“Khuda Aur Mohabbat” arrived with great expectations from the audience of the past two seasons, though with a different cast and story – and it has certainly lived up to those expectations. The show has been written by Hashim Nadeem Khan, directed by Syed Wajahat Hussain and stars Feroze Khan, Iqra Aziz, Junaid Khan, Mirza Zain Baig, Sunita Marshal, Javed Sheikh, Seemi Pasha, Waseem Abbas, Tooba Siddiqui, Momina Iqbal and others in prominent roles. “Khuda Aur Mohabbat” deals with intense one-sided love that unravels and takes our lead character down a tragic path. In the last episode, we saw that Farhad, besotted with Mahi, is now working as Mahi’s family driver and Mahi has plotted a way to speak to Farhad personally – to get rid of him.
In episode 8, Mahi (Iqra Aziz) tells Farhad (Feroze Khan), finally alone, that she’s not interested in him and he should go back home. Farhad is shocked hearing this, as he truly felt the spark between himself and Mahi, living in his own fool’s paradise of the two being in an unspoken romantic relationship. Yet, Mahi brings him down like a sack of brings, informing him that she never had feelings for him and if he doesn’t respect her, he should at least care for himself and leave before he is murdered by her family. However, hearing this, not only is Farhad heartbroken, but he is also now void of his reason to live, living recklessly. The idea of death is no longer a problem for him, fixated more on his broken heart and the pain searing through him at the thought of losing who he believed to be his true love. It’s tragic, because Farhad has given up everything for Mahi – and now, while he has the chance to return home, he doesn’t feel any desire to continue. The blows continue coming for Farhad after he realizes Mahi is getting married, not only crying himself, but bringing the audience to tears as well.
Mahi isn’t an evil character, though she is outspoken and uses harsh words with Farhad, telling him that she wouldn’t marry him unless she were desperate. But Mahi does worry for Farhad and for his safety. Mahi is not void of empathy and isn’t a bad person, but Farhad following her to Bahawalpur was not an outcome she had ever envisioned and considering her protective, restricted environment, she is also reacting out of fear. Taimur (Mirza Zain Baig) is overjoyed when his mother (Hina Bayat) and Sikandar (Junaid Khan) visit Mahi’s family to send his proposal – and Mahi’s family is equally as happy. Looking at the situation realistically, Mahi and Taimur’s families are a perfect match and seem to gel well – and Taimur and Mahi seem to be a good fit as well. And yet, it’s so difficult to not hurt for Farhad, despite knowing he wants the impossible. Coming to Sikandar and Taimur’s family – while Taimur isn’t seen much in this episode, Junaid Khan is really making an impact as the confident, friendly yet emotionally scarred Sikandar. It will be interesting to see his story come into play. Hina Bayat is lovable as Maa ji, a genuinely sweet, likable lady.
If there’s any criticism of “Khuda Aur Mohabbat” (which there really isn’t), it’s that in terms of Farhad’s obsession as a driving point for the story, it would have been nice to see more interaction between Mahi and Farhad on a “romantic” level. While it’s clear for all to see that Mahi is not in love with Farhad and has never even seen him from that point of view, Farhad does not believe that. He believes deeply enough in the relationship that he has left his family behind, his friends behind and has taken on a job that he feels is beneath him – all to be close to Mahi. When he gets into that car to speak to Mahi, he does so with the belief that she’s angry with him and left Lahore without telling him out of anger. This would have felt more well-packed if Mahi had indulged in more than just a hi-hello and friendly banter. Mahi could’ve been depicted as more of a user, engaging in a true flirtation to get her way before leaving back to Multan – which would have really left Farhad struggling in her absence. Of course, this is a small point to nitpick, but if we, as the audience, had more scenes between Farhad and Mahi of a romantic nature (at least from his point of view), the intensity of Farhad’s love would have made more of an impact.
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Does that mean it’s not making an impact? Absolutely not and credit for that goes to Feroze Khan’s brilliant acting. Feroze Khan is an actor who is simply underrated in his industry. When he plays intense roles, he does it with such conviction that the viewer is immediately drawn to his character. While the show could overall be called flawlessly engrossing entertainment, complete with brilliant actors giving their best, grand costumes and beautiful sets, it’s Feroze Khan’s acting as Farhad that is the spine, heart and soul of the entire show. Another bond that’s wonderful to see is that between Farhad and Dilawar (Saqib Sumeer). Will Dilawar turn on Farhad when the truth is revealed or will he stay true to his word and protect him? While we’ve been enjoying some intense, yet still relatively light episodes (courtesy Mahi’s family background) up until now, the show has now been put into gear for the tears to flow with the season of Farhad’s heartbreak on the horizon. To conclude: If you are not watching “Khuda Aur Mohabbat,” you are missing out on a masterpiece in the making.
