“Ishq Murshid” has been winning hearts over the past few months with its fairytale romance between a politician and a principled, upright young woman. Shahmir, played by Bilal Abbas Khan, has transformed himself into an entirely different person to win over his love – and yet, the story is now resting on an edge where Shahmir will either fall or Shibra, played by Durr E Fishan Saleem, will save him. Unfortunately, like all good shows on Pakistani television, the channel has decided to cash in on the success of “Ishq Murshid” and we have now entered the dreaded “dragging phase.” Starring Bilal Abbas Khan, Dur E Fishan Saleem, Omair Rana, Noor Ul Hassan, Salma Hassan and others, “Ishq Murshid” has been written by Abdul Khaliq Khan and directed by Farooq Rind.
Episode 21 opens with a completely disjointed dream sequence with a perfectly nice Sindhi song playing. While many have been praising the show for the cultural representation, which is absolutely wonderful, from a storyline viewpoint – what was the point of this entire 4 minute sequence? It feels as though it was tacked on as an afterthought without much thought. Meanwhile, we finally move into Mehreen’s (Hira Tareen) revenge as she threatens Shahmir to expose his reality to Shibra – and when Shibra rejects him, Mehreen wants him to marry her. Honestly, Mehreen is right in being hurt, because Shahmir has been deceitful towards Mehreen. He has intentionally kept her hanging, imagining their wedding and their future. However, Mehreen loses all support when she, as an educated woman with power, chooses to blackmail her partner of choice into marrying her. Why must we show strong Pakistani woman as…..desperate?
Meanwhile, Sukki’s marriage takes place without a hitch – until the very end when Salman (Noor Ul Hassan) discovers Shahmir and Shibra together, realizing they are in love. This sequence is another weak one, leaving us wondering how Salman has suddenly gone through a personality transplant? Salman slaps Shahmir and questions his “aukaat,” a line which seems ridiculously out of place of such a noble character. It’s justified to be hurt, but Shibra’s mother has discussed Shahmir and Shibra’s relationship many times to Salman – and at no point did he feel this strongly about it. However, Shahmir clearly has a lot of faith in his relationship with Shibra – as Fazal Baksh or Shahmir – and expects that she will choose to stay with him. With the big reveal next week, will Shahmir’s expectation prove correct?
In this entire episode, there’s one scene which stands out – the one with Dawood (Omair Rana) and his wife, Farah. Dawood, while plotting with Mehreen generally, is seen questioning Shibra and Shahmir’s relationship, wondering out loud of Shibra will still accept Shahmir when she discovers his truth. Farah, on her head, assures Dawood that it could not ever happen……or persuading? In this moment, we see Dawood’s concern for his son trickling through, wondering if Shibra will truly make Shahmir happy. Omair Rana enacts this scene convincingly and with a lot of subtlety.
Unfortunately, as a whole, this week’s episode of “Ishq Murshid” is highly disappointing. Sure, it’s sweet seeing Fazal Baksh and Shibra flirting throughout the wedding and Bilal Abbas Khan’s performance is just excellent, but…..it’s time to move on. The story needs to shift into “drive” now and move forward. The dream sequences and the unnecessary stretching of scenes is beginning to leave a bad taste in the mouth. It would be a shame if such a great show like “Ishq Murshid” is ruined in the end due to dragging. With the reveal next week, we expect a stellar episode, but this week’s episode is anything but stellar.