Gentleman dropped an episode, despite the Pak vs India match scheduled for the evening. We could have sworn the makers had a crystal ball and knew that audiences will turn to Pakistani dramas to drown their sorrows and get some reprieve from the tragedy that replays ever so often on cricket fields.
Anyway, let’s shake off the cricket match and take on the drama, Gentleman it is!
From the get-go, Munna’s white suit paired with a deep red shirt (we didn’t miss the beaded bracelets) were a mood on their own. A parallel track planning his arrest made us anxious and if to make things worse, Munna’s honesty, purity of heart and “crazy in love” feels got us thinking – this guy can’t possibly be a bhai, translate ghunda. Good to know Munna felt the same. But will this “swearing off” weapons land him in hot waters later on? Love makes us do the unexpected and Munna is no exception!
Hard Talk With Zarnab
The show was a mix of sharp questions with Rehmati and Munna waging a cold war, cushioned by none other than Moazzam. Rehmati’s cool, calm, but at times, dodgy responses were met by Munna’s blatant truths – “manufacturing fault” being one of them. Although the drama attempts to balance or sugar-coat the complex layers of gang warfare in a story of love at first sight, a charming ghunda and his attempts at acing the English language and Angrezi pant coat, Munna charms when he utters, “Much Obliged,” the Hard Talk provokes and answers a debate that has waged in social and political circles forever – why is a “foreign hand’ able to interfere in our nation’s security and who controls the trigger – the bhais or the gentleman?
The Hard Talk could have been executed at a faster pace, rapid interrogation where Zarnab forced a slip of the tongue from her guests would have raised the intensity quotient in the debate., especially since that’s what the name of the program suggests. However, it was Munna’s backstory we got to hear more of; his father’s simple and honest existence, which hinted at the troubles of a common man on the streets of a big city. Perhaps the conversation needed a higher emotional charge, perhaps a flashback to shake us into feeling the rage or sympathy, what ever the makers desired. Brace for impact missed the point a bit.
Faris The Con Man
But Faris plotting to arrest Munna and Moazzam while letting Rehmati off the hook, suggested at the double dealing and deeply embedded corruption within the system. The Rs. 1 crore deposited in Zarnab’s account was a smooth operation and little does she know where this money has come from. Faris, you have painted yourself with a darker brush than ever, and while Mifrah was already a black dot against your name, now there’s no chance you’ll be forgiven, once the truth is out in the open.
A Jail Situation
Munna and Dilbar in jail, although a sad state of affairs, turned amusing as Munna debated Zarnab’s reaction to his dramatic dialogues. The edits here, in parallel with Zarnab’s thoughts at home, were fun to watch and made for engaging storytelling.
Our question: Why did Zarnab not react to Faris arresting her guests from outside the channel office? Did she not experience an ounce of guilt for (unknowingly) being a part of Munna’s arrest? Dilbar had planted a seed of doubt in Munna’s mind about Zarnab’s double dealing, but will Munna’s love allow him to blame Zarnab?
Has Zarnab, unknowingly, fallen for Munna?
Lot’s happening in Gentleman. Tell us what you loved best!
Gentleman is based on a story written by the renowned playwright, Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar and directed by Haissam Hussain, produced by the dynamic duo Samina Humayun Saeed and Sana Shahnawaz of Next Level Entertainment. The cast includes Humayun Saeed, Yumna Zaidi, Adnan Siddiqui, Zahid Ahmed, Sohai Ali Abro, and Ahmed Ali Butt.
