaan & without worrying much about what Haris might feel; she had the guts to tell him the truth about Rohaan, which Haris was clearly unable to see.

Next episode’s preview was once again very interesting where Hashim will return to Pakistan with Faryal as his wife. That actually gave me a satisfaction that all those speculations about something happening to Rohaan can now be thrown out of the window as Hashim’s already married *phew* so he can’t come for Annie’s rescue anymore, haha. & yes, last but not the least, despite all the happenings, one thing’s commendable that the director never misses out on the relation of Annie & Rohaan because after all that they both have to deal with, they always take some time to have a heart-to-heart conversation with each other & for that, it was actually very sweet to see Rohaan telling Annie when & why he fell for her to which Annie responded with a very cute wifelike tantrum. :) So glad that this drama’s still going strong, share your say please. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.