“Raqs E Bismil” is a show that started off strong and remained strong until around episode 19, where it began to falter with an unnecessarily dragged out tale of kidnapping and useless “bad guys.” Still, this story of lovers torn apart by social status has been a quality one overall. Starring Imran Ashraf and Sarah Khan in lead roles, the supporting cast includes Mehmood Aslam, Momin Saqib, Anoushay Abbasi, Furqan Qureshi, Javeria Abbasi, Nida Mumtaz, Gul E Rana and many others. The drama has been directed by Wajahat Rauf and written by Hashim Nadeem.
In terms of actual occurrences, episode 25 isn’t a particularly eventful episode. However, it carries with it some important scenes which show the walls between Musa (Imran Ashraf) and Zohra (Sarah Khan) slowly falling down. With Zohra now at Musa’s house under the protection of his family, Zohra not only gets a chance to interact with Musa’s loved ones, but also to discover more about Musa himself. While Zohra and Musa know each other in the most important way, their hearts, they do not know much about the particulars of each other’s lives. Through Sakina (Anoushay Abbasi), Zohra learns a lot about Musa’s childhood, his nature and, most importantly, the circumstances which caused him to be kicked out of his home. The ladies of the household – Sakina, Musa’s mother (Nida Mumtaz) and Sakina’s mother (Javeria Abbasi – all find themselves growing closer to Zohra and confiding in her. This part comes across as a little forced, as no one really spills their family secrets to an unknown girl, but it’s a flaw we can still get behind. Adding to this, Peer Ji (Mehmood Aslam) also begins to warm up to Zohra, feeling she’s a good person after witnessing her habits. This is an important moment, as Musa’s entire family had pre-judged Zohra, deeming her to be characterless and of a questionable background without ever meeting her. It will be a surprise when they realize the Zari living under their roof and Musa’s Zohra are the same person.
On the other end, Musa’s search for Zohra continues as he begins to lament over losing her once again. Musa is heartbroken and turns Faaz(Tahir Jatoi) and his wife (plus Tauqeer) over to the police after realizing they don’t know where Zohra is. It’s nice to see the support Musa has amassed in Saleem Mairaj’s Na Muraad and his other friends, men who are willing to do anything to reunite Zohra and Musa. And yet – is it in their hands? Meanwhile, Laila (Zara Sheikh) meets with Tauqeer one last time, telling him that if it was money he wanted, he could have just asked her for it. Unfortunately, Tauqeer only realizes this at the very end, his lies continuing throughout the entire conversation, proving to Laila that Tauqeer was never a man worth being with. The character of Tauqeer has been an irritating one throughout, but Laila’s character has served a purpose, showing that women do not need the support of a man – especially when the man causes more harm than good.
“Raqs E Bismil” is now beginning to wrap up the loose ends of the story, slowly making its way towards its culminating point. Imran Ashraf and Sarah Khan’s performances remain the highlight of the show. One only wishes the narrative had remained tight throughout and this kidnapping track hadn’t lasted more than an episode (or not at all?) as the show has lost that quality of perfection at this point. Still, the viewer is left wondering where the story is headed now. Is Musa’s father thinking about Musa’s replacement (the new character) as a suitable match for Zohra? And if so, is this really what we need in this storyline? Why does Musa’s father have any right to think in this direction for her and why would Zohra listen to such a suggestion? At this point in time, the audience only wants a Musa-Zohra reunion and no more distractions.
