Dramas have us in our grip, because this is right in the heart of mid drama season, nothing more, nothing less. Gentleman is warming up, Zard Patton Ka Bunn is outdoing itself and Pas e Deewar is a thrilling watch. Radd teaches us about therapy and Jafaa, about parenting. So does Noor Jahan though, and BRKRJ has our heart always. Jaan Nisar, oh well, Jaan Nisar turns mega saazishi but what more can we ahem, expect from a story that has mian biwi raazi tau now we need to shake things up with some good old conspiracies!
So here we go with your roller coaster drama review on the run, well, because that’s what we promise and we shall deliver!
1. Gentleman: The Consent Of A Woman?
So what stood out in Gentleman was the utter disregard by Mr. Rehmati on the consent of a woman. But what else can you expect from a ghunda translate bhai? His proposal to Zarnab’s dad, was both arrogant and cringe at the same time. Of course, that was the idea by the makers and it’s a bullseye. The mere visualization of scheming Rehmati with Zarnab was painful to the mind, but what grabbed our attention was the underlying threat in Rehmati’s tone. In an instant, he turned from pretend humility to threatening goon and the script lay the ground for what’s to follow.
So Faaris is already the bad guy, two timing Zarnab, extracting bribes and now, hoping she still accepts him, oh but the audacity to receive Mifra’s call in Zarnab’s house meant this guy will not do anything for love, (Zarnab’s, that is). It was interesting how Zarnab was more pained by faaris’ two timing than the 1 Crore hera pheri. Goes to show where it hit her the most.
Anyway, in all this complex crossfire of emotion, Munna seems to have come out on top and will probably save Zarnab from Rehmati. There. that’s it, the story’s out. Dilbar might be our fall guy as, heed Munna’s words, they will go into the grave together, much to Dilbar’s shock expression. But that’s that. And we think Mr. Khalil Ur Rehman, who has a penchant for writing tragedy is about to do the same here!
Gentleman however, is a tad slow on the story line and we expected more action, not mere words. The showdown between Rehmati and Munna was a bit of an anti climax, much like the Hard Talk with Zarnab, we hope the upcoming episodes have some real drama we can sink our teeth and hearts into, an outburst from Zarnab is slow in coming btw.
2. Zard Patton Ka Bunn: Outdoing Itself Every Week
Zard Patton Ka Bunn is a class above. It has only it self to outdo every week. From Meenu telling Dr. Nofil about the sad reality of village life, grappling with basic medical care, poverty, and zero, the narrative turns on its head to make us laugh as she scales up a tree to meet wifi signals and then, picks up a stick, making Nofil do a double take, is she here to punish him for leaving or… oh well, why else would she lift a stick? Dr. Nofil goes by past experience and can we even blame him?
Roshan’s story is still going strong and that scene between him and Meenu, their reunion, the tears and laughter were so very moving. His return also signalled a message that despite what parents say or do, home is home. Thankfully, he didn’t sway towards Mairaj’s life choices and decided to stick it out at home. Though we fear for Muqaddas and Roshan’s future together.
Meenu you are a force to be reckoned with, rightly so, mentioned by Afzal compounder. ZPKB sheds light on the non existent medical facilities in villages, no hospital, a dispensary that’s as good as not there and the political mind games that mark the territory. Will he stay or will he go? well, at the moment the power of Meenu has stopped his tracks midway but let’s hope his journey has just begun.
The sweetest moment of the episode? When Meenu kept turning back to see if Dr. Nofil had turned back or not. If you didn’t tear up then, are you even a fan of ZPKB?
3. Noor Jahan: Safeer You Are In Deep Trouble!
Don’t know whether to marvel at Noor Jahan’s hold over her sons or Maham’s dare devil nature to successfully get away with one of them. Safeer is a mess, and we would be too, if we had the likes of Noor Jahan to face! On the other hand, the Malaysia plan is a pretty good idea. That car chase between Hunaid and Safeer was quite thrilling and we must say, we heaved a sigh of relief when Safeer got away!
Which is more than we can say for poor Safina who is about to give birth to a baby girl, how dare she! Noor Bano is in for a rude shock when she discovers the truth about her to be mother in law, albeit after she ties the knot with Murad. Our question, will she also be the one to fix her, eventually? Murad seems like he’s totally in Mama’s control, but one never knows where the wind blows after marriage. We mean, look at the stats, Hunaid, most obedient, Safeer has fled the scene, what does that leave for Murad? After all, he has to pick up the game from Safeer right? But that’s just hoping for some action in the Noor Jahan household!
Lastly, poor, forgotten Sumbul, we hope she finds an accomplice in Safina and later, Noor Bano, together, they can!
4. Radd: Therapy Not Just For Salaar But Zain Too!
Emaan’s suggestion that Salaar needs therapy was so well put. That he needs it for himself and no one should force him into it was a great message for viewers. One wishes Zain’s family and also advised him to take on some. The toxic character traits blended with his strange rishta conversation all point to trouble. And now with Adnan’s overnight marriage, where it seems there are just two families in the drama, Zain’s and Salaar’s are major coincidences, but who’s counting? Let the drama begin as Zain returns to his past!
Savera going for divorce is a welcome move. Asking her sister to be a witness is the hard part. But we liked it that she’s taking charge and plans to speak to Mohsin herself. Salaar going for an FIR will be interesting, coupled with his dad’s moves to promote Jamal Sahab and company adds to the intriguing mess the family will have to deal with.
Radd is going strong for all the right reasons, except for ahem, Zain’s beard that could do with a makeover!
5. BRKRJ: Driving Home Critical Messages On Domestic Abuse
Bhai ko mat maro, bhai pay haath nahi uthaate, larkon ko chhot dete hain aur larkion ko zabt karna sikhaate hain, these dialogues from Farhaad speak volumes for the sibling and marital relations we foster.
On the other hand, Kiran schooling Farhaad with a dil se therapy session was just so touching. Farhaad has managed to overcome his anger problems and he’s a win for now. But the Freeya Farhaan communication breakdown is totally heart-breaking. We wish Freeya’s mom would be less conspiratorial and we also wish parents wouldn’t push a child towards divorce – a sad reality in our society at times. We also wish Freeya’s father would be stronger willed.
It was great to see Saqib taking a stand and also, Farhaad’s mom’s healing journey. BRKRJ is teaching us that parents too sometimes need therapy for past traumas and that children can facilitate this healing too, just like Farhaad did for his mom. Finally, our heart goes out for poor Jojo, the poor guy has lost big in love and life. Yet, the comic element brought a smile even in the depths of despair. Jojo we are with you and hope all ends well with you, eventually.
Finally, Shahzain’s revenge is hard to swallow, literally. This is one guy who’s blacker than black and we can’t wait to see him suffer eventually. For now, it’s Farhaad who will do most of the suffering till, perhaps, Freeya and Kiran save him?
BRKRJ is a fabulous watch, don’t miss it!
6. Pas e Deewar: Maqbool In Trouble Finally?
Shabbir’s revenge game is out in the open and much as we hoped he would eventually turn a new leaf for Ujala’s sake, seems like that’s not about to happen! But how he plans to get Ujala to fall for him is another story altogether.
It was good to see that Iftikhar is using his mind and placing Chaudhry Hashmat to fight his case. A super power vs super power can hopefully help make it hard for his opponents to keep Ujala under cover. Pas e Deewar keeps the suspense going as we wait for someone to finally speak to Ujala and learn the truth about Maqbool.
It’s also intriguing to see the story develop further as SP Najmul Nisa is curious to know more about Ujala and what’s her story. Hopefully Maqbool will be held back from leaving for Dubai as his father learns the truth, though it would probably be easy to just knock him off for Shabbir, if he becomes too much of a nuisance.
Pas e Deewar is turning keeping us invested in the story, though this episode was a tad slow and could have had a few reveals, but we’re hoping next week will pick up the pace.
7. Jaan Nisar: Conspiracies Galore!
Oh dear, Kashmala is quite the villain in disguise. It’s conspiracy galore in Jaan Nisar as Zunaira and Kashmala team up to rid Nosherwan of Dua. But you know what, that’s not all the toxicity in the story, it’s Faraz and his mom who are adding to Fizza’s torment and then there’s Dua’s dad who wants to marry off Sanya, the youngest daughter.
So why are we watching Jaan Nisar still? We’d say because we started it, and now we want to see the story through. This one’s going to be a predictable watch and the power of Hiba Bukhari and Danish Taimoor onscreen together will move the story forward. However, the story is losing points majorly for throwing us familiar twists and turns in predictably dramatic twists. Oh well, there’s always one of these in season and Jaan Nisar is doing full justice to the genre. Watch because you’re a fan of the cast, else, skip this one if you can.
Oh, and don’t go by the numbers, that’s just not a very good measure, else why would you be reading our reviews on Pakistani dramas, right?
8. Jafaa: Andaleeb Needs To Stop Making Plans To Elope
Oh dear Andaleeb, we know your dad’s acting difficult but expect a little more sense from you. Planning to elope is harder than just saying no to a marriage, but we guess the story has to move on. The same goes for Dr. Numair who just can’t seem to stand firm before his mother, so we guess, Andaleeb, who’s much younger, would find it hard.
But what’s intriguing though slightly slow on the move is Hassan and Zara’s story. What’s Hassan’s dadi not telling us about his mom? These two are taking things slow and there was a shade of trouble as Zara’s patients wanted a selfie, did we spot irritation in Hassan’s expression. A very restrained performance there we must say!
It was strange how Andaleeb’s parents dismissed what Dr. Numair said earlier to her about having children and not wanting to marry, the story felt a bit weak here and we expected a better turnaround from Numair. Moiz’s mom’s reaction was on point and we loved the normalcy of the whole thing. Isn’t that how parents are supposed to respond when their college going kids ask to be married? However, we would like the two sets of parents to sit out and talk to each other. After all, we can’t have another MGM in the making now, can we?
For now, all signs in Jafaa point to a Deebu and Numair match, though the story will probably run deeper (we hope so). For now, keep watching as the drama is leading us into interesting territory.
And that’s all in the Week In Dramas, tell us which one you’re watching and which one you’ll drop! Drop us a comment below.
