The only thing worse than a “bad” drama is one that’s based entirely on an illogical premise. The story of Bebasi seems as though the writer did not give pause for even a moment to think through whether the actions of these lead characters are logical or reasonable. This is a story written for the sake of being a story. Starring Ali Rehman Khan, Alizeh Shah, Khushhal Khan, Anoushay Abbasi, Nausheen Shah and other talented actors, “Bebasi” has been written by Aliya Bukhari and directed by Barkat Sidiki. The story follows Afreen’s life, played by Alizeh Shah, a young girl who discovers her “father” is not actually her biological father…..and then chooses to abandon her life of riches and comfort to live at her oppressive, abusive, hateful biological father’s home. Why? There isn’t any reason.
In episode 13, poor Afreen is now so helpless, because her groom heard rumors of her “affair”….mind you, the affair was an engagement….which still exists. It was never broken off. So why is Afreen getting married? Because her stepfather said so! It’s not as though Afreen can just leave and go back to her mother, can she? Can she? Of course not! But….she can. While Saahil (Khushhal Khan) continues discussing his plans to come back home and marry Afreen with her mother, she is quietly getting married to a stranger. Anyway, said stranger has now broken off the marriage, so what’s the logical thing to do? Ahmer (Ali Rehman Khan) steps in to marry Afreen of course! Why? This is a man who didn’t even want to commit to Nadia (Anoushay Abbasi) despite being engaged to her now and hasn’t even laid eyes on Afreen……so why? There isn’t any reason.
Still, Afreen and Ahmer get married and Afreen is told by her father that she should never look back, because all doors are closed to her now. Why? Because of her “affair,” of course. The affair that was an engagement which he knew about and still arranged her marriage to some random guy. That affair – makes sense, right? Of course not. So now Afreen is living in a hotel with Ahmer, who works all night on his “wedding night” and then ignores Afreen as if she begged him to marry her – or as if her father begged him to marry her. Neither one begged him for this “favor,” so why is he acting like this? There isn’t any reason. Now suddenly, he’s telling Afreen that he’s happily engaged and he’s acting as though his marriage being called off to Nadia would be the end of the world. What? What is happening?
In the end, Mahrukh (Nausheen Shah), who has so desperately been arranging Ahmer’s wedding to Nadia, visibly does not seem to like Nadia at all. So why is she so desperate for Ahmer to marry her? There isn’t any reason. However, Nadia’s friend saw Ahmer and Afreen together and of course, Afreen decided to fall at the very moment that girl held up her camera – and of course, Ahmer, in a very cliched moment, has to “catch” her. She wasn’t falling on her face, she stumbled for a second. Why did he even need to touch her? There isn’t any reason, except that Nadia’s friend had to send the “incriminating” evidence to Nadia. Of course, there’s chaos when the two arrive home and Ahmer announces Afreen is his wife.
This entire show is a test of patience and one big question – why? Why did these good actors sign such a terrible script. Why are we watching a C-grade script version of “Aasmanon Pe Likha” (Sajal Aly & Shehryar Munawar)? Why does a young woman (Afreen) who was raised in a rich household with an independent upbringing and a confident personality suddenly act like a helpless victim? She is educated. Even if she chose to leave her biological father’s house – which it’s not clear why she’s even there to begin with -, she could work and live on her own. What is with the behavior as if she doesn’t have options in life? This young woman is seen scared of being in a hotel room alone and shuts the door on Nadia’s friend in fear after seeing her. This is not behavior equivalent to her background. What is the logic in writing this character this way? It’s difficult to digest a show like “Bebasi” and watching it has become…..bebasi.