There isn’t much to criticize when it comes to “Sabaat.” With a stellar cast and a story presented in a different, realistic way, the show has everything going for it including a beautiful OST by Ali Sethi. While the show cannot be called fast-paced and has had some flaws in the past few episodes, it picks up pace with the latest episode and moves the track along.
Episode 10 focuses largely on Hassan (Ameer Gillani) and Anaya’s (Mawra Hocane) wedding. Their track is incredibly sweet with their conversations and being able to witness the preparations at Anaya’s home. There’s a beautiful scene between Anaya and her father where he gives her advice on her marriage and life after marriage with her in-laws. This is a scene that ironically is reminiscent of another performance of Mohammad Ahmed’s, his much beloved role in “Durr E Shahwar.” Fortunately, the advice is also just as good and once again shows the bond Anaya shares with her parents. The wedding preparations have been shown so realistically from the impromptu dholki to wedding dress fittings and Anaya reminiscing with her mother and friends and it only enhances the appeal of the show.
Mawra Hocane is also giving one of her career-best performances as Anaya, playing a middle-class, hardworking girl in a believable way. We are witness to Hassan and Anaya’s conversations about their wedding card, not being able to see each other until the wedding and their future together as the wedding date inches closer. Hassan and Anaya are growing together as their relationship progresses and this is beautiful to see. The childish nature of Hassan is slowly disappearing and is being replaced by a more mature (yet positive) version. His excitement at seeing his wedding card (and Anaya’s reaction) is adorable, but is also balanced out by Hassan’s decision to repair his bond with his father – and the attempt to fix things with Miraal, though it goes unappreciated from Miraal’s end. Ameer Gillani is a star in the making, he is a natural and incredibly likable as Hassan.
Miraal has officially begun to unravel. If she has been a clear narcissist until now, it’s also becoming clear that she has dangerous, unstable tendencies as well – and even insecurities. Miraal does not have room in her life for anyone who defies or disobeys her wants and desires, no matter how illogical the want may be. Miraal cut off from Ali after he refused to help her murder Anaya. However, after she feels betrayed by her family, she decides she will marry Ali in secret to punish them. Unfortunately for Miraal, Ali betrays her as well and also touches a nerve with her own deeply imbedded insecurities. Miraal envisions Naani (Azra Mansoor) essentially berating her for her behavior and stating she will always be alone, revealing Miraal’s own thoughts to the audience. While Miraal may seem strong and confident, inside she does seem to recognize that she is a difficult personality and pushes people away so they don’t recognize this character flaw – while also fearing their abandonment. This episode did a lot to shed light on Miraal’s thought process and while she’s still not a character I can understand, she certainly makes more sense than she did a week ago. Sarah Khan tends to perform well in most roles, but she’s doing a great job in portraying the slow unraveling of Miraal.
Hassan’s friend Saad is the greatest snake in this entire situation, feeding personal, private information about Hassan and his family to their competitor. One hopes Hassan dumps this so-called “friend” sooner than later before he manages to do too much harm. With Hassan and Anaya’s marriage coming up, it will be interesting to see what route the show takes afterwards. So far, there isn’t much to complain about with “Sabaat” as it’s captivating with great performances. Let’s see how it plays out from here – and we’re still waiting for Usman Mukhtar!
Sophia Qureshi is a Pakistani tv show commentator and a Bollywood buff based in the United States. Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/SophiaAQ