The Feroze Khan and Sana Javed pairing is one that comes with a lot of expectations – from the intense revenge story “Khaani” to the comedic love story “Romeo Weds Heer,” to call Feroze and Sana a hit pair would be an understatement. Directed by Aehsun Talish and written by Maha Malik, “Aye Musht E Khaak” made its pilot debut on December 13, 2021. But did it manage to live up to the expectations? Let’s discuss.
In episode one, we are introduced to Duaa (Sana Javed), a young girl with a happy, loving family who also has a twin brother, Dayaan. This sounds familiar, doesn’t it? This time, instead of Ali Ansari, we have Asad Siddiqui playing said twin brother. To make things feel even more unnatural, Duaa and Dayaan are both college students, which feels like a miscast. Duaa is a girl who holds a lot of faith and trust in God and is even studying Islamic studies as her major. Quite the opposite, Mustajab (Feroze Khan) is a well-off, confident, slightly arrogant young man who works as a businessman and believes that planning for one’s self and reaching great heights is the ultimate goal in life. He is practical while Duaa runs on faith. The two come together when Shakeela (Iffat Omer) and Nimrah (Sadaf Ashan), Mustajab and Duaa’s mothers, decide to turn their friendship into more by introducing their children.
The meeting between Mustajab and Duaa is as awkward as it gets and neither is particularly interested in the other. Rather, one cannot imagine the two ever being together, they are so different. Realistically, these two would separate and never even think of one another again – but this is a drama and so, of course, the story moves forward. Mustajab is not interested – until Shakeela receives a phone call from Nimrah, telling her that Duaa has rejected the proposal. Hearing this, it’s clear that Mustajab is not used to hearing no or facing rejection and so, will this be what prods on this love story?
Quite honestly, the story is full of cliches. Mustajab is the stereotypical arrogant guy, while Duaa is the “innocent” girl who is pure and the two will butt heads over their different mindsets. It feels quite forced, based on the first episode. Feroze Khan and Sana Javed are two excellent actors, actors who are dependable. Feroze Khan is known for his intensity and giving performances that can move the audience to tears, while Sana Javed is known to add nuance to her roles. And yet, this time around, the two appear to be sleepwalking through their roles, visibly “acting,” their performances feeling as unnatural as their characters falling in love. The first episode is always a shaky place to judge a show, because it hasn’t really taken off yet, so we will have to hold true critiques at this point. However, the first episode is disappointing, to say the least.