Narcissism was, at one time, a novel and fresh concept for Pakistani drama viewers. In 2019, “Khaas” emerged on our screens with Ali Rehman Khan playing the perfect narcissist, a personality we see often in South Asian society, but has not been given a proper label. Since then, we have seen this character played several times, such as Sarah Khan’s character in “Sabaat” and even more recently in “Jaisay Aapki Marzi” with Mikaal Zulfiqar’s character. However, with Muneeb Butt’s portrayal of a narcissist, it does not stop at emotionally and mentally abusing his wife and putting her down – but Sultan is actually a criminal. This week, things take a turn for the positive with more focus placed on four different characters. Starring Muneeb Butt, Anmol Baloch, Noor Ul Hassan, Erum Akhtar, Mina Malik, Shamyl Khan, Ismat Zaidi, Namra Shahid and others in prominent roles, the story has been written by Zanjabeel Asim and directed by Zeeshan Ahmed.
In episode 25, Hala’s (Fajjer Khan) wedding festivities are in full-swing. Unfortunately, even on this happy occasion, Sultan’s (Muneeb Butt) behavior cannot be reeled in. He criticizes Asra’s (Anmol Baloch) appearance, forces her to remove her makeup and jewelry, which in turn makes her the object of discussion for her over simplicity. Furthermore, he invites his girlfriend and openly dances with her in front of all their guests. It’s refreshing to see how Hala stands up for her friend (and Bhabi), wondering what Sultan is doing – not only because of Asra, but also because of her own in-laws, who will judge her based on her brother’s actions. In what world does Sultan believe his behavior is acceptable? And when confronted, Sultan only pushes Asra further into a corner, leaving us wondering why she’s even wasting her time with such a man?
Fortunately, the show has taken a turn for the positive this week. While Asra is at her weakest, stuck in an absolute train-wreck of a marriage, there are several people at work to bring her misery to an end – though maybe not with that intention. First, Asra and Sultan’s new tenants, Mashal and Junaid, have arrived as not only a lovable couple, but Mashal has also recognized Sultan’s behavior almost immediately. She sees the way Asra has lost her way and spots Sultan’s methods of putting Asra down at every turn. The Mashal and Asra friendship is more than welcome and it’s also nice to see a positive representation of a couple in a show filled with toxic relationships. Second, Nofel and Parizay’s track is coming to a great point. Parizay has started coming out of her trauma while Nofel has begun catfishing Sultan. It’s not clear what exactly Nofel’s gameplan is in the long run, but we are ready for it. Sultan is such a character that we do not, in any way, want any kind of positivity for him in the end. He specifically deserves jail time – and while he can’t be jailed for what he’s doing to Asra, he can be jailed for what he did to Parizay.
“Shiddat” may have its melodramatic moments, but Anmol Baloch and Muneeb Butt are doing a great job in their performances. The storyline is also engaging and interesting, despite some bumps in the road, specifically related to Ismat Zaidi’s role as Sarwat, Asra’s mother, who keeps flipflopping on her role in Asra’s destruction. Does she want to protect her daughter or have her daughter in an abusive marriage? Both can’t be true at the same time and Sarwat is absolutely a confused personality. Overall, at present, we’re most looking forward to Asra breaking free of Sultan’s clutches and Sultan facing consequences for his actions.
