Hello folks, dramas are back in action, well, some of them at least! Others are taking their time to warm up, and some, oh well, let’s not go there! Scroll down to catch up on Pinjra, Badshah Begum, Wabaal, and Habs.
So, taking it from the top, we have, … the one and only I’m absolutely crushing over …
All Love For Pinjra
Pinjra. If you didn’t guess this one, you don’t know me, and perhaps, we need to get to know each other better. To digress a bit, I called out a group of online trollers who had things to say about a famous celeb’s wife. The poor thing was being called out on her expression and while I ended up being trolled by the group of trollers for trolling them, ahem, yeah, that too, the sorority girls just didn’t get it. They were too busy justifying their trolling and reasons for being mean??? Okaaay enough said, some people will never get it, and your nirvana lies in letting it rest. And so I have … RIP in fact!
And now that digression is over (and our lesson in not trolling), I find this to be the most despicable activity under the sun. But let’s get back to PINJRA because, it will also have some trolling, but not in this episode. That probably has to do with poor Abeer’s social media exploits and I’m already feeling for her!
Pinjra holds up the mirror in couple relationships, sibling relationships and parent-child relationships – yes that’s how complicated it is. And each relationship is interconnected. Khadija has an underlying sense that Javed is wrong in his decisions, but she’s not confident enough to take a stand and hence Abhaan’s situation spins out of control. Azaan desperately wants to pull his younger brother out of the deep, dark abyss that engulfs him but tragically, he’s not old enough to take a stand and not young enough to not worry. Abeer is stuck on an island where she will only look out for herself because she is the middle child and daughter – double whammy there – who will not get exceptional privileges or attention from parents steeped in social conditioning. And then there’s Javed who is delivering uncompromising discipline, control, and obedience without lifting a finger, or raising his voice!
Amidst all this is Abhaan who is not your typical young boy stereotype. An offspring who is more into Art and Music, Abhaan’s family fails to support him in his natural talent and treats him more like a failure who must be saved from himself! Oh my heart goes out to all the Abhaan’s who have lived unacknowledged, or chided for not being more ‘normal’, for all the Abeers whose parents treated her different from their sons and all the Azaans who have a hard cross to bear! If you’re not watching, please add it to your watch list, it will teach you what NOT to do as a parent! Unless of course, you’re Wajeeha aka Sunita Marshall. Then, all will be well … hopefully!
Badshah Begum Steps Up Its Game!
Onwards to Badshah Begum which stepped up its game this week! We have 4 major characters down – Bakhtiar, Murad, Shahmir, and Shahmir’s dad. One character having lost her senses – Roshan Ara, though it is doubtful whether she hadn’t lost them earlier on in the show. But Shah Zaib rules finally, and not with an iron hand (as expected by us, and his family)! Great performance there Farhan Saeed as you fought your inner demons and your better judgment to get Murad off the radar. Qaiser and Hakim Be are winning this round, or rather, the semi-final, but I’m wondering if this is, but an anti-climax of things to come?
What of Jahan Ara’s fate? It lies in the hands of Qaiser presently and that’s terror enough. Finally, full marks to the director for executing that Bakhtiar hit scene and the build up to it with panache! Although BB has disappointed often in the flow of events and character development, the past couple of episodes packed quite a punch and we’re hoping it wraps up in style!
Onwards To Wabaal
Wabaal I have you now. Because, I got to see Faraz get his girl, well, nearly. But this might be the beginning of the end for him? I mean, who can tame Anum since she plans to have her cake and eat it too? Fair enough, she is being forced into a marriage which she doesn’t want while her sister gets to go to work and is largely hailed as the saviour of the family honor!
What would you do if you were an Anam?
Jahez in instalments exists? That was an eye opener and a clever insertion into the script as more of us struggle with this societal curse! Interesting scripting that this move might bring the Anam family face to face with Shagufta as they struggle to pay off the loan and also that, this time, it was not the in laws but the girl herself who demanded the jahez – times are changing and the script is keeping pace!
Wabaal is keeping us engaged if only because it’s resonating with lots of young girls who side with Anam despite her total disregard for her parent’s financial problems – why, may you ask? It’s called characters written with a spray of grey paint dabbed all over, and Wabaal is doing that pretty well! While Anam emits seriously selfish and materialistic vibes, she is not unjustifiably rude or disobedient with her parents – there is hope yet and relatability in her character. Well done Sara Khan for making us sympathize with you, though that sympathy might very well transition to Faraz once/if they get married!
Last But Not The Least, Habs
And, finally, we have Habs! The drama that is telling Zoya and Qudsia’s story and one that Ayesha and Basit fans might not be too happy with. What? Why did you have to forget our two main leads? Cried the anxious fans, only to be met by, (I believe), a thoroughly gripping Zoya and Qudsia episode. Where Zoya challenges her good fate and steals from her mother in law, one shudders to know what will happen once poor, ‘ketchup faithful’ Aamir gains knowledge of the BTS activities of his beloved wife, we see Qudsia battling the ultimate fate – of being homeless overnight with no well-endowed son in law to fall back on! Oh poor Qudsia, much as we detest your selfish nature, we can’t help but sympathize with your state of incredible shock – the home you had worked so hard – correct – schemed – to achieve might not be yours after all!
Habs reminds us of how miscommunication between husband and wife leads to misconceptions – Ayesha thinking Basit wants to divorce her when he hasn’t mentioned such a thing before her – oh well, eavesdropping has its drawbacks and Ayesha is convinced that divorce is what Basit wants – of course, talking it out is not an option between these two, as it never was. So we’ll leave them to their fate and wonder, once more, hopefully, if Bano and Fahad will discover each other in episode next?
And with that thought, I leave you in peace folks. Would love to discuss Maula Jatt but in sweet, German-speaking Switzerland, the Jatts and Natts have not found their swag yet! Perhaps if enough of us migrated, Punjabi with English subtitles could be a ‘thing’ in the region. Till then, awaiting better days! I have it from a friend, family, and more living in Dubai that there is a head chopped off every other minute but that shouldn’t stop us from watching a near masterpiece!
And that’s a one sentence review on MJ or as far as I can go without having watched it!
Adios and happy watching!
