“Jaisay Aapki Marzi” is a show which has been following a confident, bubbly young woman and her life after marrying a narcissist. While Alizay is initially a strong woman, her mental health begins to take a toll, gaslit, manipulated and brainwashed until she’s no longer able to think for herself, descending into her lowest point before finally beginning the journey towards healing. Starring Durr E Fishan Saleem, Mikaal Zulfiqar, Kiran Malik, Ali Safina, Javed Sheikh and Ali Tahir, the story has been written by Naila Jaffri and directed by Saba Hamid. Moving into the finale, Alizay (Durr E Fishan Saleem) has finally left Sherry (Mikaal Zulfiqar) for good, no longer willing to take the joint abuse from Sherry and Natasha.
In the finale, Hamdani (Javed Sheikh) passes away, leaving the entire family devastated – but also creating a moment for Sherry to think through his behavior, how he let his father down and how he has allowed his life to be molded by others without thinking for himself. Meanwhile, Alizay gives birth to their son, but files a restraining order against Sherry. The way this scene has been handled is excellent. Children are deserving of love from both their parents and Alizay recognizes this and acknowledges it – but asks for Sherry to take time out to work on himself, learn and come back ready to be a good father one he has reformed himself. And with this statement and the death of his father, Sherry is jolted into mending his ways. Does a narcissist ever truly change? No, but acceptance is half the battle and in these moments, Sherry accepts that he has allowed Natasha, another narcissist, to persuade him since childhood, feeding his ego and distorting his idea of right and wrong. Within the episode itself, we see Sherry attempting to change, letting go of the house which has been left to Alizay without a fight. Divorce when a child is involved is tricky, but if a child has a loving, supportive family and parents willing to work together, women should no longer allow children to hold them to a harmful marriage – and this is a great message.
Now the finale isn’t entirely perfect and the story arc following Natasha (Kiran Malik) is the stereotypical “let’s put a strong female character in her place” trope. Yes, Natasha is a narcissist. Yes, Natasha has made life absolutely horrible for Alizay. Yes, Natasha is the reason Sherry has been raised to be the man he is. Yes, Natasha has been a terrible wife. However, all of this said, everything goes out the window and all sympathy for Meerab (Ali Safina) goes out the window as soon as he made the decision to cheat. In an absolutely disgusting scene, Natasha is sent divorce papers only to find Shazia, her employee, packing her things at work to leave with Meerab…..her boss’ husband. While Shazia begs for her “izzat,” Natasha publicly slams her for what she’s been doing with her husband while employed with the company. And in a disgusting show, Meerab not only defends Shazia’s honor with Shazia behaving like the innocent party, but also threatens to slap Natasha in front of her employees to put her in her place. Ultimately, this entire spectacle leaves a bad taste in the mouth. While Natasha is not a good person and Meerab certainly had every right to leave her, Pakistani drama writers would do well to not confuse “right to leave” with “right to cheat.” This exact same scenario took place in “Mein” as well when Mubashira’s husband cheats on her with her best friend, as if this is acceptable behavior because she is “mean.” Ethically speaking, if one is not happy in a marriage, leave. But the moment cheating enters the fold, that character who is cheating is no longer the innocent party. In the end, Meerab winds up being an absolute mess. This part of the finale is disappointing.
Kiran Haq must be given a special mention as a breakthrough performer this year. She is an absolute natural as Natasha, a character who has been central to the story. It’s impressive to think that this is her debut – and she has incredible fashion sense. Of course, Durr E Fishan Saleem has been exceptional as Alizay. This is most likely her best performance to date and she has made such an impact depicting Alizay’s incredible highs and incredible lows, all while making it feel natural, which only allowed the audience to grieve for this character more. Mikaal Zulfiqar has managed to make his mark as one of the most hated characters on screen this year and that is a compliment! The ease with which he plays Sherry, a truly complicated, complex, negative character, all while making him feel human is an achievement. The entire cast has done a wonderful job and credit must be given to Naila Jaffri’s writing and Saba Hamid’s vision as well. “Jaisay Aapki Marzi” has a strong finale which allows the audience to breathe a sigh of relief for Alizay and all those attached to her life. How many women in our society find themselves married to a character like Sherry? Sherry is a troubling character, not because he’s negative, but because he’s realistic. He is a man we see in South Asian society often. Unfortunately, there are many Alizay’s out there in the world, successful women who find their self-worth diminished at the hands of a narcissist. It’s important to see stories like this on our screens so women can identify such characters and protect themselves. “Jaisay Aapki Marzi” has not always been an easy watch, but it has been an excellent one.
