“Aye Musht E Khaak” started off with much buzz and interest due to Feroze Khan and Sana Javed’s pairing. Adding to this, the unique characters portrayed by both (but particularly Feroze Khan’s Mustajab) opened doors for discussion and debate along with, well, memes. The story has been written by Maha Malik and directed by Aehsun Talish. Unfortunately, despite taking off in a strong way, “Aye Musht E Khaak” has lost its way due to its overdramatic treatment. Situations and conversations which should be straight-forward and direct wind up being moments where the lead characters talk in circles. Let’s discuss specifics.
In episode 24, Mustajab (Feroze Khan) is moving forward with a plan to “get revenge” on Duaa (Sana Javed). How exactly? By convincing her that he is now a reformed man who has found God and is now following the religious path. Of course, we understand Mustajab is flat-out stalking Duaa and making every attempt to be where she is….but Duaa does not understand this, at least not completely. She finds herself struggling with her mind and her heart. But for two “deendaar” (religious) families, there’s a very real elephant in the room that no one is spelling out directly. Mustajab and Duaa cannot reunite again Islamically. They are divorced. It is over (unless halala awkwardly comes into the picture). And while Mustajab has been seen as uneducated on many matters of religion, including Ramadan, and we can understand that he may just not know this, what is the excuse on Duaa’s part? Why is her family worried? It simply cannot happen! Is this a flaw in the writing or will this come up later? That’s the question. But when Dayaan goes to meet Mustajab, how difficult is it to say “you cannot reunite according to religion and since religion drove you apart, it won’t ever happen”? These are the frustrating things about this drama – straightforward communication and discussion is a foreign concept.
Even Dayaan (Asad Siddiqui) has lost the plot, planning Duaa’s marriage behind her back when he can visibly see that she’s not ready. She has yet to come to terms with her divorce and now, with Mustajab hounding her, it’s the worst time to throw her into another relationship – even if it’s with a great guy like Taqi (Danial Afzal). Taqi, on his part, isn’t forcing himself on Duaa and can see that she’s experiencing a lot and hasn’t let go just yet. However, we can already see the trainwreck that’s set to hit this family. Tabeen (Namrah Shahid) has been an angel up until now, literally the dream Bhabi, and one is simply waiting for the pin to drop for her to change into the opposite…..and the moment isn’t far off. If Duaa starts playing games, and now with Mustajab attacking Taqi, Tabeen will turn against Duaa soon enough. But is this necessary? If this entire family would calm down and let Duaa go through the process in the necessary amount of time, all of this drama can be avoided. But alas, the melodrama is necessary, so the rush is also necessary.
There is a moment where we awkwardly find ourselves cheering for Mustajab on a level and this is when Mustajab questions Duaa about “her God,” pointing out that her God is also his God. The way Duaa and Dayaan speak about God is almost offensive, “claiming” God as their own and behaving as though Mustajab has no space there. Of course, as mentioned above, we recognize that Mustajab continues to be a liar and manipulator – but that’s besides the point. As two religious, supposedly kind-hearted individuals, why are Duaa and Dayaan so judgmental and excluding? This needs to come up in later episodes and these characters need to recognize their own hypocrisy.
“Aye Musht E Khaak” is an interesting watch, without a doubt, but certain points need to be handled better. The focus on creating drama needs to be less and the focus on real situations should be highlighted. The story got off on a strong start, because despite the melodramatic style, the situations hit the nail on the head for many who have experienced such a divide within their own relationships – but the story appears to be moving away from that realism and now moving more towards dragging out the story and creating controversy. This is where this once strong drama has started sipping – and may continue to slip unless it avoids the unnecessary upcoming plot points.