“Siyani” is a show that has constantly been topping the TRP charts and has a large fan base. However, the plotline of “Siyani” has long since been lost. With each episode, at this point, the story is derailing completely and losing focus. “Siyani” stars Anmol Baloch, Usama Khan, Saniya Shamshad, Mohsin Abbas Haider, Tipu Shrareef and others in prominent roles while the story has been written by Sadia Akhtar and directed by Ali Akbar.
Case in point for the above statement that the story is losing focus, episodes 103 and 104 are, together, a “mega episode.” This is essentially one hour of content. Of the one hour of content given to audiences, 95% of the episode consists of flashbacks. Nawal has kidnapped Naveen and intends on taking her back home with her – but when Naveen runs away, Nawal realizes that she has lost her. And so begins thirty minutes of flashbacks with Nawal thinking about her marriage and everything that took place over the years. Naveen is reunited with Zoheb (Usama Khan) and Ujala (Saniya Shamshad). Coming to this specific sequence, there’s almost a feeling of irritation with the Ujala character. A restraining order has never been put out against Nawal nor has she ever mistreated her daughter. Zoheb simply believed she wasn’t wife material and brought his daughter to Pakistan. So how is it justified to keep a mother away from her child completely, not even allowing Nawal to meet their daughter? Ujala swoops in and takes Naveen as though protecting her from Nawal – and while what Nawal did was absolutely wrong…..so was keeping her from Naveen to begin with. For anyone who has ever been through a divorce where a child is involved, these moments have been particularly triggering. Our industry needs to do better when writing storylines like this rather than simply villainizing a mother and writing her out of the story to ensure a happy ending for the female lead.
Of course, another 15 minutes are spent on our “siyani” Kiran (Anmol Baloch) having memories while sitting in jail and another 5 minutes of flashbacks spent on her mother, laying down dejected and thinking about her own bad behavior, bringing the “new content” count to ten minutes. Of course, we can’t forget all the slow-motion shots. It’s common for popular daily shows to extend their originally-shot 35 to 40 episodes and drag them up to 90 episodes with tedious difficulty. However, “Siyani” has hit an all-time high with episode 104 airing without an end in sight. Now, in the next episode, we will see Zarbaab (Mohsin Abbas Haider) being harsh with his children (uncharacteristically and unnecessarily), his children crying for their mother and her “love.” What love? When did Kiran ever show them affection? Why would any child want their vicious, neglectful, abusive mother over a loving father and attentive household? Well, more episodes have to be tacked on somehow! “Siyani” is currently breaking all records of “stretching out necessarily.”
