Mohabbat Aag Si - Episode 13 Update

The entertainment value of this drama is just off the charts! Iffat Omer is phenomenal as Aapa Ji and she's, quite frankly, stealing everyone's lime light. Sarah Khan, after an unforgettable *cough cough* performance in Alvida, is back with her throaty-romance voice and her performance is also worth a mention. So let's go ahead and talk about what's going on until now...

With each episode we learn a little bit more about Aapa Ji who has more than just a few skeletons in her closet. In front of everyone but Sharifa (more on her in a second), she presents the front of a God fearing, humble, naik-namazi, head of the household. But here are just a few of the stunts she's pulled in the past few episodes:

1 - Religiously forcing Samia to drink the nakli 'dum' kia hua doodh. 

2 - Faked an assault by Saba's mom. 

3 - Made Samia cook 8kg of zarda out of spite. 

4 - Forced Samia to give all her gold to her so that she can get it exchanged for new jewelry for Saba (effectively not having to spend a single dime on her barri.)

5 - Installed cameras outside of Saba and Wajahat's room to make sure they don't consummate their marriage. 

Having said that, no matter how evil Aapa Ji is, from her flashbacks we know she used to be a happy-go-lucky young girl. 

Aapa Ji also has fits of depression and in those instances Iffat Omer shines because she takes this evil woman and makes her complex, sad, a victim of a yet to be reveled injustice in her past that robbed her of the right to live as she pleases. 

Also, whereas I started out thinking she was a heartless sister, in the latest episode she gives her jewelry to her brother to help him pay off his debts and to invest in his store. The same jewelry she refused to give to Saba, but instantly handed over to her brother. Maybe she did it to cover up her taking Samia's jewelry, but I think Aapa Ji is smart enough to have come up with an excuse if she wanted. Regardless of her cruel quest to keep her brothers childless, she possess a selfless love for them that makes me empathize with her. What could've happened to her to lead her to create this façade of a person?

If there is anyone who knows Aapa Ji's every secret, it's Sharifa. She's an easy character to dislike - cos she spends 99% of her time spying on other family members and tattling on them - but her devotion to Aapa Ji is unquestionable. From a flashback we learn that Sharifa has been with Aapa Ji since childhood, so she has basically spent her whole life as an accomplice to Aapa Ji. Her eagerness to meet the security camera boy is quite concerning...

Enter security camera boy. Played brilliantly by Imran Ashraf, he comes across as those creepy kaam walay jo khamakhaee free ho jatay hein. He shamelessly flirts with Aapa Ji, and she enjoys every second of it...but guess who has a crush on him? 

Yup. Shareefa. Something tells me this love triangle will not end well...

Not much is happening with these two: still no baby, still drinking the poisoned milk like clock-work, still lots of groveling and apologizing, over nothing, at Aapa Ji's feet. Samia is so seedhi it makes you want to hit your head against the wall. However, it looks like she might be getting smarter after a few recent events that have left her unsettled. 

Last, but not least, we have the newly weds. Aapa Ji has Saba figured out from day one. She spins a tale of having a dream where Saba and Wajahat can marry, but if they do it then one of them will die. I have just two questions here:

1 - If Saba isn't going to fall for the 'dum kia hua doodh' stunt, then how did she fall for this?

2 - Not only did Saba fall for it, she has also been convinced to share it with no one outside the family. Not her parents. Not her friends. 

So...this couple walks around frustrated and having one too many lingering glance scenes...

Since these two cant be alone together, Romeo comes up with a plan...

For real. These are actual dialogues...

Lucky for us, Saba is beauty and brains. At first she's all Aapa Ji is so awesome...but as time is passing she seems to be able to see right through Aapa and her manipulative ways. Of course when she tells her husband, he doesn't respond very favorably at all.

In spite of her little impromptu James Bond routine, Saba fails to catch Aapa Ji red handed and the husband is having a hissy fit over his wife calling his sister a liar...

And then finally, this awesome showdown occurs where the two heavy weights throw down the gauntlet. Saba knows Aapa Ji isn't what she claims to be and Aapa Ji knows that Saba knows.

Let the games begin...