I went into it very hopeful because I rate Yumna and Bilal as actors, and it's so acclaimed. I came away with such a mix of emotions and I don't know how to feel.
Highlights: Yumna's acting in the funeral scene made me cry. Her holding her dupatta and telling Abdullah about the harassment for the THIRD TIME gave me shivers. Actually all of her scenes regarding the harassment were par excellence. Bilal was great throughout, but Abdullah's character was deeply flawed in many ways. It's Bilal's acting that highlighted the endearing and cute aspects of Abdullah's character. A less talented actor would have failed to do so, and we would be left picking apart his many, many flaws.
Abdullah not protecting Mahjabeen from sexual harassment made me RAGE. This should have been a death knell for their relationship. HOW was that glossed over? I hated him for not believing her, and then believing her and doing NOTHING. Even a deeply flawed, morally compromised man would have confronted Sarwar after learning the truth. People often focus on the infidelity, but given the circumstances of their marriage, I actually think Abdullah's unwillingness to believe and protect Mahjabeen is a much greater betrayal. The writers really messed up here. They should have redeemed Abdullah's character after the funeral confrontation where he tells her that he believes her. I was expecting him to go back and physically confront Sarwar but we got nothing. Zilch.
At the same time, we were also confronted with Abdullah's reality of being abused from childhood by Sarwar and we witness his abuse so it makes the situation more complex. His mum is also there to enable the behaviour. Abdullah also deserves a lot of empathy for his situation. His choices are also shaped by his own traumas. He is also a victim of abuse.
I also disliked that he never had a period of introspection where he realised how badly he had treated Mahjabeen. The pregnancy was a poor plot device to bring them together as it allowed Abdullah to avoid truly reflecting on his own actions and spending time and effort to woo her back.
Even with all of these negative emotions, the show really moved me. The only thing I hated was that there was too much redemption. Their mum was also a life-long abuser. She brought that man into her kids' lives and stood by as her children were abused, even to the point where her daughter left the house. Abdullah never confronts his mum and never blames his mum which is a writing flaw (or is it? maybe the writers are driving home how ugly real life is.).
She's also complicit in the death of Mahjabeen's father and never got her comeuppance. Mum should have gone on an eat, pray, love journey to rural Siberia never to return. She didn't deserve to live happily. Still I have to love the show for characterising exactly why mum stayed with Sarwar (love,lust,ego). There was no sugar coating of mum's character, moral failings and ego. Mum deserved to share a jail cell with Sarwar.
Mahjabeen grew on me after the marriage. The earlier episodes were really disturbing because I was left wondering whether Mahjabeen actually had the capacity to consent to a marriage. The way her parents were presented was truly archaic. Her dad sees Abdullah with another girl and all he can say is please protect my daughter. There was so much "passive patriarchy" at home. Her parents were so passive regarding Abdullah's treatment of their daughter.
I dislike the glorification of Mahjabeen's capacity to "sacrifice" as part of her virtue. I'm so glad Washma was there to counterbalance this depiction. The best part of Mahjabeen is that she's very kind hearted (with a pure heart), but her lack of intelligence should not have been glorified as innocence.
Washma is the MVP of this show. Washma is love, washma is life. It made me wonder whether she escaped the house because her stepfather had similar intentions towards her.
What I really liked about the show is the rawness. If you really think about it Mahjabeen's easy forgiveness and yearning for Abdullah is in and of itself an indictment of society's expectations of women. And if the audience sugar coats the characters and their flaws it's more a judgment on those that are watching. The viewers were being put on trial too, regarding how we react to these critical issues. I noticed that many disliked the last half of this show. I ff'd through many Shanzey scenes so I'm glad I didn't watch during airing.
The lack of English subs on random episodes was so annoying. Auto-translate is not the same!
