Things have taken a turn in “Jaan E Jahan” this week as our beloved Shehram (Hamza Ali Abbasi) and Mahnoor (Ayeza Khan) are forced to face reality. The Shehram and Mahnoor love story has been a fan favorite for weeks, but it appears that the time for separation and angst has arrived. 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.
This week, we see Mahnoor step up to the plate and, as a woman who cares deeply for Shehram, expose Kishwar (Savera Nadeem). This is a huge moment, because so often, we see our heroines skulk in the background and keep the truth from their loved ones. Here, we see strong women in the form of Zeenat (Maryam Nafees) and Mahnoor, women who are driven by their need to protect those they care about – and for both, that includes Shehram. Ayeza Khan’s performance only heightens the likability of Mahnoor’s character. While Mahnoor is more than aware now of Kishwar’s desire to distance Mahnoor from Shehram, this serves as all the more reason to keep Shehram aware of her actions. If Mahnoor isn’t around to protect him, he will need to protect himself. And it seems Mahnoor is taking steps to move away from Shehram for the sake of her family and herself.
Shehram, on his part, reacts as expected – with shock. However, again, it’s the strength of the writing and Hamza Ali Abbasi’s performance that Shehram does not overdo it. He does not jump down the throat of the woman he claims to love. He is angry. He is in shock. But he does not point fingers and, even more importantly, he sets out to investigate. Of course, Kishwar quickly disappoints Shehram when she frames and fires Saleem, the house help, shortly after Shehram questions him about the drugging. Kishwar is a woman who believes herself to be very intelligent – but up until now, she has never had a worthy opponent, one willing to see through her. Now suspicious that Kishwar had a hand in Murad Shah’s (Asif Raza Mir) death, Shehram is ready to step up to the plate against the woman he once saw as a mother.
Shehram has an accident and it’s this accident that brings out his confession of love for Mahnoor – without actually saying the words – and also his hopelessness at now knowing the truth. Mahnoor, on her part, is torn, because she visibly loves Shehram – but logically, a proposal from Taimoor (Emmad Irfani) is now waiting for her and honestly speaking, that proposal makes much more sense in the grand scheme of things for Mahnoor. We can all predict that Mahnoor will agree to this proposal – but where will that leave Shehram, a man who sees Mahnoor as the only positive in his life?
There are many beautiful moments this week, from Shehram’s confession to Mahnoor in the hospital and Abdul’s (Raza Talish) admission to Shehram that he sees their father in him. Hamza Ali Abbasi and Ayeza Khan are simply perfect as Shehram and Mahnoor and have reminded us what a solid, natural love story actually looks like. If there’s a sore point in the narrative, it’s the one following Tabraiz (Haaris Waheed) and Gulraiz (Nawal Saeed). If Gulraiz is trying to get revenge on Tabraiz, that narrative is not clear and the scenes are not being executed well. This storyline needs much more work in comparison to the rest. Overall though, Rida Bilal, Qasim Ali Mureed and the entire “Jaan E Jahan” team are winners at delivering a show we eagerly anticipate each week.