This episode of Zakham was power packed with some extremely sensitive and emotional performances. However, there was one man who stole today’s episode, fair and square. The veteran Shabbir Jan once again proved why he is one of the most loved actors spanning many years of Pakistani dramas. His acting from the scene when he was praying for Ahmed’s life, to when he was expressing regret over his decision for Takbeer, to when he was teaching her about the mystic ways of Allah and how to find solace in His decisions, to when he was looking at Musa with sorrow and nostalgia of what could have been and he only has himself to blame for it , was all phenomenal. It was mind blowingly real, natural and carried me away with the wave of emotions of a father who did what he thought was right but he was wrong and his daughter has to pay the price for it. The agony such a father would feel was nailed by Shabbir Jan and then some more.
The other performances of today were also very impressive. Madiha Imam, Faysal Quraishi, Ismat Iqbal, Fahim Abbas.. everyone ‘s acting was right on spot. The death scene itself was quite abrupt and leaves a lot to be desired, but the performances that followed more than made up for it. Madiha Imam is usually amazing in all the scenes except when she is with Ahmed, right up to his last scene. When he was crying last night, she could not portray the real expressions of worry a mother would have. I don’t blame her though, she is quite young and not a mother herself, but I was reminded of Sanam Jung in Dil e Muztar, who had portrayed such a scene to perfection. Other than that scene, Madiha Imam was very good. Hers and Shabbir Jan’s scenes were the highlights of today’s episode and justly so. She was wonderful as a mourning parent and so was Faysal Quraishi.
The remaining episode was focused on the aftermath of Ahmed’s untimely death and it was very precisely shot. Despite dedicating all those minutes to the outpouring of grief, it did not feel dragged. Khawar’s sitting at night on Ahmed’s grave and Takbeer requesting her parents to bring him back, it was all very well coordinated and just the right amount of screen time was given to everyone.
Musa and his mother’s arrival and her conversation with Takbeer as well as Musa’s with her father cleared away a lot of bad feelings between them. Musa and his mother are genuinely very nice people.
Khalida and her husband were also great today. I don’t know the name of the actor playing her husband but his acting is very suitable for the role. He is like a rock to Khawar and Khalida and in his serious and detached attitude fits perfectly where he is in the play. Yousaf also seems to be his real son, since the resemblance is very obvious.
The promos show some interesting discoveries about Khawar.. stay tuned xx