Sabaat continues to be a mediocre drama because the script lacks clarity and the screenplay leaves a lot to be desired. Harris’ background was finally revealed in this episode and he proposed to Miraal as well. After watching their scenes, I am still wondering why he is in love with this woman and why isn’t he trying harder to ‘fix’ the problems she has. This track definitely lacks the kind of clarity which was required to make the viewers relate to this attraction Harris has toward Miraal. Since everything is being revealed gradually, all we can do it sit and wait!
Unfortunately, Anaya and Hasan’s scenes were repetitive. There was a role reversal in this episode, Anaya was the one who constantly reassured Hasan. I was really hoping that we will for a change get to watch a couple which did not fall into the stereotypes our writers so diligently follow but that was most certainly not the case. The pace of this episode was just as slow as the previous few. It was difficult for me to sit through some of the scenes which could easily have been chopped down. I missed watching Anaya’s parents tonight and Hasan’s mother went back to being a caricature in this episode. Harris’ comment about Fareed being a wonderful father made me laugh. Unless he turns out to be a negative or twisted character, his personality makes little sense. How could a psychiatrist be such a bad judge of character? How could he out of his own free will choose to marry a narcissist who made it pretty clear that he would have to win her over? Miraal’s ‘please me’ attitude is was as clear as daylight in their third meeting yet Harris chose to ignore all these signs. I really hope that his troubled past would have some relevance otherwise there was no need to make his story so ‘tragic’!
Miraal and Harris
After making sure that the viewers knew that there was nothing wrong with Miraal and Harris dating now, the writer moved on really quickly to showing them meeting frequently. Since they were not in touch at all after that email, their meetings were difficult to connect to. They appeared to be individuals who knew each other well yet we have seen very few scenes in which they had a meaningful conversation. This track has been covered and carried forward in the most unconvincing manner. So, we must assume that while both of them were meeting and talking on the phones during the therapy sessions, they drew close to one another. That is what all the conversation tonight and in the previous episode suggested.
So. Harris had a difficult childhood, he has no relatives and does not like to stay in touch with his parents since they abandoned him as a child. I would have liked to know how he made it this far since it seems like he is financially stable. The proposal on Miraal’s request and their conversation, later on, suggested that Harris was more than willing to be yet another person in Miraal’s life who would do anything to please her. Also, the way Miraal talked about herself and how well he knew her went to show that she did not hide anything from him. Some of the readers were wondering if Miraal really revealed her actual personality in those therapy sessions since we never got to watch them, well we got the answer today! Yes, Harris knows how controlling Miraal is and that she likes people to please her, yet he sees nothing wrong with that. In fact, he thinks that Fareed has done a superb job raising his daughter!
Fareed was much more flexible when it came to Miraal’s marriage, no surprises there. Although he had made up his mind that Miraal would continue living them after she got married, he did not put his foot down. Miraal once again got what she wanted quite easily. The way Fareed tells his wife off is just plain disgusting, watching women put up with such men in dramas especially when they have the option to leave the house is disappointing.
Anaya and Hasan
Although I absolutely loved Mawra Hocane and Ameer Gillani’s performances tonight, their track took a disappointing turn. Anaya was shown working, making breakfast, lunch, and even dinner while Hasan felt completely useless. Why couldn’t Anaya let Hasan help her? This was such a perfect opportunity for the writer to show that there is nothing wrong with a woman earning and a man looking after the house and cooking but their story took such a clichéd turn! Hasan felt useless and perhaps insecure as well. If he had the meals prepared for Anaya when she came back from the office, he would have felt more ‘useful’ but that was somehow not his duty!
The construction business going down did not do Fareed any harm, someone who I was hoping would get a wake-up call once he loses his wealth but it affected Hasan and Anaya more. Anaya’s parents were completely missing from this episode, their advice and support could have helped Hasan as well. All of Hasan and Anaya’s scenes were more or less the same. In the previous few episodes, I was feeling for Hasan because he had to continuously reassure Anaya and in this episode, it was the other way around. Moving into a new house, away from Miraal could have been shown as a positive development in their lives but apparently it has created more problems for them. The preview of the next episode suggested that Hasan will get more frustrated with Anaya in the upcoming episode.
Final Remarks
I am still waiting to find out who Harris really is. Is he as nice as he appears? Does he have an ulterior motive? Tonight’s episode was definitely not the best. The preview of the next episode showed that Miraal is still bent on creating a rift between Hasan and Anaya. So far, Sabaat’s script lacks clarity, depth, and meaning therefore I don’t have high expectations from the upcoming episode. The director has focused a great deal on making each episode visually pleasing and he has succeeded in doing so but many of the ‘important’ scenes are most often not as impactful as they should or can be.
Did you watch tonight’s episode of Sabaat? Do share your thoughts about it.
Great review Fatima. Btw have you seen Log Kya Kahenge? What are your remarks on it?
Thank you Abdullah. No, I haven’t, the poster was quite off-putting – one man, two women, ek bechari dusri dayan LOL!! Will watch it though.
All I want is to see Harris watch Miral treating Hasan and Anaya as garbage. I just want to see his expressions. Thats all I want from this drama.
Well, Miraal made it quite clear that she was a controlling monster, why does this seemingly sensible man need a visual representation?
Harris must be drugged by Miral with some sort of a love potion ;p
LOL!!! Seems like it ;) Unless this guy is hiding something or has a bigger plan, all of this makes little sense.
Fatima, did you see the promos? I think there was a scene in the first one where Miral angrily turns away from Harris and says “Is baat ko yahan chorr dein’ and another scene in which she takes off her burka and grabs his throat or something——Something will happen to those two
Didn’t watch those promos. I feel the producers are trying too hard to ‘entice the viewers but they are not delivering.
Ek or thandi qist…ek or apt review. I’m still unable to understand the hype around Usman Mukhtar. Whatever little of Ana I watched, he came across as a Pakistani Harlequin hero with one expression only and a dialogue delivery to match. So consider me dumbstruck when after Sabaat started I heard people everywhere adored him and couldn’t wait for him to woo Miraal asap. Well here’s to a chemistry so potent, it can only be compared to that of a wooden plank and a refrigerator. Their scenes make zero sense…like you said…how did their relationship progress so far and so fast? Also the reason for Dr. Haris being a psychologist was…what again??? Plz enlighten me as to why the writer made him a psychologist if it was to have no bearing on the story? Miraal might be a pseudo-psycho but she’s definitely a true ‘nand’. As soon as her bro fell in love, she lost her chill and regained it faster than you could say ‘abu ji’ when the bhabi was successfully outta her jet black, dead straight hair. I think it’s Hassan who needs a psychologist now, cuz he seemed pretty depressed in this episode to me. I completely agree that Anaya pampering him with her ‘do not enter the kitchen my lord and master, thou shalt not cooketh dinner’ and ‘here are your shoes, my love, don’t forget to jog while I earn our bread and butter’ was super irritating. I mean here’s a (previously) extremely pampered guy wanting to do his bit in the scheme of life and what do you do…pamper him more??? Why? Let him cook you sati savitri from the 70s. I have to say that Anaya’s character has been steadily losing all its charm. One last thing now…what is up with Fareed, the king of bias??? Why couldn’t he have been so magnanimous when Hassan talked about Anaya? And what is wrong with Mrs. Fareed…why doesn’t she have any dialogues or a will of her own or a backbone???
Anyways it’s sad to see a drama with so much potential going downhill. Reviewing this must be getting tougher every week for you…I hope you get to choose a really good drama after this one.
Thank you N, kidhr thi aap janab? I hope you’re doing well, I missed your input. Haha! I am one of those people who really liked him in Anaa so guilty as charged ;) Yes! That is exactly what I mentioned in one of the previous reviews, why exactly has he been shown as a psychiatrist when he was not going to help Miraal in any way. Fareed is totally biased and Mrs. Fareed it seems is too used to the insults, tayar ho ke beth jati hei besti krwane ke liye ;)
Yes definitely! Thank you so much N.
Tayar ho ke baith jati hae besti kerwanay made me laugh so hard 😂😂. Thanks Fatima…tbh dramas seem disappointing all around ajkal so I’ve gone back to the old faithful books…cuz they’re not miscast, overacted, badly directed or come with inappropriate background score 😜
Maybe it’s inspired by TaMing of the Shrew? But so far, it makes no sense to me….
Wohi baat koi sense tu bane, some flow, some logic – a lot that is missing.
Acha i hvnt watched Anna….!!! So i m wondering k usman mukhtar ki keo hype the…..!!! I so far found his character plus his acting very very unimpressive…charecter ko cutdown kr k kharab to kr he dia hai bt isko acting b bht farigh hai……
I watched Anaa and honestly speaking I thought he was quite charming in a problematic role but here he is clearly not into the character at all and his acting is quite wooden.
Candid review Fatima, good job! Why a psychiatrist is head over heels in love with patient has not been conveyed well? I wonder if Haris’s comment about Farid being a good father was sarcastic, did not seem so, though! It is beyond my comprehension as a psychiatrist Haris should have been able to gauge the contributing factors to Miraal’s problematic character.
The tempo continues to be a drag and psychiatrist’s judgement very questionable. Hope, next episodes add some depth and meaning to characters with a better moving flow of events.
Thank you Shabnam. He seemed quite serious but he is kind of weird too, could he be like Zahid Ahmed’s character from Alvida? Let’s see. I know right! Harris ne konse college se degree li hei? I personally know so many psychiatrists/therapists and trust me they are a really good judge of character, they can sometimes see through people in a single meeting.
I don’t have high hopes from this drama now if there are a few good scenes in each episode that is consolation enough and makes me happy LOL!! Otherwise, it is all over the place.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts. Keep reading and commenting.
He could’ve possibly said it meaning he’s a good father as he has stuck by miraal and supports her unlike his dad
After watching last week’s episode I was hoping that Hasan and Anaya will make it big together. What was shown in this episode was rubbish. Hasan was one positive husband who took a downward turn with this episode. You’re right about Anaya. You will not enter my kitchen? Let him do it woman. What is she trying to prove? The man is worthless. Dr Haris needs a psychiatrist himself. He has unresolved issues. Usman Mukhtar was charming in Anaa, here he is plastic. His acting is bad and I am hating his hair. Your review is perfect as always.
Weren’t we all ;) But no!!!! Apparently Miraal wasn’t the only issue they had to overcome, abhi ishq ke imtehan aur bhi hei and these imtehans are actually making their track boring. I agree with you, the girl in college who shouted at him for not being worthy and independent enough is baby sitting him now, like why? LOL So true about Harris. I agree with you Usman Mukhtar looks bored and I don’t blame him!
Thank you so much for liking the reviews and for sharing your views every week.
They have edited out the scenes of Harris because of the complaints if people. They did this for good but now i feel they shouldn’t have done it. It has become choppy and abrupt. I can clearly see that they have edited out so many scenes that it’s killing the fun. All of a sudden Harris and Miraal were in golf course and it didn’t leave a good taste. A story is a brain child of a writer, a single guy so it’s totally up to him what he wishes to do with it. We as an audience have the right to like, dislike and criticize but not to force our wishes. Hassan and Anaya’s track was cliched but our dramas are based on reality. Plus i would feel frustrated too. It’s culturally ingrained in us that we have to earn because it’s our responsibility. Now i don’t have any issues with cooking and cleaning but i have to have a job. I can connect with Hassan on that. It doesn’t matter how progressive and liberal you are, somethings never change. Plus you can’t ignore society especially when you have to meet each and every guy in the neighborhood as a man. Anyways your review is on point though. Lackluster is the word for this drama.
They should have thought it through. Even the most awkward situations can be shown convincingly on the screen if they are shown in a logical manner. The biggest flaw here is the writing, the characterizations, situations, dialogues, the sequence of the scenes, there is nothing exciting about it all. I agree with you a man would be frustrated in such a situation but why not pitch in the way you can! I think it doesn’t have anything to do with being liberal, it is all about how much understanding there is in a marriage and how willing you are to support your spouse and make your marriage work. Anaya and Hasan both are being immature which wasn’t something the viewers were expecting from them. Their troubles before too were more ‘self-created’ and now these problems are just forced into this track, it could have run smoothly for a while at least. Anaya doesn’t need to be Hasan’s babysitter and where are the parents who were so supportive. I always found Sabaat’s script problematic, the writer it seems is pretty clueless therefore the story has no direction.
Thank you for liking the reviews and for sharing your point of view Ahsan. Totally agree with you, Sabaat lacks spark and substance.
agree with you if anaya is reassuring hassan again and again that if she is doing a job and earning bread and butter for them its not a big deal becoz they are “one” and it doesnt matter why not the same thing can be implemented tto the hassan why cooking and cleaning is shown restricted to womens only? is it better to keep sitting at home doing nothing and feeling useless?
So what I’m getting from your review is that hum khwamakha patient/psychiatrist(???) ethics violation pe focus huay, Haris is apparently too incompetent that there would be a patient/doctor power imbalance, lol. Makes the whole psychiatrist/psychologist plot kind of pointless. I’m just waiting for the review where you tell us about the bodies buried in his garden- surely no character can be this boring!
Hasan and Anaya were promising so it’s a shame that they’ve fallen into a very typical marriage plot.
the way Dr Harris is acting i wouldn’t be surprised if he has killed & buried his parents, oh what fun would that be
LOL!!!
Ji bilkul aisa hi hei! hahahahaha Right on point Maya, I am waiting for a dhamaka too.
Yes!! Hate watching this track take this turn.
The way they have fast forwarded Harris and Miral’s track it seems that after their marriage things will change for Miral. Harris will probably make her realize her flaws either positvely or negatively. The way they show his troubled childhood life, will defiantly contribute to the plot
Let’s hope so. It could go the ‘Alvida’ way too.
Both the couples proved to be sterotypical, leaving no hope of any revolutionary change in our dramas..
Hassan and Anaya:
Both of them are still following the decades-old predetermined gender roles; according to which, the man, despite pretending to be a progressive modern-day guy, feel ashamed when he’s not the bread-winner of the family while the woman, despite working the whole day to win the bread for home, says to her husband that kitchen is her domain and he’ll do all household chores after coming to home.. disappointed..
Miraal and Haris:
Despite his outward appearance of an educated and level-headed man who is a psychiatrist as well, the man only sees the beauty of a woman while choosing a wife and this beauty clouds not only his judgement of right and wrong but also whatever he has learned while getting his degree.. disappointed again..
That’s true!
i would love to see Dr Harris run for his life just like Ali had too, or to see him worse than Miraal so she can know how it feels like to be on the other side, otherwise after having such difficult parents in his childhood, why would he want to ruin the piece by marrying Miraal
Dr Harris praising father & daughter made my day too, i liked the way their mother answered her husband, she doesn’t like him shouting at her all the time just like he doesn’t want to see her sad face
thanks for the lovely review
Right now he seems like Ali no.2
You’re most welcome. I look forward to your comments Shameem :)
While I was watching the episode, I had a few pointers in my mind and when I read your review, I found all of those here.
All I remember is, Dr Haris wrote an email to transfer her case to some other sensible psychologist (who she never happens to see)….then he goes missing for an entire episode and then comes back with a proposal in the next one! When and how did these two characters bond to have ‘love’ between them, forget liking….as Miraal doesn’t have anything likable about her, except for her appearance. They barely spoke 2 sentences in every meeting. When and how did the therapy session convert into golf sessions is anyone’s guess! When he meets the father, he, for the brilliant one that he is, proudly says that Miraal takes all the decisions in this house….to which Haris says that he is a very good father!!! Lol that really cracked me up! What was the writer thinking while writing this conversation?!? This meeting somehow reminded me of Amaan from Ye Dil Mera….is there a revenge story here as well? The way Fareed behaves with his wife is just not done, I wonder why she’s been putting up with this kind of behavior from her husband and daughter for so long without standing up for herself! I guess now she will…
After watching the previous episode, I wondered if they would give it a ‘Ki & Ka’ feel but they took it the ‘Abhimaan’ way, which I had guessed when they talked about competition on their honeymoon and Anaya made Hassan run for nothing. Hassan’s friend has no better job to do than to try create rifts between Hassan and Anaya, I wonder how good a friend he is and why Hassan still remains in touch with him.
I cannot be the only one who thinks that Harris’s and Usman’s life stories are similar…the boarding school part anyone??
Gr8 review Fatima, I ddint like this episode much, now they are testing our patience. I dont know why the makers paid attention to the criticism and cut donw scenes of Haris and Meeral, even the car scene between haris and his friend was dubbed with different dialogues, this has ruined the love story and also ruined the track of haris. Also the plain and boring performance of the overhyped and overrated Usman Mukhtar is not helping.
Agree completely with wat everyone is saying here, why the hell is he in love with Meeral, why he has to accept everything she says, he is no different from Ali , he is getting a little more respect just bcoz he is a doctor. Fareed’s behaviour is annoying.
I didnt comment last week as i was expecting abhimaan (amitabh-jaya) movie kind of scene to happen between hasan and anaya and thats wat will happen next week. hasan’s frustration is understandable, anaya is trying her best to cheer her up, but still these problems will start, and thats going to be v boring, I want them to prove to the fareed that they dont need him to succeed, but it seems that miseries of anaya will not end too soon.
its high time that miraal also starts facing trouble and starts changing. until now it was good and Sara’s performance and her screen presence was the saving grace, but cannot continue for long.
absolutely agreed with your review why cant hassan(papa kki pari) go in the kitchen and ,make food