“Aulaad” serves as a message as to how one should treat and respect their parents. “Aulaad,” written by Syed Ameer Ali Shah and directed by Aabis Raza, has taken viewers on a rollercoaster of emotions through the course of its run. Now, as the sons have begun to face their “karma,” the story is now nearing its winding-up point. “Aulaad” stars Mohammad Ahmed, Marina Khan, Hassan Niazi, Sunita Marshal, Furqan Qureshi, Hina Javed, Nabeel Zuberi, Minsa Malik, Qudsia Ali and others in prominent roles.
From the beginning of the show, we have seen how Jalal’s (Mohammad Ahmed) children have been letting him and Zakiya (Marina Khan) down one-by-one. With Khurram (Hassan Niazi) behind bars, Bilal (Nabeel Zuberi) disowned by his family and Adnan (Furqan Qureshi) alone in Lahore without family support, all three sons have now effectively been “’punished” for their wrongdoings. Yes, we’ve seen Jalal and Zakiya endure a lot over the past several months of this show and there isn’t any doubt that their sons are of questionable character. But is Jalal as upstanding as he really believes he is?
Khurram is now repenting, torn apart by guilt in jail, expected to serve 10 years for fraud. He apologizes to Jalal and begs him for forgiveness, so he can be at peace behind bars – but Jalal, in an odd moment, turns away from Khurram and leaves, refusing to forgive him, refusing to give his son that relief. And while one could understand that Khurram has hurt and disappointed him, this move still comes across as cruel.
Moving on to Roshna (Minsa Malik), she is now supporting her parents and working in Furqan’s office. In episode 25, when Jalal sees Roshna speaking to Furqan and discovers that she’s working for Furqan, he has the most over-the-top, offensive reaction one could have. He essentially groups Roshna with her brothers, calling her deceitful and untrustworthy as well. Not only is Roshna hurt hearing this, but Zakiya also puts her foot down here and has a talk with Jalal. This is a shining moment for Marina Khan, performance wise, as Zakiya tells Jalal that Roshna has only ever wanted to be their support and provide for them and by grouping her in with her brothers, Jalal has done her a disservice. And while Jalal realizes the error of his ways, somewhere “Aulaad” is sending a skewed message. Roshna is stepping in to care for her parents, something children should do regardless of gender, but when Roshna arrives home from work with even a headache, Jalal asks Zakiya if they’re putting too much of a burden on her. What should a grown female daughter with a degree be doing, sitting at home and making food? There’s something about the Roshna storyline that hasn’t sat well since the beginning of the show and it continues to be presented as though Roshna is doing something extraordinary by working and not something that any normal adult should be doing.
Now that Furqan has put his foot down and is determined to marry Roshna, it will be interesting to see how Jalal and Zakiya come back on board with this marriage, a marriage that shook their family for some time. And yet, one can’t really blame Furqan’s family – looking from the outside, Roshna’s family appears to be a mess…..and they are a mess. Therefore, Roshna’s uppity stance against Furqan also feels out of place and uncalled for, particularly because he’s still committed and wanting to marry her, even against his parents’ wishes. Afreen (Sunita Marshal) is the voice of reason in this episode as she tells Roshna that Furqan was only doing exactly what she’s doing – listening to his parents. Overall, “Aulaad” continues to be an effective story that’s putting forth its point – that one should care for their parents-, but it also manages to present some less-than-ideal thoughts within its narrative.
