Did Amaan Just Pull A Mr. Darcy on Aina?

Will Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly be able to pull off a super hit show? How will Yeh Dil Mera be remembered?

Pro tip: When watching Yeh Dil Mera, dig deep into the characters’ minds and avoid promos.

I say dig deep, because when you watch Amaan kick the fireplace and breakdown as he plays the piano, he isn’t simply mourning his love life. He is feeling guilty for falling in love with his enemy’s daughter. He’s craving his mother’s comfort, hence, the urgency to find solace by playing the piano. He, a man who is usually in control, is coming to terms with the fact that he has zero control over himself when it comes to Aina. He is feeling angry, because he offered to sacrifice his revenge – the sole purpose of his life – and his wife still refused to look at him the way she used to.

And Ahad Raza Mir managed to communicate the varying emotions without uttering a single word

His bloodshot eyes, edgy body language, contorted face, and furrowed brows depicted the pain and helplessness Amaan was feeling in that moment. The audience too had no issue in decoding it all, because we have witnessed the different shades of his journey from a happy Maani to a vengeful Amaan.

Amidst Mir’s emotionally charged performance, I found little reprieve in Amaan’s sudden confession

Here is our scarred Aina, wondering on whose shoulder to cry on now that her innocent Agha Jaan is faraway and husband Amaan is no more worthy of being her husband, and in walks Amaan all-importantly.

Doesn’t this love confession remind you of a certain Mr. Darcy who proposed Elizabeth Bennet in a similar way in Pride & Prejudice?

This scene surely took me back to my middle school days where we used to collectively drool over Darcy. Around two decades later, I find it difficult to drool over Amaan. If you can’t love a woman respectfully, don’t even go down that lane.

Stick to your arrogance, in Darcy’s case, and revenge, in Amaan’s.

I do feel helpless for Amaan and want to give him a hug, but that’s about it

This change of heart might be a bit abrupt, but Aina’s hatred for him has impacted Amaan more than he anticipated. Unknowingly, he had gotten used to the love and warmth Aina brought in his life. Remember the scene where Aina is putting a bandage on his head and gives him a peck? That little moment, where Amaan’s eyes lit up, was probably when realisation struck him, that he isn’t all alone in this entire world.

The little Maani, who craved for an earnest touch, comforting words, and good old care, felt the warmth of love for the first time in 20 years.

Now, he doesn’t have the heart to let go of it. So he traipses off all alone to Islamabad because, “Ab waqt aagaya hai”.

At this point, we’re sitting quite poised – thanks to the Promo Editor who doesn’t believe in anything such as suspense – and waiting for him to show up at the party for the all-important face-off with Mir Farooq.  Surprisingly, I couldn’t quite sit demurely when Amaan appeared on screen.

My heart lost a beat. Finally, I was having the palpitations that I so dearly craved since the very first episode.

I don’t know if it was Ahad Raza Mir’s hotness or Amaan’s revenge-laden eyes that did the trick, but whatever it was; the thrill was creeping in

As Mir introduced himself fully, for the very first time, to Mir Farooq, his eyes spoke a language of their own. He was mocking Mir Farooq for ending up in a hapless position. He was angry at him for ruining his life. He was daring him to reach out and put an end to it all.

Staring into Ahad Raza Mir’s gleaming eyes were Adnan Siddiqui’s orbs filled with controlled aggression, shock, fear, and lastly dread for the future.

The acting, direction, camera work, and dialogues – everything was perfect in this scene.

And then … poof! Amaan disappeared. In to thin air.

I loved that too. Very filmy, but thrilling nonetheless.

What wasn’t thrilling were the multiple interactions of Bua jee and Farhana Kala

Just like Amaan disappeared in to thin air, these two women – one coming from Sukkur and the other from America – met in thin air. But since YDM often abandons us in such tight spots, we, YDM fans, have turned into an extremely smart and perceptible species.

The two ladies met by coincidence at Aina’s place. You’re welcome.

Bua harped on about how Aina was in danger, before, much to our relief, putting two and two together and concluding that they must head toward Darya Baagh. Meanwhile, Farhana Khala was as pissed at Ali Bux as we are, and made that crystal clear in the three monologues that were bestowed upon her.

This Bua-Khala interaction could’ve ended in one scene. The tea break was as unnecessary as my opinion on the show

Instead, they could’ve shown Aina doing any of the following:

1. Call Dr. Arsalan to discuss the comeback of nightmares and how Darya Baagh triggers her repressed/suppressed memories (which of course she isn’t aware of).
2. Use the picture of Sajid Muhammed Chaudhry, which she took ages ago, to track him down and make him spill some beans.
3. Ask people about Obaidullah Khan and his family.

It has been established that Aina cannot function properly, for days at length, after one of her episodes, but if the plot has to progress with her help, she needs to buckle up

Earlier, when I said I was in a toxic relationship with Yeh Dil Mera, I was being completely honest. One minute I’d be rolling my eyes at Bua’s daftness and the very next leaning in to appreciate that manic gleam in Amaan’s eyes. As Amaan oscillates between his irrevocable love for Aina and consequent guilt for loving Mir Farooq’s daughter, we oscillate between loving the show and feeling frustrated that YDM could’ve been so much better.

I know I’ve discussed this in detail in my previous review and right now I sound as annoying as Ali Bux and Farhana Khala combined. But hear me out.

Yeh Dil Mera was supposed to be a trend-setter. It was that glimmer of hope that finally our writers are experimenting and production houses are backing unconventional scripts.

It still is.

The amount of debate this show generates every week is a testament to its popularity. People are watching it, which gives me pleasure, but are they really liking it?

The answer to that is dubious.

My only trepidation is that the mixed reaction from the audience shouldn’t dampen the spirits of Farhat Ishtiaq and other writers who’re willing to step out of their comfort zones. But all this criticism could’ve been avoided by simply paying attention to storytelling.

Shows like Sabaat are getting positive word of mouth because Shehzad Kashmiri has breathed life into the script. It is well constructed. Now, YDM didn’t have the same luxury because it is a complicated script with a fairly simple plot. The to and fro of emotions and timelines had to be handled intelligently so that it didn’t bog down the audience, but kept them intrigued.

Intrigued we were, hence, my initial reviews encouraged people to give it a watch and I still do maintain that it is one of the best shows currently on-air. As the show progressed, the direction improved, the performances even more so, but there came a point where characters kept moving round and round in circles.

Ali Bux and Mir Farooq quite literally around that dreaded fountain.

You can’t blame the circling on a lack of character arc, because Ishtiaq has ensured that every lead character has their own journey. If we look at Aina of episode 1 and Aina of episode 28, there is a marked difference in her behaviourism and motives. Only one thing has remained constant and that is her unconditional love for Agha Jaan. When that very foundation will be shaken, all hell will break lose. And we’ve been waiting for that ever since Amaan looked her in the eye and calmly said, “Mujhe bhi bas uss din ka intezaar hai. Dekhte hain uss din maafi maangta kaun hai.”

Till then, let’s hope that Yeh Dil Mera ends on a high because one can tell the effort that the entire cast and crew (esp. Ahad Raza Mir & Sajal Aly) have put into it, and it would break my heart if people don’t remember YDM as one of the shows that dared to be different and succeeded.

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