If one had to name a Pakistani drama currently on air which is entirely a love story, “Jaan E Jahan” and “Ishq Murshid” would be the two shows to recommend. “Jaan E Jahan” has an old-world charm which takes the audience back to the 2011-2013 era, an era when romance was wrapped in sincerity and the goodness of the leads. “Jaan e Jahan” gives us leads worth rooting for, a love story which we can throw our support behind while also giving us that feeling of longing for the ultimate union. But how long will we have to wait? Starring Hamza Ali Abbasi, Ayeza Khan, Asif Raza Mir, Noor Ul Hassan, Savera Nadeem, Haris Waheed, Raza Talish, Srha Asghar, Emmad Irfani, Maryam Nafees, Nawal Saeed, Kinza Malik and Zainab Qayyum, “Jaan E Jahan” is written by Rida Bilal and directed by Qasim Ali Mureed.
Zeenat (Maryam Nafees) no longer has blinders on and she’s more than aware of what Kishwar (Savera Nadeem) is capable of. Zeenat is packed up, taken to the train station and send back home, Kishwar’s attempt at getting rid of her without going to extremes. Yet, if Kishwar knew what lengths Zeenat would go to in order to protect Shehram, Zeenat’s life may have been at risk. With great difficulty, Zeenat gets off the train and lands on Mahnoor’s doorstep. It’s this exchange with Mahnoor that winds up being the highlight of the week’s episodes as Zeenat spills the details of Kishwar’s plan, begging Mahnoor to do everything she can to keep Shehram safe. We as an audience often find ourselves yelling at the screen, frustrated with characters and envisioning what we would have done had we been in that character’s place – fortunately, Zeenat is such a well-written character that she is the voice of the audience. Zeenat is a human being, a young girl who was in love with Shehram, but also wants his happiness – and recognizes that Mahnoor is the only one who can pull him out of his current situation. Zeenat could have easily become a vamp-like character with her trajectory and yet, instead, she has exited the canvas after winning our hearts. Is this the end for Zeenat’s story or is it possible to see her happy ending – possibly with Taimoor (Emmad Irfani)?
Unfortunately, Mahnoor now has an uphill task. Shehram has spent his entire life idolizing his stepmother, thinking the world of her, and convincing him of the truth could be nothing short of a disaster. Mahnoor meets with Shehram to tell him the truth, but stops short, realizing she needs to reassess her approach. Honestly speaking, this will be the greatest challenge of the show. While Shehram has seen Kishwar judging Mahnoor, throwing out his paintings and such, Kishwar has always managed to pacify Shehram and get out of these sticky spots. Will he be willing to see the truth, even if the one exposing the truth is the woman he loves with all his heart?
Meanwhile, things are heating up with the arrival of Mahnoor’s ex-fiance in the city, set to ruin her reputation. The odds are stacked against Mahnoor at present, especially with Kishwar’s biting words to her father (Noor Ul Hassan) about Mahnoor staying away from Shehram. Will the family make the decision to, once again, leave the city and return to the previous home they ran away from? Or will Shehram step in and give Mahnoor a reason to stay? We’re still wondering where Emmad Irfani’s Taimoor comes into play. While he likes Mahnoor, Mahnoor hasn’t shown any interest in him – nor do we want her to, though the way Emmad is playing this character makes him incredibly endearing.
While the pace of “Jaan e Jahan” is fitting for the narrative and we are falling in love more and more with Shehram and Mahnoor each week, some of the other story arcs are moving less effectively. Gulraiz (Nawal Saeed) is a character who does not really make sense. She lost her husband and has always been aware of Tabraiz’ (Haaris Waheed) intentions – and yet, now, in her iddat period, she is willingly spending time with Tabraiz….that too, with a full face of makeup. We can assume that Gulraiz may be trying to get close to Tabraiz to find proof of his hand in Aamir’s murder, but if that’s the case, the performance is not supporting this theory. Haaris Waheed is doing a great job as Tabraiz, as always. Abdul (Raza Talish) and Aaliyah’s (Srha Asghar) potential love story has been halted before it could even begin and this week, we see Srha for approximately two minutes in total. “Jaan E Jahan” is genuinely a favorite show, one which viewers are eagerly awaiting week after week, but at present, it is losing pace…..particularly with this politics angle.