“Yeh Na Thi Hamari Qismat” is a show that airs on ARY from Monday to Thursday. Starring Hira Mani, Muneeb Butt, Aiza Awan and Noor Hassan in prominent roles, the story has been written by Seema Munaf and directed by Syed Ali Raza Usama. As far as entertainment goes, “Yeh Na Thi Hamari Qismat” is a good fit, despite being full of cliches and silly moments. The characters played by Kinza Malik, Saba Faisal and Annie Zaidi are particularly entertaining as the bickering, squabbling “elders” of the household.
In episode 12, we see that Munteha (Hira Mani) and Alishba (Aiza Awan) both wind up back at their parents’ home, though under different circumstances. Alishba is dropped home by Yasir (Noor Hassan) after the previous night’s fight, his entire family exhausted with Alishba’s temper tantrums. Meanwhile, Munteha has won over her in-laws with her good behavior and is slowly winning Ayaan’s (Muneeb Butt) heart as well, though it’s a slow process. She returns home when she realizes that her mother has fallen ill. It’s here where the difference in girls is highlighted once again. Alishba’s attitude is horribly childish, suiting her young 20 years of age…..but she’s also very self- centered, unwilling to lift a finger even for her own parents – forget her in-laws. Munteha is, as always, as helpful and loving as ever. One has to pause to ask – is this Alishba’s fault? Yasir was so desperate to marry her, knowing she was a young girl in college. Did he not think for a moment that she was not mentally mature enough to be a wife? Of course not. Now it’s all suddenly her fault!
This is also showing the difference in Ayaan and Yasir. Yasir may be outwardly the “perfect” guy. He has a good job, is polished, well-mannered, knows how to say all the right things and “loves” his young wife. But when it comes to standing up for his wife in the right ways and correcting her behavior when necessary, he does not have the slightest clue. He’s a pushover in the worst way, completely dim and unaware of how to handle his responsibilities. Meanwhile, Ayaan, who is seen as a good-for-nothing, jobless, aggressive, ill-mannered man, is proving (slowly) to be a good partner for Munteha. He has a lot of work and ways to go, but Munteha’s kindness is bringing out the best in him. Even though he’s still aggressive at times and never lets a chance go to show his insecurity, he defends Munteha to his family and stands for her when necessary. He also knows how to point out his own mother’s hypocrisy when he can see the family is now using Munteha as their house help. Hira Mani and Muneeb Butt’s characters are the highlight of this show with great chemistry and their love story showing potential.
The star of this episode is Raja Haider, who plays Munteha and Alishba’s father. This is a man who has raised his daughters with a lot of love and kindness. He is also a loving, doting husband and treats his wife as his equal. It’s visible that his nature has rubbed off on Munteha and this is why she’s such a hard-working, kind, gentle soul while Alishba’s nature is simply different despite an equal amount of love and attention. Raja Haider portrays this sweet man with a lot of grace and dignitiy – of course, we do have to ignore the wedding sequence, but that sequence saw everyone from this father to Alishba to Yasir’s father (Shehryar Zaidi) acting out of character as complete maniacs, so we will chalk it up to bad writing for that moment. The moment he shares with Alishba in this episode is wonderful as he tries to calm his agitated, angry daughter through kindness and acceptance in a moment where she is unable to see reason.
Overall, “Yeh Na Thi Hamari Qismat” is an entertaining watch. This is one of those shows that one looks forward to watching daily, despite recognizing that it’s not a perfect show nor is it one that is highlighting any important social issue. And yet, in a more subtle way, it is making a statement about the expectations in-laws have from the daughters of others and how women are made to be much more than homemakers