Once Pakistani dramas reach episode 21 and onward, the writing generally does tend to lose grip, usually entering an era of dragging and stretching. Adding to that, Hum TV has a reputation of further losing grip when a time leap is involved in their shows and with last week’s episode, “Muhabbat Gumshuda Meri” appeared to be headed in this exact direction, a direction of doom. Fortunately, in episode 22, the show picks up greatly and delivers, once again, a strong episode and appears to be back on track. Starring Khushhal Khan, Dananeer Mobeen, Omair Rana, Ayesha Toor, Farah Sadia, Ali Tahir, Laila Zuberi, Naureen Gulwani, and Ali Raza, the story has been written by Rahat Jabeen and directed by Shahid Shafaat.
In episode 22, Saim (Khushhal Khan) and Zobia (Dananeer Mobeen) come face to face in an incidental meeting, both shocked to see each other. While Zobia is left flustered and panicked, her life having been destroyed by this romance, Saim is torn, realizing what he thought was hatred for Zobia all this years is simply….love. Meanwhile, Zobia’s family has been softening towards Zobia, now wanting her back home, no longer caring about Daniyal’s (Ali Raza) reaction. Honestly, is it too little too late? Do we want any redemption for a family who so callously threw their daughter out and allowed a son-in-law/husband to bully her so ruthlessly? Some may say yes, but it’s sending a very backward, messed up message to paint their behavior as acceptable in any way. Daughters are not sitting ducks where they do not have a say in their own marriage and Zobia’s family did not, at any point, respect Zobia’s feelings.
Through Seemab, Saim begins visiting Zobia’s home, which really upsets Zobia. Up until this point in the episode, the episode continues along the lines of episode 21 with more irritating moments than likable ones. However, with ten episodes left in the episode, two scenes change the entire dynamic of the narrative and put the story right back on track. First, Saim confides in Nana, telling him about what he is experiencing – and even tells him about Zobia being the girl involved. Nana promises to help the young couple, finally providing hope to viewers. Having an adult in on the situation is a big step and a positive push in the right direction. The second strong scene is when Saim visits Zobia at work and refuses to take no for an answer. Saim is now pushy, realizing that he loves Zobia and wants to fix their broken relationship. There has been ego on both sides and Zobia continues to hold on to her ego – but the final scene is excellent, both breaking down walls and discussing their emotions in their final separation and what happened afterwards.
If there’s something irritating about this episode, it’s how Zobia continues to conceal Saim’s identity in relation to her while talking to Seemab. Seemab is visibly falling for Saim, the same Saim who is still Zobia’s husband. We genuinely do not want to see Seemab turn into a vamp with lies and deceit and by keeping this truth from her, Zobia isn’t doing herself any favors…..or being a particularly good person. What’s great about this episode is that while Saim has already acknowledged his existing feelings towards Zobia, she is now coming around to the reality of what happened, the misunderstandings on both sides and the possibility of a reunion. Khushhal Khan is just absolutely flawless in this episode as a performer. His terrible wig is very distracting and we hope it can disappear sooner than later, but his expression and body language as Saim allows the audience to feel for and fall for this character. Dananeer Mobeen is excellent as well as Zobia, a young girl who has been through too much trauma to entertain the idea of Saim re-entering her life. Unfortunately, Zobia has always been a coward and will always remain a coward – that’s a strong personality point with her and she continues to carry that forward. In the next episode, Zobia will make her return back home to her family. Where will this leave Saim and Zobia’s relationship?