Oh, what a spectacular week it was! Hamza told his family that bringing up the ‘Quran Oath’ at the drop of a hat was not on. Hala didn’t tell the truth and we were divided. Maahir stayed with Mehru and we were (not) divided and then came Sang e Mah – the queen of all dramas, to gift us a stellar episode with storytelling that conquered epic levels!
Stay with me as I give you a little bit on Pehchaan too, coz … that’s the new drama on the block right?
Final Thoughts On Dobara
So first up is Dobara because we’re near if not totally done with it! I have to say our audience is more woke than writers give it credit, so… note to writers: please touch base with the people whom you are writing about. They will tell you if they can’t relate to your characters and Dobara was a gruesome example of a skewed narrative. Is Maahir a hero? No, Bilal Abbas is, but that doesn’t by default, make Maahir one, right?
Wrong.
Because you showed us that Maahir WAS the hero…initially. When he set Zameer right, when he asked Mehru to be with her children, when he made the driver apologize to Shano when he lifted Mehru from a dark place with conversations in the park. Maahir was our hero, but then, all of a sudden, he became this cheating husband… but here we were, thinking Bilal Abbas can’t play this negative character because, this is not the story we set out to watch, right? Ahem… and the rest is history.
But enough has been said on Dobara, really, so I’m going to move on as audiences do because we have some fab stories in the pipeline. Two of them are building up to a climax and the third is giving us suspense thrills as it starts out on a refreshingly original story line.
Pehchaan Is Going Strong So Far!
Pehchaan takes on bored housewives and superficially perfect marriages from the inside. Hiba Bukhari and Syed Jibran have played it perfectly so far and what I’m loving is the suspense that the makers have managed to sustain in the plot, despite being 5 episodes in, the story is gripping and keeps you guessing. Fast forward to the latest episode that depicted JUST the husband-wife conversation many couples have behind closed doors. The wife being told, “mein apni fitrat ko nahi badal sakta” by the husband and the manner in which he feels insecure before her friends – spot on there my friends! Double edged conversations caught between thoughts: what if we were to marry again. Would we marry the same people? And then, to top it all, the resurfacing of the hero from another life – Aziz aka Mirza Zain Baig makes an appearance in subtle undertones and we’re floored!
Pehchaan is keeping our attention because … nothing is what it seems. There’s more to Adnan, Sharmeen, and Aziz. We feel that but the makers aren’t giving anything away – pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to be put together as the story unfolds! Some viewers have mentioned that there is a ‘Gone Girlish’ twist to the plot. Oh well, it’s too early to say except for the disappearing act from the wife. Let’s wait and see what’s in store but this one’s a watch and a half so far!
Mere Humsafar – Hamza Is Not As Woke As We Thought
Mere Humsafar you teased us into believing Hamza is all woke and then he waits, with baited breath, to make sure you were never involved in an affair of the heart BEFORE you were married. Note the emphasis on BEFORE, just checking you got that! I wish Pakistani dramas would move away from an entire susraal bearing down upon the luckless bahu to proclaim her pre-marital innocence.
Was she, in fact unscarred, or did we purchase damaged goods?
Excuse me for the crude parallel but can we just stop this line of questioning. The idealistic me would have liked Hamza to tell off his family not only on the Quran oath but also on the fact that, no one should ask his wife about her past, not even the husband himself, it’s none of anyone’s business really, we don’t need to know. To pacify the naysayers, I would say yes, Hala could have dropped the truth in private to Hamza. But Hala is Hala with a host of fears and personal issues and this was a hard one to bear. Also, how many liberal-minded families do we ALL know who fail to disclose past relationships for fear that the husband might not take to them kindly? In her defense, Hala has no way out if Hamza does the Hamza flip (which hopefully he won’t) when he finds out the truth. But … I stay on Hala’s side, despite her ahem, dishonesty (?). She’s had it tough, cut her some slack will you!
Sang e Mah Takes The Cake
Oh and now, much as I’d like to stay the story to 3 dramas, how can I not bring up Sang e Mah!
From Sheherezade wooing Hilmand (yet again) I love those strong girl vibes, btw, to Marjaan Khan back in the driving seat, taking on Masha Allah Khan, to oh, Awwal Khan’s dua and the twist in the tale – I am floored!
For me, all else apart, Awwal Khan aka Syed Muntazim Shah totally melted my heart with his heartfelt, innocent, unpretentious dua! The journey of this character from a wife-beater to a person we have grown to love is a shoutout to the entire script, direction, and performance all in one. We felt him from, “I only pray on Eid”, to, “I copy the person next to me, and still, I might get it wrong”, to laying out his chadar and giving enough respect to the Almighty to de-slipper himself before he entered in conversation. The magical moment in the entire dua was how we never judged Awwal Khan for being flawed, human and so transparent. Now we see what Marjaan Khan sees in him and we’re loving it!
In essence, Sang e Mah has shown us that support characters have a story to tell which is as impactful as the main story line! Take a bow team Sang E Mah for all the Badam Guls, Harshaali’s, Mastaan Singhs and Sabz Ali’s of our time!
And that, my dear folks, is all from me, till next week on, The Week In Dramas. Adios, cheers and keep watching!
Amazing read Shazia as always. Hala and Hamza I just love them. Although I feel for Hamza, my loyalties are also with Hala. I understand why she lied.