“Ye Dil Mera” is a show that was surrounded by buzz immediately. With Sajal Aly, Ahad Raza Mir and Adnan Siddiqui front and centre and Farhat Ishtiaq writing, what could go wrong? This was a show that was set to take its place in Pakistani television history. Unfortunately, issues in presentation began from the first episode onwards, leaving viewers questioning whether the show had been rushed into release to capitalize on its lead pair for TRPs.
Unfortunately, the situation never improved, issues with direction and editing cropping up in almost every single episode. Whether it be scenes cutting out suddenly or necessary scenes never making it into the episode, “Ye Dil Mera” has been a lesson for channels as to how bad editing can ruin a show. The story and the performances have, fortunately, never been the problem and it’s the story and the solid acting from the performers that kept pulling in the audience. With the final episode, there were a lot of expectations. Were those expectations met? Let’s discuss.
A solid 8 minutes were taken up by a recap. Someone please inform Hum TV that we do not need these recaps and are well-aware of what happened in the past episodes. We see Farooq (Adnan Siddiqui) in tears, grieving over his truth being revealed to Aina, knowing Aina will never forgive him.
This scene is not well-written and comes across as half-baked. Farooq has been this strong, confident, ruthless man, a man capable of anything, particularly with his cold-blooded right-hand-man, Ali Baksh (Paras Masroor), by his side. It’s odd then that Farooq wouldn’t try to take Aina away by force or attempt to do something else before simply admitting defeat. He simply admits his crimes to Aina and then decides life is no longer worth living. Ali Baksh, for all his life’s hard work and, again, murderous nature bows to his master’s wishes and shoots him….before turning the gun on himself.
There could’ve been a better end for these two characters. There should have been a better end for these two characters. “Better” does not mean happy, but better means more meaningful. Did Amaan’s lifelong desire for revenge lead to this – instantaneous death by choice? Where was his suffering? Why didn’t he face what Amaan had to experience each day for years? I would have much rather preferred to see Ali Baksh and Farooq serving life sentences in prison.
Forsaken Secondary Characters
Since we are discussing Paras Masroor, it’s unfathomable how such a talented actor wound up playing such a neglected character. Ali Baksh was relegated to the background and never ended up being a character that was properly fleshed out. He was simply there and is that the sort of role one of our best actors should be playing? I’m also going to refer back to characters on the show who haven’t been seen for a while. Why was Farhan Ali Agha on the show? Is he a lucky charm? There’s no other sensible reason as to why he was in such a small, forgettable role with basically no value to his character.
Of course, who can forget Mohammad Ahmed as Aina’s therapist? The therapist was predicted to be an important character, possibly one who would tip off Aina regarding Farooq’s suspicious behaviour. He was predicted to be a potential casualty, murdered by Mir Farooq before Aina could get to him. He was predicted to be an aid for Aina in discovering her past. But this character never made a reappearance. He wrote “he is lying” on a notepad in an early episode and was never to be seen again. What was behind these casting choices – and why did these actors agree to this?
Coming back to the finale, Aina, traumatized by Agha Jaan’s death, ends up in the hospital as Amaan cares for her and, in a heartfelt confession, admits his love for her. There can be no fault found in Ahad Raza Mir’s acting and he has carried much of the show on his two shoulders. This confession is beautiful and does reflect how Amaan has changed over the course of time, how Aina has impacted his life. At the end of the day, Amaan was an innocent, a victim, and while he has used crooked methods to extract his revenge, he remains an injured little boy inside – a boy who does deserve love. But has he earned that love with his behavior?
More inconsistency comes into play where Bua Ji sticks around, but where does Farhana disappear to? Aina has suffered intense trauma and tragedy and yet Farhana is nowhere to be seen in the hospital or even with Aina only a month after Farooq’s death? While it’s understandable that she has a life in the US, is this really a realistic choice? Farhana has been seen harping on and on about Neelofar’s death and we are subjected to her scenes when they aren’t even necessary. But when they are necessary, she is nowhere to be seen? Illogical.
The final scene between Amaan and Aina was distracting due to the bad dubbing job – the voices seemed too “close,” if that makes sense, as if they’d been recorded on a completely different track and then, to make it worse, Ahad’s lip movements did not match his words a few times. The way the back of Sajal’s head was shown while she was talking also seemed intentional because of, most likely, bad dubbing. It’s so strange how editing has played such a large role in the lack of quality in “Ye Dil Mera.”
Aina and Aman
Ironically, the content of the scenes between Amaan and Aina did manage to leave the necessary impact. Amaan is seen helping his orphanage while Aina works to help underprivileged children go to school, both atoning for past sins. All the flaws aside, that beautiful shot of Amaan and Aina in Darya Baagh, both together and yet apart, came across as rather poetic. These two characters have been together since childhood, have held on to (different) deep wounds and have always been tied together in a way. Despite the problems in their marriage, their love for each other ended up being the only real relationship in their lives.
It’s important to understand though that what Amaan did to Aina was not a crime. It was not something one goes to jail for. However, he gaslighted her, he used her as a pawn in his game against her father and ultimately pushed Aina into a situation headfirst that caused her whole world to come crashing down.
The emotional scars left on Aina’s heart are his doing and it’s not an easy situation to come back from. Is it a situation one can come back from? The answer isn’t simple and so the show chose an intelligent way to end with an open-ending. Aina and Amaan have too much baggage, to much pain between them and Aina is not yet ready to forgive. She needs time. How much time? What’s the expiration date on grief? We don’t know the answer to that, so we are not given a reunion either. I did find this to be beautiful and I “felt” it, despite the dubbing issues.
Overall Thoughts
“Ye Dil Mera” had its strong points, particularly the acting, and did manage to make an impact with its storytelling. However, there were too many flaws with the direction, the editing and even the character arcs for some of the characters. Amaan and Aina are two well-written, strong characters that will remain in my memory for years to come.
But would I wholeheartedly recommend this show to others? With a heavy heart, I will say – most likely not. “Ye Dil Mera” will always be a show that should’ve been a surefire success, but falls into the “what could’ve been…..” bracket. Again, “Ye Dil Mera” should serve as a lesson to directors and producers to stop focusing on churning out television shows and focus on the actual quality of the finished product instead. Hum TV has really lost points with this one and it will take work to gain back audience faith.
