“Yunhi” is a tale of East meets West, the strong, stoic, cultured and religious Dawood coming together with the headstrong, blunt, “Americanized” (though lots of issues with this character sketch) Kim. While these two characters have absolutely nothing in common, a romance between them is set to begin. Starring Maya Ali, Bilal Ashraf, Behroze Sabzwari, Deepak Perwani, Uzma Beg and others, the story has been written by Samira Fazal and directed by Ehtashamuddin.
Episode 10 was fully focused on Dawood (Bilal Ashraf) and Kim’s (Maya Ali) wedding festivities kicking off. And while there are actually a lot of endearing, sweet moments in this episode, the initial episodes with Kim, once again, leave us shaking our heads in disbelief. Kim makes it clear that she’s getting married to distract herself from the heartbreak from George – and has no plans of actually staying in Pakistan. As shocked as we are, thankfully Naveed (Deepak Perwani) is equally as shocked. Kim takes marriage as a game and this isn’t likable behavior on any level. Still, as the episode moves forward, we do warm up to Kim at several points. The scenes with the ladies of the family shopping together is incredibly sweet, as is Kim’s generosity. There’s also a great scene where Kim encourages Iqbal (Tazeen Hussain) to apply ubtan, something which is frowned upon for divorced women. The scene doesn’t necessarily break barriers and Iqbal herself is clearly uncomfortable doing so, but it highlights the ridiculous rituals and customs upheld in South Asian society. As Kim says, the fate of her marriage is decided upon by those getting married, not Iqbal’s divorcee status. Later, Dawood’s ex-fiancee arrives and Kim immediately puts her at ease by making Dawood uncomfortable. By telling her that Dawood had a girlfriend, it eases her heartbreak, thinking that she would’ve been with a disloyal man. These are moments that stand out and while Kim’s character is overall illogical and unlikable, she has these really sweet, kind-hearted ones as well. Of course, it’s Maya Ali’s performance that brings the light to this character.
Dawood is perplexed by Kim’s words and, when Kim demands he drive her to see Zulfi, he takes the moment to have a heartfelt discussion. This is something that has been missing in Kim and Dawood’s relationship, so it’s sweet to see them being honest with one another. Dawood clarifies that he never had a girlfriend, rather he liked a girl in medical school. However, before things even progressed, they recognized that their families would never agree and put an end to it. Bilal Ashraf is a good actor and portrays Dawood’s vulnerability really well in this scene. And of course, when Zulfi arrives on the screen, he steals the show once again. It’s interesting how nicely this character has been written and how sweetly this actor is portraying him. Zulfi is this kind-hearted man who dreams of love and wants that for those he cares about – and Kim is one of those. The way Zulfi requests Dawood to win Kim over is heartwarming. Dawood is rigid in his behavior towards Zulfi (unnecessarily so), but here, even he warms up to him.
At this point, “Yunhi” is taking an interesting turn. In the next episode, we will see Kim and Dawood in trouble with the family for leaving their mehndi ceremony, along with Naveed ready to depart for the US. How will Kim react in her father’s absence? While Kim hasn’t been a likable character, the dynamic between Kim and Dawood is really something viewers are waiting to see post-marriage. Will Dawood change Kim? Or will Kim make Dawood realize their family has some changing to do as well? Let’s wait and see how this plays out.