“Nauroz” has won viewers over with its unique concept, innocent heroine Reshtina and unusual hero Rustam. The story of a young woman raised in a basement away from civilization now released into our manipulative world is one that has kept audiences hooked for weeks now. The show now appears to be in the winding up process with Reshtina experiencing success. 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 episode 14, Reshtina (Mawra Hocane) and Shayan begin planning their show with the young Sarib. Sahayan and Reshtina’s relationship seems to be taking a serious turn, the two spending most of their time together and bonding over “philosophical” discussions (which are, to be honest, downright ridiculous). Unknown to them, Karavaan Khan (Manzar Sehbai) has turned up at Sarib’s family home, because Sarib’s father is – Salar, Reshtina’s half brother. This is an interesting twist in the tale, because Salar could very well now become a protector for Reshtina if the siblings trust each other and join hands. Unfortunately, in an almost too convenient twist, Sarib is kidnapped outside his gate. When Karavaan Khan hears about this, he also turns up at Salar’s home where Reshtina realizes the connection. In her own effort to help, she visits Rustam (Rana Majid Khan) to enlist his help.
Episode 14 is quite eventful, without a doubt. Movement is made in the story and a lot happens – but has the quality of the show slipped? Two scenes form the highlight of this episode, the first being Reshtina’s realization that Salar is her brother and the second being the Rustam and Reshtina meeting. Without Rustam, the show has definitely lost the “spark” that it had with his presence and with his appearance, that spark comes back even if only for a few minutes. The Shayaan and Reshtina relationship is more realistic, more natural and Shayaan is definitely a “green flag” character with strong traits. However, their relationship is also boring to watch on screen, their conversations too preachy and idealistic to enjoy a romantic liaison between the two. In contrast, Rustam and Reshtina’s interactions are the perfect mix of opposites attract – even if the attraction is one-sided. While rooting for the bad boy would be a cliché that we should probably abandon, Rana Majid Khan’s performance as Rustam has made him too likable to ignore. Is there still any hope that Rustam may be released and have a future with Reshtina? We can hope, even though Shayaan appears to be the easy choice.
Mawra Hocane is just excellent as Reshtina and her performance is what makes this show so endearing. At some point though, we have to question the show’s path with Reshtina being expected to solve all the world’s problems. Sure, each individual lives through their share of hurdles and Reshtina’s are compounded due to her innocence in regards to how the world works. But is it realistically possible for every calamity to strike her life? She grew up in a basement, she escaped her murderous grandfather, lived as a homeless individual and found Hira who threw her into the social media life. After finding stability with Hira, she took on enmity with Junaid, became a viral sensation online, lost her father, found herself involved with the land mafia, escaped attempted kidnapping and is now an entertainment writer/creator. Up until now, despite Reshtina’s life being action-packed, we’ve still found ourselves on board with her struggles. However, it’s with the human trafficking angle that the grip on reality seems to be loosening. Is human trafficking a huge part of reality? Of course. Is human trafficking a big problem in Pakistan? Yes, definitely. But is it ludicrous that, after everything Reshtina has been through, her nephew (unknown to her) would be the one to get kidnapped and thrown into such a situation? Yes, this is a bit too much to digest. The show continues to be a great watch and is thoroughly entertaining, but has taken an unrealistic turn. The narrative is now nearing a point where the story will most likely being wrapping up soon. Let’s hope the show ends on a strong note!
