“Pyari Mona” has been a refreshing watch for the audience, a light-hearted show tackling heavy topics in a breezy way – until last week. Last week, we saw how depression can lead to physical illness and cause severe issues when Samiya passed away suddenly. And while the show has maintained a realistic, overall light-hearted feel, the last few episodes have taken on a heavier tone. Starring Sanam Jung in the title role, the show also stars Sabeeka Imam, Adeel Hussain, Uzma Beg, Adnan Jaffar, Muhammad Hanbal, Shaheen Khan and, later, Mashal Khan. The story has been written by Haseeb Ahmed and directed by Ali Hassan.
Credit has to be given to the writing and directorial team on how they handled the Irfan (Mohammad Hunbal) and Mona (Sanam Jung) non-love story. Everyone believed Irfan and Mona were made for each other, including Yawar and Khalid (Adnan Jaffar) and Mona started to believe it herself. However, Irfan in his immaturity, felt betrayed by Mona and hastily agreed to marry Kinza. In episode 7, Mona walks in on Kinza and Irfan’s Nikkah and is heartbroken. Ironically, Mona is clearly less bothered about the loss of a potential relationship and more upset that her so-called “best friend” mistrusted her. For Mona, this is the loss of a true friendship more than anything – and that’s great to see. Despite the ridiculousness of the situation and how unlikable Irfan has become after his behavior in episode 6, the way this “confrontation” has been executed is wonderful. Irfan realizes he has handled this poorly and stops by to discuss things with Mona. It’s only here when he realizes what a mistake he has made in reading Mona’s wedding card, a card which belonged to an entirely different Mona. After this, the way Mona acknowledges her hurt feelings while Irfan also makes clear that he can’t leave Kinza is well-written. Irfan and Mona’s friendship is key between them and it’s nice to see that, despite it all, they want to keep that relationship. Special mention to the way Mona tells Irfan to be faithful to his marriage and treat his wife well. Sanam Jung and Mohammad Hunbal have a sweet chemistry….that just screams “platonic.”
Quite honestly, the connection felt between Kinza and Irfan is stronger than the one between Mona and Irfan, so it’s a plus that we will continue to see Kinza and Irfan together. The downside? It seems like Kinza’s manipulative mother will create animosity and drama between Mona and Irfan’s mother – and potentially Kinza? The last thing we want is for “Pyari Mona” to become another saas-bahu drama with unnecessary scheming characters. Meanwhile, Babar (Adeel Hussain) is struggling in his wife without Samia. It’s here that he meets Zee (Mashal Khan), a model who gives his agency trouble. How will the story play out from this point forward?