So, I watched these three episodes all together today in bits and pieces while I cooked in between too and at the end of the day I can not help but compare the two. While I threw in pyaaz,tamatar,lasan and adrak into the blender – these three episodes threw in manipulative maami, bechari Zoya, confused majboor Shariq, clueless aapa and maamu and Zoya’s family, a leaf out of the book, well drama called Mann Mayal all into the blender and voila,out came this mess! And the odd bit is that even though I was almost banging my head against the wall at each turn of events and one crazy decision after the other – I could see how this is sadly, all too common a feature of our dramas and even to an extent, certain characters in real life.

After Saba’s accident, Maami decides to take Saba to meet Shariq. The moment she arrives is also when Zoya and Shariq return from the hospital after Zoya has given birth to a baby boy. Mabrook! Except Maami does not feel likewise and although this woman baffles my mind, I can not help but agree with her when she says ‘agar woh uss ki biwi nahin hai, yeh bacha uss ka nahin hai, tau woh laug iss ghar mein kar kia rahay hain?!’ Seeing the ‘love’ in Shariq’s eyes for Zoya, Maami decides the only sensible plan of action is to have Shariq and Saba wed ASAP. Shariq’s mother throws in her two cents and has a word with Zoya which sends Zoya off to do what she does best, run away to the train station and no points or hats off to Shariq for finding her there so quickly – for really where else?

So, what was with the condition Zoya lay before Shariq for her return to Shariq’s house? Marry Saba and I shall return. So, if Shariq really wants to take care of Zoya then maybe get her an apartment? Pay for the rent? Must she live in his house? Anyhow, he agrees and he returns to Saba’s house with his mother with the intention of going ahead with the nikkah. But Maami, sigh – Maami is two steps ahead of everyone, miyan be damned, Shariq be damned, hell even psychiatrist be damned – she has full fledged wedding preparations underway. The whole nikkah, qabool hai scene made me wince. Saba’s mental state confuses me and I do not particularly want to dwell on it for if I am fair, one can not judge someone who has suffered what she has but she seemed to be mentally alright otherwise. Then how does she not know what marriage entails, what a nikkah is, why she must sit with that dupatta on her head. Yes, we could say she led a very sheltered life after her childhood and her parents must have kept such information away from her but oh well.

Moving on, the wedding night was a disaster which we had already gauged from the promos. Shariq defends himself by saying Saba was out of control and he did not know what else to do. It is Maami who truly amazes me. This woman is lost in her own world, running a one man show. She has Shariq almost bullied into this marriage, then is offended when she ‘thinks’ he is not interested, then goes against the psychiatrist’s advice and rushes into the rukhsati – what? I understand she feels she is doing what is best for her child and has come to the point where she does not care who she hurts or upsets so long as Saba is cured but still! Her measures to me do not look like any form of ‘cure’ for Saba at all! Then there is Shariq’s mother who feels so weighed down by her brother’s ehsaans that she is adamant on crushing her only son’s happiness in return.

Zoya’s family also resurfaced in these episodes. Both sets of mothers seem to have collapsed into depression and we learn that Azmeer’s brother can not have children. The father, Naimat is horrified not because of the mental anguish this must cause his son but because, horror, Naimat ka waaris kahan se aye ga. Zoya’s contact with Azmeer’s mother and the sly bhabhi overhearing the conversation makes me think the obvious that now Naimat will want his grandson back in his life.

Zoya is another person who does not sit well with me. Or is it Sana Javed I am frustrated with. I am the sort of person who weeps at every emotional scene but her scenes did not make me bat an eyelid. Maybe because her acting in every drama is the same. She has the same whispered monotone and big eye look. If she is so educated and if she really must act like she does not want to be in anyone’s way then instead of living in Shariq’s house, maybe ask for a loan and have him move her into an apartment. Must she sit in the middle of all the chaos? And then with the scenes when she is thinking of him, I can not help think she has feelings for him too. Even when Shariq asks her, I do not know what sense of ‘goodness’ (barrf) makes her say to him he must marry Saba?

What drives me up the wall is that by Shariq marrying a very obviously unstable Saba at this point when he is so deeply in love with Zoya and her child spells disaster for everyone. But the sad part is – this does happen. Shariq has been persuaded to feel he must return his Maamu’s favors and this is the price. Maami has a bee in her bonnet and seeing Shariq is in love with Zoya, the practical thing would be not to throw your already vulnerable child into the mess but rather, gracefully exit but no, lots of parents do think that things will ‘sort’ themselves out once the marriage has taken place.

The story has had its share of loopholes from the beginning, true, right down to Zoya staying in Shariq’s house but I suppose what I can believe and what makes me watch this is how Shariq’s marriage to Saba affects them both, how Zoya’s presence affects Saba and what role do Zoya’s family have to play now. With the exception of Sana Javed I feel all the actors and actresses have done justice to their roles, although Saba’s character confuses me at times. These latest episodes have piqued my interest and I am curious to see how all this mess will eventually be wrapped up.

How many of you watched these latest episodes of Intezaar? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Kunwal Javid

Are you kidding me? Not only are Shariq and Zoya gobsmacked at Saba’s antics in this episode – I mirrored the same expression while watching it! The swift change in Saba’s attitude and her reactions are so totally unrelatable that it seriously seems that the writer herself seemed to go through some strange phases where she started off with Azmeer and Zoya’s story and then woke up one morning and started another with Shariq and Saba’s story and then remembered the first and merged it and then thought oh crap, where is this all going and turned Saba into a I -do- not- know- what and hence this story has begun. I mean, really!

Saba as we earlier knew her was a withdrawn girl, traumatized by memories from her past and afraid of venturing out of the house and meeting any strangers. Now? Now Saba who apparently can not even pour a cup of tea properly, manages to don a sari and happily announce she wants to go to a party with Shariq. This sudden change in behaviour along with the sudden jealousy that has consumed her is so unrealistic. If only Saba had been shown to develop feelings for Shariq but felt unsure, and she herself was not the one to urge Zoya to marry Shariq then – given I could also conveniently forget Saba’s childhood trauma as the writer has done-  maybe this jealous Saba would be easier to understand.

Saba does not like that Shariq is paying attention to Zoya and not her. Whereas until he got married to Zoya all she ever wanted was that Shariq stay far away from her and not speak to her or even look at her. There was all the drama of Sherry Bhai ganday hain, ganday tareeqay se dekhtay hain and now Saba dolls up so that he may look at her appreciatively. He grabs her hand thinking she is Zoya and instead of recoiling and yelling at him which she had been doing earlier, she does not seem to mind at all. Nothing had changed between her and Shariq, there had been no moments spent together bringing them closer in any way, therefore this sudden jealousy and no fear of Shariq anymore just because he has married Zoya when she so graciously in fact obsessively handed him over to Zoya herself makes no sense.

It would have been interesting to see how Saba reacted when she and Shariq went out for dinner. Being with him in the car, being in a restaurant amongst strangers – things which gave her serious anxiety earlier but apparently she seemed to have taken in stride now. This new Saba is now not only dangerous for those around her, such as when she burned Zoya’s hand but also harmful to herself. I did however find myself agreeing to the bit Mamu and Maami said about Shariq not paying Saba any attention because now all his attention is focused on Zoya. Please note I do not mean the ‘biwi haqooq’ bit they were going on about but I suppose being married and letting Saba feel closer to Shariq was the first step and true, Saba lashed out at Shariq but then okay, I give up, lol. I feel like I am going round in circles trying to understand who is thinking what. Shariq should have tried to make things work with Saba rather than pining after Zoya since Saba is his wife. But then Saba brought the house down when she was anywhere near Shariq, so what was he to do. Ah well. I’ll let Maami sort them out.

Anyways, so now Maami again has swooped in to take charge of the situation. Saba had turned a deaf ear to her mother’s advice before but now she has decided to throw herself into ‘biwi mode’. Maami has stated that Shariq spend a day with each wife, turn by turn. I snorted at that, it almost sounded as ridiculous as when I call a truce when the kids fight over who has to make sure the ketchup goes back in the fridge and I announce they take turns – and then I am caught out trying to remember whose turn it is while both are bickering again. Good luck, Shariq!

Now that I have concluded that this drama is not going to end on any logical, thought provoking note, I am prepared to see it to its end like a detached viewer (hoping it does not drag crazily though!). I am so wary of reviewing any new dramas nowadays, even if something starts off well it suddenly goes off track and so wayward midway that I truly marvel at the sanity of the writer, director and actors involved. What do I think? I think Shariq should stop having tea – this chai making business is the cause of all this fasaad. I would have thought all this mess would have put him off tea by now anyway. I, on the other hand, am going to go fix myself a cup which I really need after watching this episode! Any thoughts? Don’t blame you if you don’t have any – but would love to hear some!

Kunwal Javid

So cliché, but Intezaar is finally over (pun intended). I yawned my way through the second last episode until the last few minutes and then knowing that this was the last episode, I managed to sit through it and the ending left me shaking my head in amazement.

For those of you who have left the drama midway and have (or have not) been following it through my reviews – a short summary of what happened in these two episodes. Saba’s jealousy grew, ebbed on by her mother and her pieces of advice. Zoya and Shariq suffer in silence (yawn) and draw comfort from each other. During one of her rants, Saba goes out of control and in an attempt to calm her down Shariq tries to stop her and she collapses or he pushed her I could not quite figure out but end result Saba ends up in the hospital with a brain haemorrhage. Shariq’s guilt and sense of responsibility suddenly rears its head and he feels he should have taken care of Saba and fulfilled his responsibility instead of marrying Zoya and asks her to leave.

Saba recovers and comes home – but Zoya has done what she does best and has left home. Once again. I mean, twice again. I mean – you get my point. Shariq is filled with remorse and tries to find her but is unable to. He focuses his love and attention on Saba and five years down the road we see a very happy, normal Saba living with Shariq and their daughter and parents. Zoya, we see is living elsewhere, also happy with her son and her grandmother. And then comes the ending twist that I had not really expected – ever so often Shariq has a ‘work tour’ which has him traveling out of the city and that tour is apparently Zoya’s house. His mamoo is in on his secret and Shariq manages to keep Saba and all happy with Zoya apparently okay with this whole situation. That’s it.

I have to say I was curious how this drama was going to end. I had long given up on any intelligent direction on how the child abuse issue was to be dealt. All I could draw from this was that Saba’s anxiety peaked till she collapsed and all that brought her back was the love and attention of her husband. A man she only claimed to be her husband and sit up and take notice of when she saw him paying attention to another woman. So basically, push the traumatised woman until she is consumed with jealousy for after all she is a woman and she can not bear to share her husband and that will make her realize that she has left all her fears and inhibitions behind and then nurse her back to normalcy by paying attention to her. For when Shariq tried to pay attention to her earlier and take care of her, she wanted nothing to do with him. I will not even comment on how I feel about that message – there is no point.

Whether it is right or wrong for Shariq to keep Saba in the dark about Zoya’s existence and pull the wool over her eyes and manage two wives or not is not what I pondered over. What amazed me was how Shariq manages to keep both wives – happy and manage both homes and his work. I have to admit there was no other way to end this drama without it turning into a crazier or tragic mess than it was already. I can not say I will miss watching this for although it started on an interesting and decent note it just started heading off in a direction where I followed begrudgingly at a snail’s pace and could not keep up with the writer’s train of thought. I have no idea what she was thinking when she set out to write and what she figured she had produced when she ended it. Was it just me or were these two episodes also quite dark, as in visually? I am a fan of Mikael Zulfiqar and that is one reason I watched this drama but I can not say he or Sana Javed or even Anum Fayyaz blew me away with their acting. Anam Fayyaz had a few moments where I thought she acted well but her character was quite a confusing one and the treatment given to her character was even more confusing.

If there is anything that this drama may end up leaving with its viewers is a sudden increase in hen pecked husbands whose wives will be suddenly very suspicious of any out of city business trips. LOL! Thank you to all the readers who read my reviews regularly and commented. I did think there was one point when I was the only one who followed this drama and was glad to know there are others who have tuned into this drama. What did you all think of this ending? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Kunwal Javid

Yaaar – no, no, no, no – this play of events although slightly predictable from last week’s episode, did not work for me. I was finding it a bit difficult relating to all the characters and now it seems to be a hopeless task! Saba – mentally unstable, suffering from childhood trauma I see, but what is with these random lapses in her mental understanding of the world? Yes, she has moments when she has no control over her emotions and actions and her past comes to haunt her but she did not seem to lack a basic understanding of life. Then why this constant wonder of what marriage is, and how she can not simply ‘donate’ her husband. If she is meant to be portraying the image of a girl who is simple, then she falls flat because she seems to carry herself well most of the time and can converse with family members and take care of Sameer then this totally going off the track randomly makes no sense to me.

Maami makes an appearance in this episode as she pays a visit to see how her daughter is faring. Her horror and shock and then her conversation later with Shariq’s mother gives us an insight into how she is viewing the situation and from her point of view it does look quite awful. Shariq, according to Maami, married Saba so that he may appear noble in front of everyone and brought her to his home only to have her drugged and cast aside while he lives a happily married life with Zoya. The sleep injection – did Saba really have one or did Phuppo make that up? But then – Maami was the one who cajoled, emotionally pressurized and then literally jumped the nikkah on Shariq. Then again – Shariq’s mother refused to listen to Shariq’s objections and demanded he agree to marrying Saba. So really, nobody makes any sense to me. Shariq’s mother suddenly feels this strong urge to see her son happy and lets him marry Zoya – why could she not have felt that urge before she forced him to marry Saba? And where does she get off justifying his marriage to Maami? Where does Shariq get off being so righteous? Why oh why did they have to listen to that wretched psychiatrist and not get a second opinion? And if they listened to her, then why not have her explain a bit what she meant by marriage curing Saba for surely a nikkah nama and a roof to live under while she plays with her husband’s other wife’s kid was not in the prescription? For that is really ALL the connection Shariq has with Saba.

Which then brings me to Saba. Her jealousy is too intense too soon. Seconds ago she is thrilled to have ‘donated’ her husband and now her mother’s speech brings back memories of older speeches given by Maami and the scene where Saba tries on Zoya’s clothes and lipstick was nothing less than psychotic. So a character that is introduced as someone suffering from the trauma of childhood abuse is then thrown into a marriage which starts with being confined in a room with the one man she trusted besides her father and then being slapped by him. Then she is meant to feel emotions such as possessiveness and jealousy and learn the art of pleasing her husband – I mean, writing it all down is giving me an anxiety attack what in the world were the writer, the director, the cast thinking?! Even if all that was meant to be how this story flows, I still find it hard to relate to how Saba has done this complete shift in emotions and is now insanely jealous of Zoya.

Oh but nahin, let’s not forget Zoya. Yeh sub meri wajah se ho raha hai – no shit! Excuse my language but really? Err, yes – Saba’s mother is angry because umm, you married her daughter’s husband. Seems pretty obvious to me! Never has a female lead seemed as bland and unlikable as Zoya has been. If there is one character in this play that has minded his own business, not given anyone any trouble even though he has been blamed to be difficult – is Sameer. Drama kahan se kahan chala gaya, he has remained consistently quiet in that blanket, not needing anything, not demanding anything.

At one point during this episode I almost contemplated to stop reviewing this play and given that it appears very few of us are even watching it and those that are do it in a state of stupor/disbelief/ bewilderment – kindly share your thoughts and let me know if you do need me to continue these reviews or I may be relieved :)

Kunwal Javid

Remember our board game? Maami’s intervention, Shariq’s wedding, Naimat Chacha tracking Zoya down – no game. Then Shariq formally asks for Zoya’s hand in marriage – six! Zoya’s parents are agreeable to the idea – double six! Zoya confesses to her mother that she is in love with Shariq – triple six – except that leads you back to square one, doesn’t it for Naimat Chacha opposes the marriage and announces if Zoya remarries she must give Sameer up. Shame! Anyways, after his wife’s grief and resentment all comes pouring out it opens Naimat Chacha’s eyes and he agrees to the marriage and steps back.

But then Zoya is adamant that her whole family must know about Shariq’s first wife. She has no qualms about being his second wife though for when Shariq’s mother rings her and asks her the reason for her initial refusal and wants to know if Saba was the reason her prompt ‘no no’ made me cringe. True, Shariq and Saba’s marriage is not exactly shaadi of the year but well she is his first wife and I do not know, it would have made me like Zoya a bit more if she was shown to give some thought to Saba and how she is to fit in all this but heck no, all Zoya really thinks about is Zoya herself. I am honestly a bit confused – are we meant to like Zoya? I have never felt so detached and unfeeling about a female lead in a drama before – well none that I can recall right now! All Shariq has ever seen Zoya do is sit, cry or run off to the train station – and that has made this hugely successful and confident man fall hook, line and sinker for Zoya and have her inertia and faarighness rub off on him too?! When she weeps to Shariq keh shadi nahin ho sakti I thought oh man! And then when everyone finally agrees to the marriage she is weeping again ‘I can not lie, I can not forget Azmeer’. If this was meant to be an emotional or touching moment, which I imagine it may have been it fell flat because Zoya’s constant gloom and misery is becoming so stifling that it would have been nice to see her say something positive for a change!

Shariq’s emotional speech broke through any hostility and barriers in Zoya’s household and even Naimat Chacha finally gives his blessing. The conversation between Saba and Shariq was awkward to watch. Shariq’s mother pressured Shariq into the marriage and well, he did marry Saba – where does he plan to fit her in all this? Saba’s excitement over having Zoya to talk to and Sameer to play with was horrifyingly similar to the thoughts of a child excited over the prospect of a mother figure rather than sautan coming! And how does Shariq plan to juggle two marriages?! I am unable to manage two dishes on the stove – while bhunning the chicken, I end up burning the onions in the other one then how does he imagine to manage two wives within the same house and feel he has been fair to both. (Yes, I know I just compared marriage to cooking but oh well!). Yes, I know the marriage between Saba and Shariq is anything but a marriage but well she is his wife and if she is just an inconvenience I would still like to think that he has more consideration and more in mind for her than just another person living in his house.

Saba is shown to be ecstatic over Zoya’s arrival but we see her give into a pensive moment or two and I wonder what is brewing there? Will she begin to feel jealousy now and will Zoya and Shariq mil kar help her recover from her childhood trauma? Why isn’t Maami coming to check on Saba now – I have a feeling she will show up now that Zoya is back.

Interestingly, in today’s episode what I found the most riveting was not Saba’s track (which has taken a back seat for a while anyway) or Shariq and Zoya’s track (yawn) but the scene between Naila and Shahnawaz. When I saw the tears streaming down Naila’s face when her mother in law has her emotional breakdown I wondered if her heart had softened. But she is spitting venom when she taunts Shahnawaz over his ‘grief’ over letting Zoya go. Shahnawaz had lied to his father about being the one not able to impregnate his wife so that nobody would be able to point any fingers at Naila. Can I just say that I wince each time the word kammi is used in this type of conversation. Even if the spouse does not want to hurt the other, to lay the responsibility at the feet of that person with that word just sounds so distasteful to me. It was truly nice to see this side of Shahnawaz though and it was different to see how a man can take this upon himself so as to not have anyone treat his wife less or force him to be unfair to her by remarrying. Normally it is the man who taunts the wife in our dramas and it was really interesting to see Naila do the same for I am sure this is not too far from reality either. Naila is shocked and then thoroughly ashamed of herself. I wonder if Shahnawaz will forgive her for her insensitivity or whether her true colors have made him dislike her now. More than Saba, Shariq and Zoya I am interested to see the outcome of Naila-Shahnawaz – now what does this tell you about the state of this drama, ha!

It was actually a relief to see Sana Javed smiling in the last few scenes of this episode and I hope she has shrugged off her lethargy for good. Seems like she has passed it off to Sameer for kia say kia ho gaya hai but Sameer has just remained in that annoying cushion thing without a single cry or wriggle! Shariq residence seems to be one big happy family – but is it? Intezaar for next week – surprisingly (not!) I am not counting the minutes till then! Glad to know with the comments last week that I am not the only one who tunes into this drama – would love to hear your thoughts on this episode!

Kunwal Javid

Jitna aap se duur bhaagnay ki koshish karti hoon, aap utnay he shiddat se apni taraf kheenchtay hain. So Zoya has started to develop feelings for Shariq but still refuses to admit them to him. Her confession gives hope to Shariq though. I do wonder, and not for the first time, what it is in Zoya that has Shariq fallen for her hook,line and sinker?!Except for her ever constant monotone, big mournful eyes and lethargic state – there is nothing else of herself that Zoya has shown or expressed to us or Shariq so really?! An educated, good looking and successful man like him – was waiting for Zoya all this while? Love knows no reason – absolutely!

Mein biwi nahin hoon aap ki. Tau ban jao na! Wah. Talk about naye naye andaaz kay proposals. Ghar mein pyaz khatam ho gaye hain. Tau aur lay ao na! Uff! The proposal fell flat anyway – no surprise there but Zoya seems to be opening up and appearing to be more friendly and warm to Shariq the following day only for her Chacha to swoop in. I find it really odd and disturbing the way her Chacha’s eyes gleam at the mention of his grandson. It is not love as such that you see in his eyes, more like a prized possession, feather in his cap kind of thing. Anyways, he is successful in bringing Zoya home despite Shariq’s mein tumhein bhool nahin sakoon ga, ye baat tum mat bhoolna. I really liked that dialogue for some reason – made me stop and ponder over those words.

Saba’s despair over Zoya leaving was very apparent and as she confesses to her phuppo later, Zoya was her ticket to freedom. By having Shariq marry Zoya, she felt she could be free again. It is really sad to see how her mother has forced her into this marriage when clearly that is not what Zoya needs. She is beginning to see things more clearly though and use her brain to send the ‘extras’ away from home so she could focus on getting Shariq and Zoya married and I am sure that this is not what the psychiatrist had in mind when she suggested marriage and at this point I doubt the writer is trying to make us believe that having to deal with this problem is what will help Zoya overcome her fears but the scene where she addresses Zoya’s Chacha although showed her to be agitated yet she was able to control herself. If that makes any sense.

They say you should be careful what you wish for. ‘Allah us ki har chahat poori karay’ . Zoya’s mother’s dua for Shariq may just be something she regrets for Shariq’s chahat is Zoya. Zoya seems to be tuning into her feelings now and shares her thoughts and feelings with her mother and Azmeer’s mother. Next week’s promo shows Chacha trying to force his son to marry Zoya so as to keep his ‘heir’ close to him and I am interested to see if Zoya takes a stand for herself and what her parents and Azmeer’s mother have to say to this proposal.

Shariq’s mother confuses me. She insisted he marry Saba even though she could quite evidently see how much Shariq wanted to marry Zoya and now she gives him her blessing to marry Zoya. How does she plan on managing, rather imagine Shariq to manage two marriages under one roof. I liked the first few episodes of this drama and then was thrown off by the introduction of the new characters and their confusing personalities and thoughts. But I find myself interested again.Supposing Zoya does marry Shariq, then what? Do they ‘together’ help heal Saba? That sounds rather lame, except I am interested to see that if that happens then how it is all played out.

Sana Javed was her usual monotonous self except in a few scenes but I liked Mikaal Zulfiqar’s acting tonight. I liked how his expression managed to convey his feelings in the scene when Zoya’s chacha asks her to come home with him.I have grown used to Saba I suppose and at least Anam Fayyaz is consistent in her acting so I am beginning to relate to her as Saba. I have to say the OST that plays in the back and the dialogues at times are what stand out for me in this drama.

Will Zoya flee from her parent’s house again or will Shariq convince her to marry him? And what becomes of pota and Saba? Waiting to find out. How do you feel about how the story is developing – would love to hear your thoughts.

Kunwal Javid

So this episode moved things along – or did it? For Zoya is still sat at Shariq’s house with her mazloom face, Maami is still throwing Saba at Shariq and Shariq is still gravitating towards Zoya. Sigh. Maami is seriously clueless about Saba’s state of mind. She comes up with one outrageous idea after the other. Knowing fully well that Saba does not react well to any new person around her, let alone a huge crowd of unknown faces, she suggests that Shariq should throw a party and introduce his wife to his ‘social circle’. This woman! Shariq thankfully shoots down the idea although the way he does it has Maami worked up in a frenzy again.

Aap mera shohar lay lain, who meray kissi kaam ka nahin’! Priceless, LOL. Poor Saba feels trapped with her mother dolling her up and trying to make her spend more time with Shariq when truly she wants nothing to do with him. She is still a child in many ways which makes her scenes even more disturbing to watch. When Shariq tells her she looks pretty, I winced for Saba has said numerous times how she hates how he ‘looks’ at her and that was probably the last thing she needed to hear. ‘Shohar, shohar, shohar – jiss ko dekho shohar shohar shohar ki baat karta hai. I am with Saba on this one – my ears were ringing from the number of times I heard that word from either Maami’s lips, or Shariq’s mother’s or even Zoya’s today!

Saba’s joyful suggestion to her mother and Phupho to head back home and leave her there confused me. For a moment. She is clearlyyyyy far from alright but her mother thinks otherwise. I do not feel any pity for Saba’s mother, seriously. Wanting your child to get well, being ruthless in order to help your child – all accepted and understood – if, and I repeat if, that is what I felt her mother was doing. Surely, she can see none of her ploys and tantrums are helping?

Lights out! Except, that scenario shed some light on what Zoya was thinking. Seeing how her mother will not listen to reason, she has decided to take matters into her own hands and kill two birds with one stone. Free herself of a shohar, and gift Zoya with a shohar since she seems to need one. I wonder how she will go about doing that. Shariq obviously needs no further encouragement and next week’s promo seems to suggest Zoya is finally succumbing to her feelings too!

Naimat Ali ka pota! Zoya’s family is beginning to forgive each other. I am not sure what benefit Azmeer’s bhabhi derives from Zoya’s return for yes, Naimat Ali wants a grandchild but if I remember correctly it is his son who is unable to provide him with an heir and not his daughter in law? Naimat Ali’s reaction is cringeworthy. This whole ‘waaris’ obsession reminds me more of a greedy pirate trying to retrieve the whereabouts of a treasure chest rather than a grief stricken father wanting to hold his dead son’s child in his arms! Seems like they will finally find Zoya but it remains to be seen whether she will want to return at all.

Saba’s character continues to oscillate between being childlike and a grown woman. Even when she is not having a fit she sometimes says and seems to understand the world around her like a girl her age would but at times she is extremely naïve. Sana Javed did not have a lot of screen time, well not many scenes when she had to say much which was a welcome break for me for those forlorn eyes and monotone whisper had done my head in. Hopefully Maami has disappeared for a while and I can breathe a sigh of relief.

I am still on the fence about what I feel about this drama. There are no crazy twists and turns, acting by everyone is mediocre, productions values are good and the soundtrack addictive. Will Shariq marry Zoya? It does seem inevitable. Where does Saba fit in all this then? And how will Naimat Ali back off from taking away his precious pota then? I guess we will have to wait and see. How many of you are still following this drama? Any thoughts? Would love to hear them!

Kunwal Javid

So the ‘psychiatrists-in-a-pakistani-drama’ practice continues. I am not a fan of Maami’s personality but I am sure my expression mirrored the perplexed one on hers when the psychiatrist was dishing out her words of wisdom. Shadi karo na karo, bhai type se karo ya total stranger say, time spend before shaadi with total stranger is helpful how – wait, hand over the psychiatrist’s job to Shariq. Ah, yes. Let’s do that. Armed with that new insight, Saba’s parents, rather her mother feels that Shariq should spend time with Saba before she gets married so she is able to be comfortable in his presence which is being transitioned from ‘bhai’ to ‘miyan’. And Shariq? I had noooo idea being a DC was such a ‘vaila’ job-seriously! He is babysitting Zoya (making daily calls to the servant to make sure she had her juice on time), nurturing and easing Saba’s mental state of mind – when does this guy actually work?

Although he seems to be trying to be friendly and act as naturally as possible around Saba, we see Shariq feels trapped in this new relationship – as expected. Not only is Saba mentally not all there but she is someone he has viewed as a younger sister and he feels it is not easy to switch the tag of ‘behn bhai’ to ‘miyan biwi’ as he explains to his mother. I find Saba’s father’s reaction and approach although not fair to Shariq but much more believable and understandable as a father rather than her mother who seems to be living in ‘la-la land’. Maami is seriously grating on my nerves. Being hopeful over your child’s recovery is one thing but after the horrendous first ‘outing’ Shariq and Saba had you would think she would rethink the ‘outing’ suggestion so soon again!

I am still a bit confused about Saba. From what I seem to understand she has a general fear of all men except her father and Shariq but when she is overcome by erratic fits, she can not and will not listen to reason to the extent that nothing makes sense to her. Like the whole policeman scenario was really quite extreme and I could not believe after the ‘hand’ situation in the car she dragged it all the way to begging the policemen to not leave her alone with Shariq. But I will not dwell much on that and suppose maybe that is just what her mental state is like.

Shariq seems to have agreed to do his ‘duty’ but also wants Zoya by his side. Although it has not made much sense having her living in his house so far, it makes even less sense that he should expect her to stay on after his marriage to Saba. His baby names’ suggestions show his emotional state of mind where he has been thinking of names for the baby – with his name as a surname. Zoya seems to be stuck mentally on Azmeer – but her reaction to the news of Shariq’s marriage seems to suggest the beginning of some other emotions.

Seems like we are in for quite a few scenes of Saba ‘ping-pong-ing’ between Sherry Bhai is good guy – Sherry Bhai is bad guy. In spite of that, the hopeful look on Anam Fayyaz’s face when Shariq promises to stand by her no matter what was very heartfelt and spot on.

Shariq seems to want to have his cake -and eat it too. He has agreed, albeit reluctantly to marry Saba but he wants Zoya by his side too. Zoya seemed to be trying to think ahead by saying she wants to go back to work when the baby arrives. The way she had that conversation with Shariq though made me wonder where it was leading – Shariq’s nanny services for baby maybe?!

I can not help but resist pointing out how Sherry Bhais in our dramas are fast becoming Angels in Disguise Potential Miyans. There’s Sherry Bhai in Tum Yaad Aye and now in Intezaar. Anyways, the drama is watchable for now. There is something about Sana Javed’s acting that I can not place my finger on – but it seems to fall flat at times. Mikaal Zulfiqar, Anam Fayaaz and the actor playing Mamu have acted out their characters well. I do like how the drama does not have any extra characters being used as fillers – khair, how many more fillers would be needed with Shariq managing two women in his life already, but still! Anyways, I am interested to see how Shariq plans to manage both these relationships simultaneously – and keep his job in the process!

How many of you watched this episode? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Kunwal Javid

Well! Directed by Kashif Nisar and written by Asma Sayani, Intezaar airs on A-Plus every Thursday at 8pm. When I first saw the OST and the cast, I was interested enough to think I would watch and review it. However, I came across an article online which gave the story away a bit stating that the play touches upon the issue of child abuse. Given that it took me ages to get round to watching Udaari, I decided to give this serial a miss. However, hearing how popular the drama has become and thinking I could stop watching if it got a bit too depressing – I began to watch.

Intezaar is initially the story of two cousins, Zoya (Sana Javed) and Azmeer (Azfar Rehman) who are in love and are getting married soon, with their respective families’ (reluctant) blessings. Their fathers are brothers but they do not get along very well rather Azmeer’s father and Zoya’s mother have short tempers and are not exactly overjoyed by the match. Things move along and the day of their nikkah arrives and the two are married but an argument erupts over the jewellery given to Zoya by Azmeer’s family which is declared fake by Zoya’s mother which in turn angers Azmeer’s father. With tempers and egos pitted against each other, Azmeer’s father demands that Amzeer divorce Zoya on the spot – to which Azmeer reacts by walking away from the whole scenario. Egged on by her mother’s taunts and Azmeer’s obvious disappearance from the scene, Zoya feels he has left her in the lurch and not stood by her. Wanting to escape from it all, she asks to be allowed to go back to her hostel where she stays while working as a doctor. Azmeer comes to visit her there and manages to convince her that at the time the only thing he could do was walk out and the two begin to see each other and meet on weekends.

While the two live in their secret, happily married bubble, Zoya’s mother wants to see a proper end to Zoya’s nikkah and asks her to sign khula papers. Azmeer tells her to sign them so as to get her mother off her back. Zoya learns she is now pregnant with Azmeer’s baby and they decide to go back home and face their families so that they can stop meeting in secret and move on with their lives. A medical emergency at the last minute prevents Zoya from getting on the train with Azmeer – the train that crashes and kills Azmeer. Zoya’s parents are shocked to learn she is pregnant but Azmeer’s father refuses to believe the baby is Azmeer’s and rejects the idea of the very obvious DNA test as well. Zoya’s mother then feels that the step forward is to have Zoya abort her baby and marry her nephew, to which Zoya balks and runs away from home to the hostel. One thing leads to another where she ends up staying with a friend’s cousin who turns out to be a creepy man who tries to make a move on her and she ends up at a train station where she meets Shariq (Mikaal Zulfiqar). He convinces her that it is unsafe for her to be alone and brings her to his house.

Shariq is the DC of the area and we learn that his father dies when he was very young and he and his mother go to live with his mamu. Mamu bears the responsibilities of his sister and nephew, giving them room in his house and bears their expenses including Shariq’s educational expenses. Mamu has a daughter Saba (Anam Fayyaz) who is a victim of child abuse at the hands of their household servant. Although her parents eventually found out, but the abuse has left its mark on Saba who at times seems to live a fairly normal life but then at times has fits due to flashbacks from her horrific ordeal where she lashes out at everyone and is uncontrollable. Psychiatric sessions have had no effect and the psychiatrist throws in the ultimate trump card saying only marriage could possibly cure Saba otherwise nothing else can be done. Maami thinks Shariq is the ideal candidate for Saba knows him well and is comfortable with him and also because he ‘owes’ them for all the favours they have bestowed on him. Although Shariq’s mother balks at the idea at first, she gives in to the pressure and visits Shariq to convince him to marry Saba. Emotional blackmail prevails and Shariq returns to his mamu’s house to go ahead with the marriage to Saba.

I actually enjoyed the first few episodes which focused on Zoya and Azmeer. With Saba’s entry, even though I was aware what her basic story was, the flashbacks do give you goosebumps. However sickening it may feel, I suppose this is a much more common occurrence than we care to admit for children are often left at the hands of servants and pedophiles are unfortunately a very horrifying reality. While we see Zebu in Udaari react to her ordeal differently and grow up to be a strong individual although tormented by her past at times, Saba in Intezaar seems to have let the experience engulf her to the extent that she rarely leaves the house and is scared of any male presence except for her father and Shariq. To be honest I really can not comment on her mental state for God knows how such children are impacted and each individual is different. We do not know how long the abuse went on, and how it finally ended but well, the result is a very frightened, young girl who gives in to moments when she is unable to control herself or her emotions and is trapped in her past. Come to the psychiatrist’s advice – I am no psychiatry major, thankfully have not known of anyone or heard of real life child abuse victims that was cured by such advice – but really, marriage? The psychiatrist does not even suggest that she be married to someone she knows well or anything. Just that marriage is the only (if at all) cure to Saba’s state of mind. Why? So that she may be ‘given’ away to another man to go through what she went through earlier? Boggles the mind – so I will leave it at that.

Anyhow, once Saba learns she is to wed Sherry Bhai (God, not another Sherry Bhai!), she is uncomfortable around him and also gives into her emotions and gets up at the scene of the nikkah. Shariq has fallen in love with Zoya who does not reciprocate his feelings but he convinces her that he will put a lid on his feelings but she must not leave his house. I have to say, there’s a lot of ‘convincing’ going round in this drama. Azmeer convincing Zoya they are meant to be, Mamu convincing Shariq’s mum, she in turn convincing Shariq, etc!

To be honest, I am not sure where this play will lead with Saba’s track. Whether she is truly cured, how Shariq is able to make this marriage work for as he rightly says that he can take care of her as a brother but does not feel he will be able to do justice as a husband. Mamu and Maami are unaware of Zoya’s existence but next week’s promo shows that Maami learns of Zoya and that she is pregnant. Shariq seems very adamant not to let Zoya leave from his house or life so I suppose he will take a stand for her. The dialogues between Shariq and Zoya although cheesy at times, still do seem to fit in well with the play and the characters such as when Shariq says to Zoya that she has done her share of ‘mohabbat’ but he has not so she can not stop him from feeling what he does.

The scenes between Meekal and Sana are done well and I like how we see he is shown to care for her but I do have to say I miss Azfar. I find he performs such characters well and he was very convincing as Azmeer, the young engineer in love with his wife and bent on making things work. I know some of us find Meekal lacking in his acting at times, but I for one like his acting and find he has not disappointed her either- so far. Sana Javed in most of her plays is either an outspoken, bubbly character (Zara Yaad Kar to name one)- as Zoya was when Azmeer was alive or a monotonous bechari (Paiwind) – as she is now, but I have yet to watch a drama where she plays a balanced character. While I found Shariq odd deciding to go ahead with the marriage with a ‘Zoya you left me no choice’ when she does not come to the phone, but the pressure on his mother and the pressure imposed by Mamu on Shariq seemed very real where people are forced to give in to pressure thinking it is their ‘farz’. Shariq must apparently choose between his ‘farz’ and his ‘mohabbat’ but his farz being that he must marry his Mamu’s daughter because the Mamu raised him does make you question the real definition of ‘farz’ but sadly, such situations (bar the abuse element) are in abundance in reality.

I will say that the constant flashbacks Saba has do make me uneasy especially as there are different scenes, with the door locks, the swing, the sweets etc. It is hard to sit through such scenes no matter how short they are and my heart does break for children who have had to go through such living nightmares. So far, Anam Fayyaz has acted well and does make you believe her character is real.The play is visually easy on the eyes, not to mention the OST which is extremely catchy and I have found myself crooning, rather belting it out loudly for a while after watching an episode, LOL!

I am very curious but at the same time, very wary as to how this drama moves forward and how much screen time is actually spent on Saba’s journey to being ‘cured’ and how convincing that may be. Does Zoya finally begin to feel more for Shariq and is she aware of his marriage to Saba? Do Saba and Zoya eventually meet? How does Saba react to her marriage? I wonder how many of you are watching this play, what your thoughts are and whether you would like to have weekly/fortnightly reviews.

Kunwal Javid