“Qayamat” has been luring in viewers with its interesting story of a bad (forced) marriage and how it affects their families. Starring Ahsan Khan, Neelam Muneer, Amar Khan, Haaris Waheed and Haroon Shahid in lead roles, “Qayamat” has been written by Sarwat Nazeer and directed by Ali Faizan. Ahsan Khan and Amar Khan play a married couple, both forced into the relationship, who are unable to form a bond due to Rashid’s (Ahsan Khan) abusive, cheating behavior.
In episode 9, Samra (Amar Khan) stands accused as the family searches for the missing jewelry. Samra clearly states that Rashid (Ahsan Khan) took the jewelry from her, but Rashid denies all allegations and accuses Samra of giving the jewelry to her parents. Its not enough that Rashid is a bad husband, but Samra also has the in-laws from hell, played by Saba Faisal and Shabbir Jan. Mukhtar (Shabbir Jan) claims to love his niece, but he buys into Rashid’s claims and calls Samra’s family over, blasting them for taking the jewelry, threatening to call the police – leaving them to apologize for a crime they never committed. It has to be said that a woman remains comfortable and happy in her home with confidence when she knows she has love and support in the form of strong parents. Samra’s greatest weakness are her parents, parents who bow down and listen to Mukhtar’s words in fear that he will destroy them if they speak against him. They are emotionally and financially blackmailed against protecting their daughter when they recognize she’s in a terrible situation. If they had the backbone to protect her and not sacrifice her for their own comfort, this would be an entirely different situation.
Fortunately, Jawad (Haroon Shahid) comes to the rescue when Ifrah (Neelam Muneer) verbally thrashes him for allowing this to happen to her sister. Jawad is a really good guy at heart, not only because he Ifrah and is willing to do anything for her, but because he genuinely thinks of Samra as a sister and does his best to protect her. He finds out the truth and confronts his family with it, making it clear that Rashid took the jewelry and gave it to Pari (Sana Fakhar). Now with the right information presented to him, Mukhtar apologizes to Samra and vows to apologize to her parents as well, despite protests from his wife. Still, Mukhtar is a terrible man himself, forcing an innocent to marry his terrible son and abusing her family, so it’s clear that other than Jawad, Samra does not have any true allies in that house. The rest of the episode focuses on Jawad and Rashid’s mother conspiring to keep Jawad away from Ifrah, which is an irritating angle – but why would anyone willingly send their second daughter into this hell anyway? Neelam Muneer and Haroon Shahid are great actors, but it’s not their moment to shine (yet). However, Ifra is a wonderful character and it’s clear she will be there to extract her sister’s revenge later – and Neelam Muneer excels with these roles. Jawad is lovable and Haroon Shahid makes him a very likable character, one caught between his family and his ideas of right and wrong.
The strong point of “Qayamat” are its performances. Ahsan Khan is great as Rashid, a man who manages to be hilarious with his uncouth one-liners, spitting out a callously humorous “Bacha hoon main? Roti ko choti kehta hoon?” during a serious moment….and yet, he is the husband from hell, a character that makes the viewer inwardly recoil when he enters the room, knowing Samra will suffer at his hands soon enough. It takes a talented actor to both make the viewer laugh and feel fear within seconds and Ahsan Khan is playing this role brilliantly. On the other side, Amar Khan also deserves praise as Samra. Samra has been raised with love, so she only knows how to speak with love. She is not loud or ill-mannered like her in-laws and even when she knows she isn’t wrong, she remains quiet out of love for her family. It’s terrible to watch her slapped, pulled and humiliated by Rashid and there are moments that just stay with the viewer long after the episode is over – for example, the moment after Samra’s hair is pulled by Rashid and she stands in a corner, trying to regain her composure before stuffing her dupatta in her mouth and breaking into silent tears. It’s Amar Khan’s performance that makes this so effective (and heartbreaking). Both these actors are doing a fabulous job in their respective roles. Overall, “Qayamat” is a show that can be triggering for viewers with its topic of marital abuse and the type of humiliation Samra faces, along with her family and the story promises a lot of heartbreak in store for viewers, but the performances make it worthwhile.