“Dulhan” continues to progress in an interesting way, a show that can be pegged as a thriller of sorts. Starring Sami Khan, Faizan Khawaja, Sumbal Iqbal and Mashal Khan in lead roles, the story focuses on Sumbal Iqbal’s character, Amal, who is tricked into marrying one man (Sami Khan’s Mekaal) and then abandoned while pursued by another (Faizan Khawaja’s Shameer) who has negative intentions. The story has been written by Adeel Razzaq and directed by Adeel Siddiqui.
Mekaal (Sami Khan) is a frustrating character, because he is simply not “normal.” There isn’t any angle where he seems to have a straight path. He is confused, but he’s not confused in a sweet, lovable lost puppy sort of way – he’s confused in the way where he’s made a mess for everyone connected to his life. When Zubi declares that Mekaal doesn’t love Annie, Mekaal doesn’t think about his mother, his father’s business or, really, anything. He just gets “stuck” and later tells his mother that he’ll “fix it.” How? How many things will he fix? Sami Khan is wonderful in this role, but Mekaal as a character is not balanced. Annie, of course, once again backs off from the marriage and their relationship hangs in the balance. Mashal Khan is doing a great job in this role as Annie, but her character is too indecisive. She’s a constant yo-yo with her emotions.
Amal (Sumbal Iqbal) continues to protect her siblings and wish the best for them, but all her efforts go in vain as her siblings all see her as the “bad guy.” Now working at Mekaal’s mother’s boutique, she is slowly working her way to being her right-hand helper. At Mekaal’s home, Amal sits with his mother as Mekaal watches her and, later, investigates the reason for her being there. He’s relieved when he realizes she is just there for work purposes. But was there a little bit of admiration and even affection in Mekaal’s gaze? Is it possible that he’s in love with Amal? It is a possibility since he did spend a lot of time with her before their Nikkah – but still, Mekaal is a difficult character to figure out and he isn’t particularly likable either.
This episode of “Dulhan” is interesting enough, but the sequences that take place are similar to those in the last two episodes, so it is becoming repetitive. The story does rest on Sumbal Iqbal’s shoulders and she has grown a lot as an actress over the years, capable of holding her own. Now with Amal’s stepmother finally asking questions about Amal’s “husband” and what happened, the story is taking a new turn. One does have to wonder why she took so long to ask these questions, considering there’s a man out there who is legally and religiously married to her stepdaughter – and she doesn’t even know who he is or what caused Amal to come back home? Still, this is an interesting point in the show and one wonders if Amal will actually tell her the truth – or consider to fight her circumstances on her own? Of course, it’s clear that her stepmother will jump at the chance to push Amal into that household if she realizes how wealthy Mekaal is.