With each episode, “Nauroz” grows more interesting with its fast-paced storytelling, excellent performances and unusual story. Starring Mawra Hocane, Shamyl Khan, Rana Majid Khan, Mahnoor Shaukat and Manzar Sehbai, the story has been written by Kashif Anwar and directed by Shahzad Kashmiri. In recent weeks, we’ve seen Reshtina become a social media star and, now, find herself growing disillusioned with the “fake” aspect of it all, hoping to use her platform for positivity.
In episode 11, Reshtina (Mawra Hocane) comes face to face with Shayaan, the man who inspired her through his YouTube videos. With Reshtina’s story, the two begin working out the details for a drama with a social message. It’s great to see Reshtina taking her fame and putting it towards good use instead of simply tossing it away. What’s great about Reshtina is her desire to learn, to better herself and educate herself despite the bad hand life has dealt her. Rather than focus on the negative, Reshtina is focusing on the positives she’s been given and using it for the betterment of society. Mawra Hocane is a natural, as always, on-screen as Reshtina and the actor who plays Shayaan is a great addition to an already great show. Special mention must be given to Mahnoor Shaukat who plays Hira. Hira is the sort of friend every girl needs in her life – and watching her eat all those sandwiches served as excellent comedic relief in this episode.
Unknown to Reshtina, there’s a lot happening in connection to her identity. Wajid finally discovers Rustam’s reason for protecting Reshtina – and her identity. While this face-off starts off mildly calm, it escalates quickly and Rustam takes a serious step to prevent Wajid from disclosing Reshtina’s identity to Karavan Khan (Manzar Sehbai) – murder. On the other end, hearing of Wajid’s death, Karavan Khan sets out for Islamabad once again to search for Reshtina, suspecting foul play.
Rustam won hearts the moment he appeared on screen, standing out for being a unique hero, a hero with grey shades. Episode 11 is his episode, an episode which belongs to Rana Majid Khan as a performer as the narrative focuses on Rustam’s past and present. We are introduced to the dreamer Khadim, a young man with big dreams, but lacking the desire to work hard. Khadim’s journey to Rustam may have been a financially fruitful one, an evolution from a simple boy to the man he wanted to be – but what has he lost in the process? His innocence, his sense of self-respect and his ability to hold his head up high…..is it a fair trade? Rustam’s choices have ruined him and now, seeing that purity and naivity in Reshtina, he wants to protect her at all costs….even if it involves murder. Rana Majid Khans’ performance is just wonderful as Rustam takes a life-changing step and winds up in jail. Was this Rustam’s part to play in Reshtina’s story, that of protector? Would it be wishful thinking to believe Rustam to have a chance with Reshtina considering his current standing? “Nauroz” continues to go from strength to strength and is one of the best shows currently on air.
