“Jhok Sarkar” is the tale of a lawless land and its inhabitants. When law and order do not hold importance in an area, how do the area’s citizens survive? Is there any way but corruption? Starring Farhan Saeed, Hiba Bukhari, Asif Raza Mir and others, “Jhok Sarkar” has been written by Hashim Nadeem and directed by Saife Hassan.
In episode 16, Arsalan (Farhan Saeed) and his team arrive at the haveli to arrest Mukhtar, much to Meeral (Usman Javed) and Peeral’s (Asif Raza Mir) dismay. However, it’s here that Arsalan receives another surprise – Lubna, who is accompanying her politician-husband Junaid as Peeral’s guest. This may prove to be trouble for Arsalan later, particularly considering Lubna does not reveal her past connection with Arsalan to Junaid. Would it have been so difficult to say he was her classmate? Adding to the situation is the fact that Junaid, impressed with Arsalan, wants to make him a part of his security detail. Will Arsalan take him up on his offer?
Mukhtar is arrested and while Meeral and Peeral are fuming over this, the women of the house have their own politics. Noori (Maham Shahid) is now expecting a child, leaving Zulekha (Faiza Gillani) and Sardari Begum (Sakina Samo) plotting her downfall. The haveli seems to be a frightening place to live with all the manipulations and the way the servants are tied into it all. While Noori trusts her house help, Zulekha and Sardari Begum instruct her to poison Noori’s milk to cause a miscarriage. While it seems incredibly silly for women to plot against one another in this way, with a husband like Peeral, wouldn’t this kind of mentality become the norm? These women have become void of morality due to the environment they are living in.
However, it’s the final scene of the episode which truly makes an impact this week. As Meeral sets out to free Mukhtar, Arsalan and his team have begun thinking ten steps ahead, predicting Meeral’s next move. It seems that, for the first time, Meeral and Peeral finally have a policeman in the area who is mentally able to challenge their actions. The entire sequence with the chase and interception, only for Meeral to be let-down, realizing he’s been following the wrong van…..it’s a well-shot, exciting sequence which leaves audiences on the edge of their seat for the next episode. Well done to the team of “Jhok Sarkar”!
Farhan Saeed’s performance as Arsalan is underrated. It’s one of those performances that’s so flawless and natural that we forget how much effort has been put in to perform. Farhan does an excellent job making Arsalan lovable and strong-minded. Of course, we can’t ignore Asif Raza Mir, who is just wonderful as the older dictator of this small town and Usman Javed is excellent as Meeral, a young, more hot-headed version of his father. “Jhok Sarkar” is the sort of show one becomes addicted to, the perfect show to binge-watch with its perfect balance between action and emotion. This is a must watch!
