“Dil Awaiz” has not necessarily been the sort of show that one would write essays on or praise to the skies – and yet, this sweet Cinderella story managed to pull viewers in despite its strange, silly storyline. Starring Kinza Hashmi, Affan Waheed, Kashif Mehmood, Javeria Abbasi, Ayesha Gul, Sabeena Farooq and others, the story has been written by Madiha Shahid and directed by Mazhar Moin. “Dil Awaiz” follows its title character, played by Kinza Hashmi, a dim “Cinderella-esque” character who lives with her stepmother, sisters, cousins and even her own father. She is ostracized from the entire family and treated like the household help due to her own mother not only being a “tawaif,” but also being one who was kicked out of the house for being dishonorable.
While the love story between Dil Awaiz and Sikander (Affan Waheed) started off as the most bogus, ridiculous “love” story with Sikander spotting Dil Awaiz’s shadow holding up a dupatta and then later mooning over her dropped pazaib (anklet), this is a relationship that has gradually won the hearts of viewers. This marriage, which began with the two being complete strangers slowly graduated to one of respect, kindness and, finally, love. When Sikander realizes the anklet does, in fact, belong to Dil Awaiz and not Faria, he immediately sets out to rectify his wrongdoings. To be fair, the reason Sikander is worthy of Dil Awaiz is for a couple of reasons. First, Dil Awaiz has made a number of colossal mistakes of her own, the first being her trust in Tamanna (Yasra Rizvi). The shame Dil Awaiz managed to bring upon the family by allowing this deceptive, treacherous, murderous woman (who even murdered her own sister) is not a small mistake. She essentially made a murderer out of her own father by falling into that trap. Dil Awaiz has been really dim from the beginning of the show and has made pitiful choices, but we have forgiven her due to her being deprived of love – but she continued to make them even after marriage, lying to her own husband about her interactions with Tamanna. This essentially put Dil Awaiz and Sikander on the same level in regards to being “forgive worthy.” And second, what’s great about Sikander is that he never really encouraged Faria (Sabeen Farooq) and was pretty consistent in telling her he was married. Sure, he had that doubt in his heart that he lost the woman he loved (though that “woman” – read, anklet – was never Faria at all), which kept him brooding and distant from Dil Awaiz. But did Sikander ever really betray her? This is debatable, but it’s easier to forgive Sikander particularly after he spells it out for Faria and asks her to stay away from him in this episode. Dil Awaiz and Sikander’s reunion is sudden, but it is very sweet and Kinza Hashmi and Affan Waheed have great chemistry.
Honestly, it’s the older generation that makes an impact in the finale. As Shahabuddin (Kashif Mehmood) is released from prison, forgiven for shooting Tamanna, he immediately sets out to seek forgiveness, beginning with Roshan Ara (Javeria Abbasi). Roshan Ara has been one mean-spirited character without any kindness in her heart – but who made her this way? Hasn’t it been a lack of love and caring from Shahabuddin? He realizes this and begs her for forgiveness, realizing he wronged not only one, but two women, both of his wives. He allowed hatred to fill his heart and his anger towards his first (innocent) wife spilled over to Roshan Ara as well. It is nice to see a male character whole-heartedly accepting the impact his actions have had. Does this excuse Roshan Ara’s mean behavior? Not really and Dil Awaiz never really gets the serious apology she deserved – but Roshan Ara’s inclusion of her and Aqa Bi (Seemi Raheel) in the end in the family photo is a great scene. One also has to mention how beautiful Kinza Hashmi looks in the flashback scenes as Dil Awaiz’s mother. The look they’ve given Kinza in those scenes has really worked, while her chemistry with Asim Mehmood (as a younger Shahabuddin) is wonderful. Sabeen Farooq’s Faria has not really worked as a character at all throughout the course of the show. She was supposed to be an arrogant woman, but then the writing also wanted us to feel for her due to the abuse she suffered in her marriage. But did Faria ever really learn her lesson? She suddenly feels remorse for her actions after being rejected by Sikander……but moves on to blame Roshan Ara for a bad upbringing. When does she actually take ownership for her own actions?
Overall, “Dil Awaiz” isn’t an incredible show. It’s simply okay and has been enjoyable to watch throughout its duration. That being said, it told an interesting story and it’s impressive that the story did not drag out the way most daily shows do. They chose to end the narrative on a high note and that’s commendable. Is “Dil Awaiz” going to be remembered in five years – or even one year? Most likely not. But it was a nice ride while it was on air.