“Bandhay Ek Dour Se” is, at the heart of it all, a story about family relationships. While the focus is on a love triangle of sorts, the family aspect of the show plays a large role and that is the appeal of the show. Written by Faiza Iftikhar and directed by Ali Faizan, “Bandhay Ek Dour Se” stars Ahsan Khan, Ushna Shah and Hina Altaf in lead roles, supported by an incredibly talented ensemble cast. Umar (Ahsan Khan) has been loyal and devoted to Roshni (Hina Altaf), working hard to steer their relationship towards marriage. Unfortunately, circumstances occur that lead up to Umar and Maheen’s (Ushna Shah) marriage and with Roshni’s return, things are soon to take a turn for the worst.
In episode 10, Maheen encourages Umar to talk to Roshni in order to clear up all his misunderstandings, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news herself. Unfortunately for Maheen, Roshni has returned after realizing Nabeel and his mother only wanted to hire her as their household help and is shocked upon hearing the news about Maheen and Umar’s marriage. The episode is not action-packed, but makes one thing very clear: Roshni is not about to give up on Umar so easily. When she realizes Umar is not aware of her past actions, she does not spare a moment to think about how Maheen covered for her and kept her secret, but instead begins plotting on how to break apart Umar and Maheen’s marriage by making Umar feel worse about the situation.
Maheen is an incredibly naïve, kind girl who will destroy her own life in her attempts to be the “good girl.” Maheen willingly allowed herself to become the “middle man” between Roshni and Umar and that put her in an awkward place when Roshni asked her to pass on the message that Roshni was no longer interested in Umar. For some ridiculous reason, Maheen did not pass on the message in time (which honestly didn’t make any sense, because Roshni told her several days before the wedding)….or at all, really, which has left Umar thinking he betrayed Roshni. Does this make Maheen naïve or simply dim? She is now encouraging Umar, her husband, to meet Roshni in hopes that Roshni will inform him that she has moved on. On Umar’s part and to his own (limited) knowledge, he’s right – he “abandoned” the woman he loved and betrayed her by marrying her best friend. Of course, Umar would sing a different tune if he knew the truth – but of course, the truth won’t be revealed for a while. Both Ahsan Khan and Ushna Shah are doing a good job and look great together. They need to share more meaningful scenes together.
Roshni is now taking full advantage of the situation. While she initially felt betrayed by Maheen and Umar and felt guilty for her own hand in their marriage, she meets with Umar and quickly realizes that Umar is unaware of what happened between her and Nabeel when Umar apologizes to her. Roshni has been a self-serving, selfish character from the beginning, whether it be taking Maheen’s clothes and jewelry without her permission to leaving Umar for a better suitor for marriage, so is it any surprise that Roshni uses this situation to her advantage? Yes and no. Considering Maheen and Roshni have been friends for most of their lives, it’s difficult to understand why. Roshni does not think highly of Maheen and that has been seen well before the present situation in how she was slowly planting negative thoughts of Maheen in Umar’s head. And that continues now as Roshni now blames Maheen for “stealing” her boyfriend (though the situation that has been explained to her is pretty straightforward), placing blame firmly on Maheen. What kind of toxic friendship is this? Hina Altaf’s performance is something different for her and Roshni isn’t a black-and-white character, so she’s an interesting and frustrating character.
Bandhay Ek Dour Se Episode 5: Roshni Leaves Umer For Better Prospects
The story is essentially based on secrets and misunderstandings which will put the lives of all three characters through a world of a mess before the truth is revealed. But how that “mess” is handled can make or break the show in the future. As of right now, the story is still interesting, but watching Umar cheat on Maheen with Roshni and Maheen sit miserably at home will get old very quickly, so one can only hope this angle takes a new twist soon – otherwise the show will be negatively affected. Quite honestly, the family dynamics are the highlight of the show and in this episode, Nazia (Madiha Rizvi) and Razia’s (Saba Faisal) never-ending feud paints an interesting picture of the saas-bahu war. While there’s nothing “new” about this age old fight, this does put a more realistic spin on it.
Overall, “Bandhay Ek Dour Se” continues to be a great show, but needs to introduce a new angle into the mix to set it apart, otherwise it’s destined to follow a very cliched story that Pakistani drama viewers have simply grown tired of.
