“Bandhay Ek Dour Se” is a show that began with telling a dramatic story in a very realistic way, but somehow got off track by placing too much emphasis on Roshni’s vamp-like behavior. Starring Ahsan Khan, Ushna Shah and Hina Altaf in lead roles, the side characters have played an essential part in this story and making it entertaining, specifically Saba Faisal, Saba Hameed, Samina Ahmed, Madiha Rizvi and Kamran Jillani. Written by Faiza Iftikhar and directed by Ali Faizan, “Bandhay Ek Dour Se” is a good show with beautiful characters and solid writing that has somehow managed to lose its focus by putting that focus on the wrong character.
In episode 27, Maheen (Ushna Shah) has now decided to recement her place in Omar’s household after realizing Roshni (Hina Altaf) has been manipulating both Maheen and Omar (Ahsan Khan). Maheen begins her mission of winning back Razia (Saba Faisal) and Daadi’s (Samina Ahmed) trust, which has been shattered by misinformation. Fareed (Noor Ul Hassan) realizes he has done a disservice to both his son and Maheen by getting them married, but after seeing Maheen in the hospital and speaking to Omar, he asks Mansoor (Kamran Jillani) to help the two find their way back to one another. But the greatest moment in this episode is seeing Maheen stand up to Roshni and put her in her place, making her understand that not only is her marriage to Omar valid, but the family she has married into are more than just her “in-laws” – they are her family. She makes sure Roshni understands that she’s aware of her lies and knows that she did, in fact, seek to marry Nabeel and did betray Omar. Roshni is shocked, but tries to cover her tracks by apologizing and gaining Maheen’s pity once again – but it falls on deaf ears, as Maheen says she will never trust her again. Maheen plays a power move by stating that all her relationships are important to her, not simply her marriage, and she will do everything in her power to restore all the relationships connected to her. This is the highlight of the episode and, honestly, the only scene that really sticks out. It has been such a long time coming and Ushna Shah steals the show in this episode as Maheen.
Bandhay Ek Dour Se Episode 26: A Modern-Day Story with Not-So-Modern Behaviors
It’s unfortunate that “Bandhay Ek Dour Se” has reached a point of “too little too late” in terms of Maheen fighting back. It’s great to see Maheen finally standing up for herself and taking a stand against Roshni, hoping to fix her marriage and her relationships with her loved ones. But how much time will truly be spent on this angle now that the show is on episode 27? Why was so much time wasted on showing Roshni’s vile side and Omar’s equally disgusting behavior? While it’s understandable that Omar was being emotionally manipulated, it still did not give him license to mistreat Maheen and cut off communication with her to the extent that he did. The man was literally cheating on his wife right under her nose with her knowledge and continued to behave like a victim. Is there any redemption for Omar now? Does Maheen really deserve this man? Omar’s character needed enough time to repent, otherwise he is not worthy of forgiveness. In order to make this believable, Omar and Maheen will definitely need room to grow and get to know each other as spouses instead of rushing it towards a conclusion. Is the point of the show simply rooting out Roshni’s vile behavior or is it showing a strong, trusting bond between two individuals in a marriage? The latter is what we expect from Faiza Iftikhar, but the former seems to be what we are getting.
