Ohkay so, the first part of this episode was boring but the second part was decent, especially the bits related to Khayyam & Sassi.

I swear ever since Tipu’s character has made an appearance, he has made it impossible for me to take this drama & the entire situation seriously. He has turned into a pet peeve of mine & no joke, I have a hard time looking at my TV screen during his scenes. Though the writer is trying to use Meena’s character to convey something but it still isn’t making an impact. I so wish the writer hadn’t introduced the characters of Tipu & Meena because before them, the drama was doing great & it had that intensity which kept my interest intact but now everytime I see Tipu, I see him as a result of Mamo & Khayyam’s faulty upbringing & their failure as parents. Tipu seriously makes me wonder ke is family mai koi mentally sane, koi normal hai bhi ya nahi?

I think we were doing just fine with two difficult characters of Khayyam & Sassi therefore there was no need for another twisted character Tipu who abuses & assaults his girlfriend that he says he loves. I think we were also fine with two similar characters of Mamo & Qasim who only knew how to love selflessly that is why to see another selfless lover Meena isn’t really making an impact. I really hope the writer here is not trying to show that a girl who comes from such an environment which is all about woman’s independence & empowerment, settling for an abusive guy like Tipu? Meena’s reaction after she got slapped left me baffled & even before that, a lot of emphasis was made on the fact that Meena does everything that pleases Tipu, so I think she is another Mamo in a modern packaging. I don’t know how many readers will agree with me but I feel the writer has put all the characters into 2 catagories & it is becoming way more evident now. Catagory 1 is of characters like Khayyam, Sassi & Tipu who are selfish to the core & Catagory 2 is of characters like Mumtaz, Qasim & Meena who are a bit too selfless. Even though the situation may look interesting or engaging but this similarity is making everything seem a bit too monotonous & one dimensional!

Tipu definitely has committed some fraud back in London that is why he has come to Pakistan to get some money. His character is absolutely useless & what irks me more are his random ghairatmandi fits that he gets the moment he sees Qasim? Seriously? Anyways!!!

I loved Sassi’s character for the fact that she was unapologetically herself, she had her vision, she had her mind, yes, even though she saw things through her father’s perspective but still she had her own personality, her own thinking but now I have started to feel as if she doesn’t have that personality whatsoever. It is like Sassi gets fascinated by just anyone who isn’t like Mumtaz – first Sonia, like she was literally striving to be like her that is why she went through the hassle of trying to become an actor & now ever since Meena has come into her life, she is a bit too impressed & is trying to be like her too. I know it is natural that people do get inspired by people who are different to them but I wish the writer had kept her personality a little stronger in this regard because we all see her as that Sassi who had the nerve to look into Khayyam’s eyes & tell him that he was wrong! That is the Sassi that I loved when the drama began as she had so much to promise but now she looks like a lifeless simpleton who has nothing to do so she just keeps on wasting her time in things that don’t even matter!

Well, my favorite part of this episode was the conversation between Khayyam & Sassi. Since Sassi is a carbon copy of Khayyam & since she has experienced what is it like to be loved by someone to such an extreme that he sacrificed everything for her, she could relate to what her father was feeling & going through ever since Sonia Jahan went missing & how it was taking a toll on Mumtaz. Sassi may be tried to show him a mirror that Mumtaz’s love for him was way too strong because of which she was tolerating everything. It was good to see Sassi trying to advocate her mother this time but what’s even better was her question regarding Sonia’s return. Since Sassi herself is like Khayyam & she thinks like him too, she knew exactly how Khayyam Sani will change when Sonia will come back. Sassi knows that all of his guilt, his realization, his remorse will go out of the window the moment he will see her as he loves her a bit too much!

Oh well, it was disappointing seeing Qasim hovering in the background like a paid audience. Also to see him getting shoved by a half man like Tipu isn’t pleasing too. Chalo, he can’t take a stand in front of Sassi, like he likes being that way in front of her as it’s his way of displaying his love but why does he act like a fish out of the water in front of Tipu? Qasim had his strong reasons for what he did & why he backed out of marriage so to see him taking Tipu’s crap makes it look like he himself feels guilty for what he has done? Well, even though the writer has tried to showcase double standards of men, I was majorly disappointed by most of Mumtaz’s dialogues in this episode too because she kept on highlighting that it was ok for men to do cross all the boundaries but when it came to women, they had to abide by all the rules!?! Oh well!

Anyways, this episode was strictly alright. I still like the original lot & still find their bits interesting but since Tipu & Meena are getting so much of coverage & unfortunately a good chunk of story is dedicated to them, it is upsetting & disappointing that despite wanting to, I can not ignore them. I think it is safe to say that I will be screening Hamza Firdous’s projects in the future because like they say first impression’s the last impression & oh boy, I don’t think I need to say some more. Sajal Ali & Noman Ejaz’s performance was perfect like always. Anyways, please share your thoughts about this episode of O Rangreza.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, if we watch this drama as it unfolds without expecting the story to be clear on its purpose, then it surely is enjoyable to watch. Even though the message that the writer is trying to convey has now become a bit too repetitive, I still had a good time watching this episode.

It was interesting to see how Khayyam & Sassi were both struggling to be who they were as they both were falling short of the confidence they had on themselves only because they gave too much power to others to have over them. Sassi & Khayyam’s dispute hasn’t subsided but it has settled for now but it was noteworthy that the father-daughter duo was faced with the similar sort of situation. For the first time Khayyam was unsure of himself because of Sonia & similarly, Sassi was unsure of herself because of Wajih.

I must say, I liked how it was shown that the source which was an inspiration to Khayyam for his writing & the source whose love made Khayyam feel self-assure was now also the reason behind him feeling like a failure. Where Khayyam’s love for Sonia Jahan gave him this confidence, it also shattered his confidence this time around. This was something that I enjoyed watching when I analyzed it. Similarly, even though Sassi’s sudden love for Wajih has no justification at the moment, even she felt like a nobody due to how Wajih was treating her by not accepting her or her feelings.

To be honest, as much as I like Qasim’s character, I felt disapponted even more when I saw him settling for such meaningless life whereas he could’ve done so well for himself if he had chosen to stay out of this messy situation. I don’t get why Qasim had to personally come to be all ears to Sassi & her feelings, because he could’ve listened to her & advised her over letters too. Qasim chose to come back so that he could play the role of Sassi’s chauffeur & settle for a beating from Tipu? Like really? Even though as much as their scenes together are enjoyable, I so wanted to see Qasim doing something to make his presence felt in this family. I totally found Wajih’s question apt where he asked Qasim ‘kya tum sab pagal ho’, even I am finding it hard to take them all seriously too because like Wajih said, they don’t seem normal!

I am still annoyed with Tipu’s character but for the first time I saw the reason why he was a part of the story. Sassi thinks just by supporting Tipu’s love for Meena, she will be able to get the support back when she will need it in regards to her love for Wajih, but I am sure she is gravely mistaken. Sassi is repeating her mistake where she blindly supported Khayyam’s love for Sonia thinking he will let her choose the path that she wanted but that didn’t happen, so I believe she will go through that again when Tipu will refuse to support her. Once again Sassi’s trust will be shattered & once again out of all the people she will have Qasim by her side!

Meena & Mumtaz’s scene was sweet. It was like Meena could see the pain in Mumtaz’s eyes & may be because she herself has seen someone dear to her going through the same experiences, she can not only feel but relate to that pain as well. I think after Qasim, may be Meena will feel for Mumtaz.

So Sassi chose to let Wajih know what she is made of & that riled Wajih up so much that he ended up meeting Khayyam to give him a piece of his mind. Well, this was something that I said in my earlier reviews when Khayyam took Sassi to see Sonia’s shooting that Khayyam Sani is a coward who uses ladies of the family as a sheild. So, Wajih Kamal used the exact same words for Khayyam & what he said was spot on. Khayyam is someone who needs a supportive punching bag by his side every single time, that is why now that Sonia is gone he is being dependant on Mumtaz for his selfish reasons whereas she is being sincere in extending support to her husband!

Anyways, overall this episode was quite interesting & I had a great time watching it. The acting of Sajal Ali is a treat to watch & I love her as Sassi. I am sure no other actor could’ve done a better job at portraying Sassi the way Sajal has done. The preview of the next episode suggested that Tipu will finally unleash his conservative side, though I am not interested in Tipu, I am keen to see Sassi’s reaction. Please share your thoughts about this episode of O Rangreza.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, another week another brilliant episode of O Rangreza. Despite being heavy, this drama just draws your attention in because the performances of all the actors are so phenomenal that they don’t allow you to have your attention diverted. The way the emotions have been portrayed in this drama is commendable, every character has a unique personality & they have stayed true to their nature till this stage of the drama. I am interested to see how things will progress now that the story went through such a major twist.

No one can understand Sassi the way Qasim does, that is why ever since the news of their marriage broke, Sassi was not herself as she put Qasim in the same spotlight as well & thought that now he will be ruling over her. Sassi’s plea to Wajih to save her went to show that she was done with what life was handing out to her & she wanted to live her life, her way. Sassi really is tying to get under Wajih’s skin without even realizing that he has his own baggage, his own perspective which she is unable to comprehend. So, Sassi returned broken-hearted but Qasim knew what he had to do. Qasim’s refusal to get married to Sassi was basically his attempt of setting her free because he knew that Sassi wasn’t someone who wanted to be caged & unfortunately he wasn’t left with any other choice than to showcase the love he had for Sassi this way.

Sassi finally got to know how much Qasim loved her & the best part was that she actually understood his reasons too, she could see the intensity of his selfless love where he wanted to make her happy. It would’ve been so much for Qasim to refuse to get married to the girl of his dreams that too after seeing her as his bride, Qasim really proved the length he can go to in order to please Sassi because he didn’t even care what Khayyam will do to him. Like Sassi said, even she couldn’t understand how Qasim, the kind-hearted Qasim got so much of strength to do something like this, but Qasim let her know that it was his love for her!

So, Khayyam Sani was so depressed at what happened that without even thinking for a second, he decided to shift to Sonia’s house? This is the same Khayyam Sani who was worried about ‘log kya kahainge’ when it came to all the matters concerning Sassi but when it came to him, he wasn’t concerned but yes, he did try to use ‘log kya kahainge’ card in front of Sonia Jahan but she didn’t budge. Even though all this while I never really paid attention to what Sonia Jahan wanted but for the first time I got a feeling that may be she was also testing Khayyam Sani to see how far he could go, may be she doesn’t want to get married to him but indirectly wants to teach him that he should own what belongs to him & that is Mumtaz & Sassi, that too the way they are, in stead of chasing after an obsession that he has with an image that Sonia Jahan carries. Just because Khayyam loves Sonia, he is ready to accept her but he hasn’t put so many restrictions on her yet, but Sonia knows what will happen if she will allow Khayyam to encage her.

Sassi’s letter to Qasim was another beautiful aspect of this story. She confessed that she never loved Qasim, she never could because he never ever hurt her ego. After this letter of Sassi I saw a similarity in her & Sonia. Sonia came to Khayyam but since she has seen that he is totally into her & he is ready to forsake his marriage for her, she has kind of lost interest & she is not too keen on getting married to Khayyam. Usually this is something that is said about men, that if a woman hurts their ego, they turn it into a challenge to have her love him but the writer here showed that a girl or a woman can feel that way too. Sassi never saw Qasim as a man she could love, she never saw her as his ideal because he was always there for her but since Wajih Kamal has hurt her ego & hasn’t welcomed her the way she wanted to, she has now started to think that she loves him & wants to be with him because for her it has turned into a challenge to make Wajih Kamal fall for her – twisted but true!

Oh well, I can’t take Mumtaz anymore. After all that happened, she actually blamed Sassi for ruining her marital life, as if there was some substance in the relation that she & Khayyam shared in the first place? Mumtaz should learn to blame Khayyam for his mistakes but even before that, she should learn to see his mistakes. Mumtaz should learn that her man can be at fault too, he can commit mistakes as well, because the day she will do that, she will be at peace as she will save herself the hassle of defending Khayyam & walking an extra mile for a man like him who doesn’t even care!

This episode of O Rangreza was brilliant. Bilal Abbas Khan stole the show with his phenomenal performance in this episode in particular. He really has made every shade of Qasim shine & he definitely deserves an award for portraying this character to perfection. Sajal Ali looked like a doll in both the functions, she has breathed life into a difficult character like Sassi & it shows what her caliber as an actor is. Bilal Abbas Khan, Noman Ejaz & Sajal Ali make this drama worth watching. Please share your thoughts about this episode of O Rangreza.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, this was yet another interesting & intense episode of O Rangreza. What I thoroughly enjoyed watching in this episode was how every single conversation had so much of depth & meaning attached to it & along with that, it was showing us a different perspective of each & every character as well. This drama definitely has been written with a lot of intelligence & it is because of that, that such complex characters have been elaborated with so much of clarity!

The conversation between Wajih & Khayyam – it was so intense & interesting. I know it is too early to form an opinion about a character but I have a feeling, given the nature of his job, Wajih can see through people easily. Wajih could see how vulnerable, scared & cautious Khayyam was, that is why he spoke about the love he had for Sonia Jahan to test him & later when Khayyam tried to outbid him, Wajih immediately planted a seed of doubt in his heart against Sonia Jahan saying ‘dil phenk bhi hai’. Wajih knows that for a man like Khayyam Sani, the decision of marrying Sonia Jahan is an emotional one but it comes with a lot of ifs & buts, that is why he could see how uncomfortable Khayyam grew when Wajih tried to tell him that Sonia can easily move onto someone else. Khayyam really thinks it is going to be easy getting & staying married to Sonia Jahan but time will definitely teach him a lesson!

The scene between Mammo & Qasim was really nice, for Mammo, Qasim is like her own son that is why even though she was emotional about the fact that her own daughter was getting married, she was getting overwhelmed with happiness for Qasim too that he was going to get married to the one he loves, that scene somehow depicted the feelings of a mother beautifully.

Even though I enjoy seeing how Qasim acts in front of Sassi but now I really want him to show some other side to Sassi too. Qasim has always played goofy in front of her but now when he knows that it is not the sort of a guy Sassi would fall for, he should really show her that he is more than a goof cousin that she sees him as. Yes, I know, since Sassi is so loud & boisterous, Qasim’s goofiness balances it out perfectly & then, it is not that he is all about that because we know that Qasim has so many sides to him that Sassi is unaware of, so he has a margin of showing them to her as well. I loved how Sasso complemented Qasim, it showed a very different side of Sassi to us which was a good change from all that she has been upto recently.

The scene where Sassi wanted to see Wajih & Qasim intervened when Mammo was trying to stop her was beautiful as well. After Qasim saw Sassi in tears, he knew that she felt betrayed because she actually trusted him, that is why he decided to compensate for it by showing her that after marriage nothing will change between them & he will continue to support her the way he used to, but then again, Sassi was unable to see that as well because she was a bit too disgusted with the thought that now she was being forced to listen to Qasim, the guy she never saw as a man. The scene where Qasim talked to Kareeman & Mumtaz about Sassi was quite touching, it showed that out of all the people in the family, it was only Qasim who understood her because he knew that Sassi never cries & now that she did was a big deal. The way Qasim allowed her to meet Wajih went to show that by letting her be, he was showcasing the love & trust he had for/in her.

Once again, Wajih decided to break Sassi in order to make her. He knows she can really test someone’s patience, that is why he was now testing hers to see what she is made of. Sassi obviously proved herself & she will continue to do so because Wajih has no idea what Sassi is capable of & how driven she can be for something that she dreams of achieving.

Khayyam’s plea to Sonia to leave the industry only further elaborated his complexes. It is so obvious that despite loving Sonia & wanting to be with her, he can not deal with the baggage that she comes with & since he is so used to keeping himself safe from any such matters that might put him in the spotlight, he is now trying to convince Sonia to leave everything for him, hah!

Overall this episode was quite intense & I seriously couldn’t keep track of time because it ended a bit too quickly. I love Sajal Ali as Sassi, I think she is phenomenal & no other actress could’ve done justice to this unique character. As much as I like the goofy Qasim, I want to see the manly side of his character too which will convince Sassi that he is the one for her & he is worth her respect. Omair Rana’s addition is pleasant in this drama & the way he is effortlessly playing the character of Wajih Kamal is praise-worthy as well. In the end, I think the writer should take a bow for bringing something absolutely new & unique to the table & for giving a drama like O Rangreza to all the drama buffs. Please share your thoughts about this episode of O Rangreza.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, it was yet another engaging & exceptional episode of O Rangreza. First & foremost I must commend the director for making every frame of O Rangreza a complete & unique picture in its own, like I found myself focusing on so many minute details that I just couldn’t keep track of where the time went & when the episode ended. Every other frame of O Rangreza has so much to provide & is so appeasing to the eye that you just can’t help getting mesmerized by the attention to detail. To add more to it, I love how all the actors have acted in every single scene, like even when their dialogues are over, you can still see them being in their element & gesticulating in such a manner that keeps their character alive. In this episode, I noticed it so many times that every other actor even after being done with their dialogues stayed within their character which made everything even more realistic. The acting, the dialogues, the backdrops, the expressions, every single thing in this episode of O Rangreza was spot on so for that the writer deserves to be commended for adding so much of depth, the director deserves to be commended for putting in so much of detailing & the actors deserve to be commended for giving their 100% & making this drama a treat to watch!

So, did Khayyam realize his mistake? Partially yes & partially no because his half-hearted apology didn’t mean anything. Khayyam knows his wife a bit too well & he knows that a mere sorry after such a rude behavior would be enough for her so he extended her that without actually feeling the gravity of the situation at how hurt Mumtaz was. After that hurtful interaction with Khayyam, it was so obvious throughout this episode that Mumtaz was so not feeling herself & she was deeply hurt, to an extent that she was lost in her own thoughts because she couldn’t come to terms with the fact that her husband could insult her in such a way & to add more to it, her daughter wouldn’t deem her father’s behavior odd.

As always, in stead of feeling anything for Mumtaz, Sassi found amusement in her mother’s suffering, that is why she thought this was something which had to be made fun of. Sassi still didn’t feel a thing for her mother but in stead wanted to walk an extra mile for Khayyam because she believed that after that interaction, Khayyam himself must be feeling low. Sassi decided to contact Sonia Jahan (Sana Fakhar) so that she could help her father rekindle his feelings for her because Sassi knew that Sonia Jahan was someone who could make her father happy. I really want to know how did Sassi find out about her father’s love for Sonia Jahan & what was the status of Khayyam & Sonia’s relationship or involvement with each other in the past? All the scenes which involved Sassi & Qasim provided the perfect amount of light-hearted moments because I found myself smiling throughout their interactions, it was amusing seeing Sassi bossing around Qasim & Qasim dancing to her tunes, despite not wanting to because as usual, he can’t say no to her or may be he knows that Sassi is someone who wouldn’t settle for no for an answer.

It is interesting how despite having his own thought process, his own perspective & his own opinions, Qasim always finds himself doing what Sassi expects him to do. He knew that Mumtaz was hurt & Sonia’s presence would hurt her some more but he ended up calling Sonia Jahan because Sassi said so. Even though Qasim has seen that Khayyam might be an ideal father but he is not an ideal husband, but just because Sassi said she wanted to get married to someone like Khayyam, Qasim ended up imitating him only to feel & understand what is it in a partner that Sassi is looking for. It was actually quite sweet how every single time Qasim tried to stay focused but his affection for Sassi forced him to go into some kind of trance where he found himself mesmerized & speechless when she was around. I think Qasim’s feelings for Sassi have been elaborated in a beautiful manner where he treats her like a friend, a cousin but deep down he has such strong feelings for her which he likes to keep to himself but still enjoys the idea of her being his someone special!

So, finally, Sassi succeeded in inviting Sonia Jahan & she thought she did the right thing for the sake of her father. Obviously, out of everyone in the family, Khayyam & Sassi were rejoicing but no one except Qasim saw that Mumtaz was suffering. I felt for Mumtaz so much in this episode, like she was still recovering from the pain that Khayyam caused to her on their anniversary & just before she could move on, Sonia Jahan came as a reminder of the fact that Mumtaz was the one who didn’t make Khayyam happy & she was just his wife, more like his servant who was expected to fulfill her duties without faltering. Sonia Jahan proved to be a charmer, that is why just a single meeting with her left Sassi under such an influence that you could see the difference in her attitude. Sassi felt she accomplished something huge & since she has always idealized Sonia Jahan because of her father, each & every word of Sonia left a huge impact on her that she felt this confidence & had an emotional shift which I believe will only cause more problems to her & all those who are associated with her.

Khayyam was also not himself after he met Sonia. They showed quite an interesting contrast of emotions where Khayyam was engulfed in his own thoughts which were providing him some sort of emotional relief & on the other hand Mumtaz was feeling alone & defeated, while thinking about another obstacle that she was faced with & that she’d have to ignore because she doesn’t expect anything good from her life at this stage. So, looks like Sonia Jahan is not going anywhere & like she said ‘mai to appka ghar lootnay ai hoon’, she might make that happen. She wants Khayyam to write the script of her biopic & that means more prolonged meetings & more such interactions between the two of them!

I thoroughly enjoyed the last scene between Sassi & Qasim, where Sassi wanted to hear good things about herself but Qasim was busy idealizing her in his own thoughts that he couldn’t give words to his feelings & couldn’t bring himself to say what she wanted to hear. Obviously, at this stage even if Qasim had said something based on what he actually feels for her, Sassi wouldn’t have understood the depth of his words because for her, he is just someone who she doesn’t take seriously. The way they both went to their rooms after Mumtaz came showed such an interesting contrast between their personalities, where Qasim ran in bewilderment, scared of giving out the wrong impression or rather scared of having his feelings exposed, but on the other hand Sassi had this confidence in her body language as if the one who ordered her to go to the room was a nobody & she had no importance in Sassi’s life. I actually feel bad for Mumtaz that Khayyam being one story, even Sassi’s attitude reminds her that she is a failure every step of the way because even her own daughter fails to acknowledge her status as a mother & doesn’t extent the respect that she is entitled to!

Overall, this episode was brilliant. I am loving the detailing in each & every scene, it just makes everything complete & picture perfect. I love the vibrant backdrops, I loved the minute expressions of all the actors. Noman Ejaz was amazing. Irsa Ghazal was phenomenal as Mumtaz, a defeated hurt soul who has given everything but hasn’t gotten anything in return. I must say, this is the first time I am getting to see Bilal Abbas Khan’s performance in any drama & he is brilliant, he knows where to stop & where to give it all, like there were so many moments where Qasim had to shift between his thoughts & the reality & Bilal Abbas Khan did it effortlessly, so well done! Sajal Ali, hands down was the star of this episode again, she was phenomenal, I am loving her in this kind of role. Sajal Ali has done so many depressing & serious kind of characters that at one point it felt that was her forte & comfort zone but she really has proved her mettle as a versatile actor by giving it all to the character of Sassi, like for the first time I felt she was acting without any inhibitions & without any fears, without holding herself back & that is why she really has made the character of Sassi a treat to watch. Sana Fakhar is a great addition to the drama, I loved her in Alif Allah Aur Insaan & that is why I have high expectations from her in O Rangreza too. She looked poised, elegant & very graceful, so definitely looking forward to her character. I thank the writer for giving us something new to watch & such interesting characters, even though the journey has just begun but I can’t imagine the sort of ride it is going to be. The director has done a wonderful job & has definitely done justice to the script. I absolutely enjoyed the usage of the soundtrack in this episode & last but definitely not the least, I loved the dialogues as well. I think it’s going to be a long wait till next Friday. Please share your thoughts about this episode of O Rangreza.

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Ohkay so, the writing of Saji Gul, direction of Kashif Nisar & the production of Moomal Entertainment; O Rangreza aired tonight for the first time with a bang. The first episode was not only promising but had so much to offer especially when it came to the characters & what’s commendable is how effortlessly the dynamics of Khayyam’s family were elaborated. The promos of this drama did promise a lot & to be honest, I had high expectations when I tuned to this episode & it is definitely safe to say that the first episode met my expectations & I can’t wait to see what the team of O Rungreza has in store for the viewers!

So, it is a story of Abdul Khayyam Sani’s (Noman Ejaz) family, who is married to Mumtaz (Irsa Ghazal) & have a daughter who Khayyam being a poet has named Sassi (Sajal Ali). Mumtaz’s sister & brother in law passed away leaving their only child Qasim (Bilal Abbas Khan) behind, therefore he lives with his Aunt who he calls Mammo. Qasim is a student & he also runs a Fabric Dyeing Shop which Khayyam has financed. There’s also Kareemi Bua who lives with them, who usually takes care of the household chores.

Khayyam is Sassi’s ideal & she sees him as a perfect man. For Sassi, her father can never do anything wrong & that is the reason why she doesn’t see anything wrong with the way he mistreats her mother. Sassi thinks she knows what her father’s ideology is & to some extent she is right, because she understands him. Just because Sassi has allowed her father to influence her & her attitude so much, she doesn’t see the pain & suffering of her mother as she believes her mother doesn’t match her father’s caliber & standards, therefore Khayyam is entitled to treat Mumtaz like a doormat.

Even though it wasn’t revealed yet but it was interesting to see that Sassi was aware of the fact that Khayyam idealized Sonia Jahan & just because she sees the world through his eyes, in her own mind she has formed this picture of Sonia Jahan where she is this perfect ideal woman who even Sassi strives to be like. I am sure this will definitely turn out to be the reason where Sassi & Khayyam will stand against each other, because Sassi has seen her father being in awe of Sonia Jahan so may be when she will try to be like her, Khayyam wouldn’t condone her choices & that’s where Sassi will have issues with him because she would struggle to understand why Khayyam has different standards, for the woman he idealized all his life & for how & who he would want his daughter to be!

Qasim is an unconventional sort of a guy, who is different from most of the men. Qasim believes in solving matters by reasoning & not by showcasing unnecessary rage & may be that’s the reason why Sassi doesn’t see him worthy of being treated with respect. I found it amusing how every single time Sassi manipulated Qasim & he happily allowed her to do that because he is so nice to say no to Sassi especially. The only person who feels for Mumtaz is Qasim because he can totally see how her husband Khayyam treats her like a punching bag & a doormat whereas she tries really hard to please him. Qasim even voices his opinion on this matter in front of Sassi but since she is so blinded by the idea that her father is a perfect man, she doesn’t get Qasim’s point. I liked how they showed similarities between Khayyam Sassi & Qasim Mumtaz, it really highlighted the fact that they belong to same set of families.

Khayyam & Mumtaz are two different people. Khayyam being a poet had this different idea of a life partner that he wanted but Mumtaz is completely opposite to his dreams. She is a simpleton, a conservative housewife who believes in fulfilling her wifely duties without faltering & just because she puts up with everything that Khayyam directs at her, he has developed this habit of insulting her casually because he thinks that’s the only way to converse with her. All the things that Mumtaz tries to instill in her daughter Sassi do tell the tale of the sort of upbringing she got where girls were told to be subdued & probably never have an opinion or freedom to make some decisions in their life for themselves & this is exactly why she keeps on guiding Sassi to be like her!

I must say the direction was flawless throughout the episode, it did feel like the director extracted the best acting out of all the actors, that is why in the last scene where Khayyam laughs at his wife & she feels insulted, it was so amazing that without any dialogues, such intense emotions were conveyed. At that moment I thought may be Sassi felt for her mother & wanted to make her feel special that is why she took interest in what she wanted but then I realized that Sassi only did that to make her father happy because she is someone who can go to such extremes like getting someone explore the rubbish bin for her father’s sake. I so wish to see if there will ever come a moment in Sassi’s life where she will realize her father’s mistakes & will feel her mother’s pain? Will Sassi be ever able to see the emotional sufferings of her mother? I liked how it was shown that in a household where everything looked perfect from the surface or from the distance, things were far more messier & complicated when magnified. I really liked the equation that Sassi & Qasim shared, like Qasim always seemed cautious in front of Sassi yet he shared this much of comfort level with her that he could speak his mind to her, though Sassi may not be interested in what he has to say but at least he felt heard!

Overall, this episode was epic. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing, the direction, the art direction, everything was perfect. I enjoyed the dialogues a lot too especially the Sassi & Mumtaz reference, like the conversations had so much of wit that it sparked the perfect amount of comedy which made things quite interesting. I must say all the actors nailed their characters, Bilal Abbas Khan was perfect as simple Qasim, Irsa Ghazal did really well as a suppressed wife & I must say I am impressed with the change in her dialogue delivery & her voice modulation as well, like she really portrayed that ‘bechari biwi’ character perfectly because it was evident in each & every expression of hers. Noman Ejaz was in his element but then that’s given, considering he is Noman Ejaz, the one who nails every single character that is assigned to him. Now coming to the star of this episode, hands down it was Sajal Ali for me, not even for a second I felt that she went overboard & in fact after seeing her in heavy-duty dramas where she is the one doing most of the emotional heavy lifting, it was so refreshing to see her in a character like Sassi who has so many shades to her, like she is carefree, she is boisterous, she is manipulative, she is also someone who understands emotions, she can be snappy but she can be sweet too, so much to offer & every single thing conveyed perfectly by Sajal. I enjoyed all the scenes where Sassi teased her cousin Qasim & treated him like that ‘chota’ of the family. Her hand gesture & expression in that particular moment where she says ‘ye tum mujhe tartay kya rehte ho’ was so natural & amazing that it literally made me laugh out loud. I am sure she is going to do justice to this complex character of Sassi who has so many shades. I loved the vibrancy of this episode & I also enjoyed the soundtrack. Really really impressed & totally recommending this drama to those who are still on the fence about it. Please share your thoughts about this episode of O Rangreza!

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.