I think I’m falling short of words because I can’t find enough decent ones to praise the writer/director Amna Nawaz Khan for giving us such a well-thought & beautiful play. Just when we thought things might get predictable, she surprised us with new developments that I am sure no one could’ve thought of. I never thought I’ll ever get a play that I would like to watch over & over again like Malal but now I know, I’ve got Shanakht. I really want to thank the team of Shanakht from the bottom of my heart because this play is like a perfect & beautiful journey which I am sure is going to stay with us for a long long time.
I think in the previous episodes, viewers were under the impression that the characters are kind of black & white like the good ones or rather to be more precise; ‘religious’ people in this drama are the best & the not-so-good ones or unreligious are the worst but the way we’ve seen the change in the attitude of every single person around Annie & Rohaan really dispelled the impression that a lot of people were getting. I think it’s been tackled & then showcased very convincingly that people do take their time in accepting people who are of a different mindset to them. This is why we found Rohaan’s mother & sisters indulging in a detest for Annie without any good reason but yes, this once again justifies the way Annie’s character has been etched out that just because of her patience & her habit of not paying heed to the negative comments, people around her started loving her. In the beginning of the episode, to hear Rohaan’s mother agree to the notion of having a good daughter in law was really pleasant but I didn’t know that this episode would offer much more in terms of her acceptance towards Annie where we’d have all the more reasons to smile. I am really glad that they’ve shown some sort of guilt that Zubia’s burdened with because it shows that she has a conscience as well & she’s well-aware of what she has done but just when she needed a friend to speak her heart out to, she chose Annie, as she knew Annie will show her the right direction, so once again it shows that Zubia’s character wasn’t one-dimensional or black but rather she now looks very human & genuine where she reacted differently in different circumstances & the situations that she faced made her perspective change. I think Shanakht’s main focus was only on changing perspectives & so far they’ve intelligently untangled the knots.
Obviously, Kashaf is not at fault & her stand for this matter is definitely right that she will not submit to Haris’s inhumanity but I wasn’t too sure about the advice Huma gave her like Kashaf didn’t need to bend at all unless Haris does. I am totally with Kashaf on this & I feel for her a lot but I think Huma has lost credibility because of her irrationality previously. I wish they had shown some more father-daughter sessions because Amjad’s take on this would’ve seemed a lot more rational & stable. Of all the things Huma has done, I think she for once made the right decision where she requested Rohaan & Annie to get involved in this. This once again sheds a light on Huma’s acceptance of Rohaan & the acknowledgement of his wisdom because in such a difficult hour, Huma depended on Rohaan because she had some sort of faith in him. I must say, this is a random thought but I really like the way they’ve shown how Annie has maintained a balance between her families where she is not seen unnecessarily spending time with her own family while ignoring her in-laws. This aspect also needs to be highlighted because even though Annie never had a reason to spend more time at her in-laws because of the way they treated her, she made sure she didn’t use it as an excuse to neglect her new found family. I really liked the way she honestly told her mother that her in-laws were expecting some guests for the dinner that’s why she couldn’t come to meet her that day. I like the way Annie has prioritized Rohaan & his family because she knows she needs to spend some more time with them to help them understand her better.
I think Shireen’s being unreasonable where she is nit-picking on Faryal for petty things. I think even before Hashim said it, it was Shireen who wasn’t so impressed by the changes Annie made in her appearance like her Hijab & now when she sees Faryal dressing up like any liberal girl would, she has an issue with it too. Shireen should understand that even though Hashim shared a certain wavelength with Annie, he never saw her as a life-partner because he clearly wanted someone modern & chic like Faryal, so to see Shireen draw comparison between both Annie & Faryal didn’t really seem justified. I really thought their presence wouldn’t contribute much but I think as a side track, they still make a very interesting story. Let’s see what will it take Faryal to convince Shireen to like & more importantly; accept her but I really doubt that Faryal’s in a mood to do that because she clearly seems ticked off with Shireen’s attitude.
I thought the way Haris treated Rohaan & Annie would be left in the lurch & may be a sudden realization of some other sort would hit him where he might miss Kashaf & realize his mistake on his own but the way what Haris did come back & bit him was surprisingly a very interesting twist in the story. Who could’ve thought that Haris would ever be in such a position where he’d have to seek Rohaan’s help & he’d be compelled & more so, helpless to do so? I really think this was a very smart move of the writer to introduce Haris’s dependency on Rohaan because this will convince & make him regret that even after he ill-treated him, Rohaan still extended some help to Haris when he needed it.
So, this pretty much sums up this week’s review. It goes without saying but I loved watching Shanakht this week as well. It was one interesting episode & I really wish it goes on like that. I did pick on something in the preview where Huma’s saying to Shireen about how Annie gets restless when she sees someone of her own in pain, so this is Rohaan she was talking about? I hope it’s nothing major because Huma really casually said so. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be over dramatic where Faryal will run away because of Shireen’s meddlesome nature & Hashim will once again become single to be like a back-up option for Annie, please NOOO! I really don’t see Annie & Hashim connecting to each other ever because they are two very different people.
Loved the direction, loved the acting & yes, I’m in love with this play. I know this would sound totally random but I really really like the way Kashaf (Hina Javed) has paired harem pants with long tees, it is ‘the most’ comfortable attire to be in, at home. & yes, the whole kangan-for-bahu conversation was really sweet; finally Annie’s getting the acknowledgement that she worked for & more so which she actually deserves. Really loved the conversations of Annie & Rohaan even though they were a little less but still, something’s better than nothing. It is so good to see such a nice couple sharing such a healthy relation with each other. Share your thoughts on this episode of Shanakht please. :)
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.
ps: I know the reviews that I write of Shanakht are way too longgg but, can you blame me? :)
