“Bebasi” is a show that has been airing rather quietly without much fan-fare or discussion on social media platforms, despite having a very popular cast. Starring Ali Rehman Khan, Anoushay Abbasi, Alizeh Shah, Khushhal Khan, Farhan Ali Agha, Wasim Abbas, Javed Sheikh, Ismat Zaidi, Nausheen Nausheen Shah and many other talented faces, the story has been written by Aliya Bukhari and directed by Barkat Siddiqui. This cast alone is reason for one to get excited and immediately become invested in a show – but after eight episodes, “Bebasi” continues to be a slow, boring, tedious watch.
Ifrah (Alizeh Shah) is in love with Sahir (Khushhal Khan), the two having been together since college and wanting to get married. Everything goes well when the families meet and the two are engaged – until Ifrah’s (step)father, played by Farhan Ali Agha, plots against her and tells Sahir’s father that she’s not his biological daughter. Sahir’s father, played by Javed Sheikh, conspires with Ifrah’s father and the two plot at every turn on how to keep their much-in-love children apart and break off their relationship. It’s absolutely bizarre to watch this and see two grown men acting like lunatics instead of simply saying no. Why would a man who has raised a young girl with so much love and affection suddenly reveal himself as her greatest enemy? A mother and daughter cannot be so blind as to see a man as an angel when he’s really the devil.
Further, Sahir is clueless as to what his father is doing behind his back while Ifrah makes this incredible decision to go and abandon her mother, who was abused by her biological father, and move in with said biological father (Wasim Abbas). Her father is, by the way, a horrible human being who sees his daughters as a burden – so now with a third one added on, how will this play out? It seems as though Ifrah is going to win her father over, but why is this even a storyline? This is a man who was cruel to her mother, the mother who loved and raised her in luxury….and she is now leaving that mother behind, alone, while she decides to live with a father who never wanted her.
On the other end, there’s Ali Rehman Khan and Anoushay Abbasi’s story, which is even more illogical. Anoushay’s Nadia is just crazy for Ali Rehman to the point that she pretends to commit suicide (with the assistance of their families) in order to emotionally blackmail him into marrying her. This story is as bad as it sounds and Nadia’s desperation is a trait often shown in our females on-screen. Women are not this desperate in real life to marry men who are straight-up not interested in them. When will writers learn?
There isn’t anything good about “Bebasi” other than the cast. This is a very good cast and honestly, there isn’t anything “wrong” with their performances. What’s wrong is that the story is weak, illogical and, well….boring. It’s only 8 episodes in, but this is beyond the point where a story can suddenly become interesting. It’s possible that it picks up later on, but by how much?
