Gul E Rana - Episode 15

I woke up this morning to this good news...Seriously - 4th last episode? It's like a countdown to bidding this nonsense good bye.

Anyway, it managed to convince me to go and watch the last two episodes I hadn't bothered watching and isi khushi mein, let me present below the highlights of the latest installment of Gul E Rana...

The weird storyline of Asher Bhai continues. We now have confirmation, thanks to his sister, that he romantically-loves Rana (isn't it strange how confusing love is in Pakostani dramas? Love love, Bhai Wala love, romantic love, platonic love...), but even though he loves her - AND HE'S DYING OF CANCER, he's getting married to someone else. If I really cared, I'd try to understand the logic behind this. But since I don't, I'll just continue to harp about it. 

This wonderful censor moment by the makers of this masterpeice. I totally don't know which airlines this is. *eyeroll*

The moment we find out that mommy can't go to Murre because unki wahaan tabiat kharab ho jati hei because of the lack of oxygen. No. For reals. The writers left out all kinds of details in this drama, but decided to tell us why mommy dearest can't go to take care of McDouchey.

Speaking of the devil...we don't know what's wrong with him, except he has a cast on his arm and foot and he's a bigger baby than ever. Just look at that sick face. I hope he's not holding his breath for an Oscar or something for his performance. Sheesh. 

After everything she's been through, and after everything Taya Abu has learned, once more Rana is being guilted into do this family a favor. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, Taya Abu has extracted more than his fair share from Rana for providing a roof over her family's head. 

And poor Rana runs back to Murree in clothes that engulf her petite frame. Did the drama makers even bother to hire a wardrobe personnel for this drama? Humph. If you want to see Sajal Ali at her best, watch Mera Yaar Mila De.

It's annoying how characters appear and disappear at random in this drama. If Adeel is back, you'd think the leechy Maria and phuppi would come back and start making demands - but nope. That storyline ended without a bang and now no one cares about Adeel and his lies to Maria. 

I feel like the episode could have revolved much better around Adeel and his accident, but we were spared hospital and operation room shots (lucky us. They'd probably have a podiatrist operating on his brain.). Also, the naukar told Taya Abu about Adeel's harkatein last episode when he went to drag Maria home, but they left out half of it because in this episode they repeated everything. Again. And Taya Abu reacted like he heard it the first time. Again. And then he asked Rana to come to take care of Adeel because she's his kanooni wife. Did her nikahnama have a clause that said must perform all nursing duties if needed? If they're so filthy rich, why don't they just hire a nurse? Or helicopter him back to Karachi? But no, making Rana come back to Murree just makes so much more sense. 

From the looks of the next episode promo, it doesn't seem like Adeel is a reformed man after his accident and we have more stupid arguments to look forward to. Really guys, are we waiting for the last 15 minutes of the last episode for Adeel to have a change of heart?

Drama Update - February 2016

Even though our blog posts have dwindled to few and far between, we continue to watch dramas off-the-blog like a student studies for O' Level exams. (Thank you YouTube, thank you wifi, and thank you smartphone.) So, we decided to do this post just to give you a snap shot of what to watch or what not to watch as far as the dramas that we are watching go. For simplicity's sake, the dramas are in alphabetical order. But you'll know the duds - cos pointing those out is kind of our speciality. *smirk*

100 Din Ki Kahani

This drama is an easy watch with an interesting enough story to keep you coming back. Sanam Chaudhry and Furqan Quraishi look good together and the side stories are also entertaining and not just fillers. Due to some unknown reason (to me), this drama has stopped airing. I feel pretty cheated because I looked forward to this every weekend. #SoSad

Highlight: The churail nand's husband is planning to dethrone her the same way she is ousting her own sister-in-law and I can't WAIT for karma to come bite her in the butt. 

Abro

OMG. This drama - I am head over heels in love with it, and for the life of me, I AM NOT SURE WHY. LOL. Eight episodes in and this appears to be the classic Akbari-Asghari type drama of acha beta vs burra beta and achi bahu vs burri bahu. The drama is moving at a steady pace and, quite frankly, I managed to happily (understatement here) binge watch the episodes because it keeps you engaged. 

Highlight: Some ah-may-zing performances that will leave your heart bleeding like the characters'...

Low light: The actress playing Abro is a bit (read: humongous) of an eye and ear sore - she's loud and has an annoyingly monotone dialogue delivery.

Aitraz

Holy crap. Where do we start? You have this plethora of big names - Sania Saeed, Imran Abbas, Sana Javed, Gohar Rasheed - and this completely brainless story that continues on repeat and makes you want to question your sanity for bothering to tune in week after week. Seriously, thank your lucky stars if you managed to not watch this disaster.

Highlight: Nothing. Nada. 

Lowlight: EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS DRAMA. 

Bay Qasoor

If there was an award for most Depressing Drama, this would be the perfect contender. I started to watch this for Samina Peerzada, but now I'm just left wondering why she agreed to do this drama in the first place. Luckily (or unluckily?) the pace of this drama keeps me coming back just to see how things could possibly go even more wrong for the poor ma and beti. 

Highlight: Sajid Hassan's character's round about turn has been perticularly engrossing. He just randomly goes from absent-father to father-of-the-year and, in my humble opinion, only an actor that is so well seasoned can pull off that kind of a change and leave us convinced. Bravo. 

Lowlight: Hira makes me want to slap someone. And the phuppi ka spoiled brat beta is bad enough being a spoiled brat, but he can't act either. Annoying times infinite. 

Gul E Rana

Since we already have a detailed post on this drama and why it should be dumped, I won't write more here. (I typed this before I typed the Lowlights. Grrr. This drama...Grrrrr) 

Highlight: Zafri was the only highlight for me because atleast he was amusing.

Lowlight: Adeel. Feroze Khan playing Adeel. Adeel's wardrobe. Rana. Rana and her being a prude. Rana being a doormat. Asher and his questionable motives. Taya. Rana's mom that only appears once every two episodes. The lack of story. The lack of intelligent conversation between Rana and Adeel. The lack of intelligence period. 

Mana Ka Gharana

Hmmm. I have mixed feelings about this drama. It has a story, it has well sketched characters, it's moving along nicely...overall it has no issues. Yet, when I watch it, I keep wanting a key storyline - the big POINT of the whole drama. Is it about good guys finish last? Is it about how money is the root of all evil? Is it about true love always wins in the end? What is that big wow that makes this drama special? I'm not sure yet. However, it's an easy watch and I really need to watch something that will help me renew my loyalty to Sana Javed after Aitraz and Paiwand.

Highlight: Shehroz Sabzwari wows as Khizer aka the most perfect guy on this planet. You can't wait for Mana to come crawling back to Khizer after all the zulm her fiancé is heaping on him.

Lowlight: Barring the big wow, nothing to report.  

Man Mayal

Hamza Ali Abbasi returns to our screens to play the poor, hardworking, in love with a girl way out of his income bracket, chotay sheher ka lardka, dreaming along the lines of papa kehtay hein bara naam karayga...*picture me raising an eyebrow* I want to be enthusiastic, really, I do, but didn't he just play this character in Pyaray Afzal?
Highlight: Great visuals. The OST sounds like something from Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas soundtrack (and I loved the music and Madhuri in that movie, so in my book, that's a win). Aiman Khan - even though she's just playing the little sister - deserves honorable mention.
Lowlight: Ayesha Khan is in it. I repeat, AYESHA KHAN IS IN IT. Lord help us all...

Mein Kaise Kahoon

An evil Bhabi, a sister-like best friend, a dur ka rishtaydaar eligible bachelor...all these components make this a cute drama to watch as a relief from the other hardcore stories on air these days. 

Highlight: Maria's love for Samar and sitaron ka haal are endearing. 

Lowlight: Episode 6 promises to be heartbreaking. Bummer. 

Naraaz

Faisal Quraishi redeems himself (after flops like Mein Bushra and Mol) and gives us Naraaz. Naraaz has a solid story and I love watching how seamlessly the director has managed to capture subtleties of relationships. Honorable mention for Asad being an amazing friend, and the voice of reason, to our boy Azlan through his trials.

Highlights: Faisal Qureshi and Sarah Khan share an electric chemistry onscreen. Aazar is cute as a button, and his one-on-ones with Nana Abu are absolutely adorable. 

Lowlights: Azlan's ex-colleague, Aisha - it's just unappealing how desperately obvious it is that she has the hots for Azlan. 

Preet Na Kariyo

Thank god Hum TV decided to apologize for airing crap like Gul E Rana and Sangat by airing gems like these. Wonderful characters, wonderful dialogues, wonderful acting. Applause for all the actors. Ahsan Khan reminds us why we love him.

Highlight: I am officially a Hira Salman fan. She has managed to paint a flawless picture of Shagufta, and create a character who you will hate but love, disapprove of but admire.

Lowlight: The casting of Shagufta's younger brother grown up. Kaheen se Bhai nahi lagta woh uska. #CastingFail

Sangat

Saba Qamar takes on the topic of rape, but the plot got lost within the first few episodes and never recovered. It was less about her and her story and more about Shahvez and his quest for forgiveness for an unforgivable act. I'm sorry, were we supposed to sympathize with that animal? 

Highlight: It's over. 

Lowlight: Let's just do everyone a favor and not discuss this hideous drama, its hideous story, and its hideous message.

Sehra Mein Safar

Another time pass that I'm tuning into weekly just to see where the drama will go. I like how they have shown a very natural progression of how Iqra's life has changed and how these changes are effecting her as a person.

Highlight: Ali Kazmi returns to our screens and if he was irresistible in his tanks, he's even cuter as the nerdy glasses wearing Ayaz.

Lowlight: Iqra and her prudish ways. Seriously, you can maintain a distance from men and not be confrontational or rude. Gees. 

Tere Mere Beech

This drama doesn't bring anything new to the table or any mind blowing performances, except Sanam Chaudhry who has done a phenomenal job portraying the conflicted and proud Hareem, which is why I keep watching. 

Highlight: looking forward to how Agha Ali's character is going to react when he finds out his heiress isn't an heiress. #Woops

Lowlight: Saba Faisal as Nighat. Her treatment of Hareem is abominable and her character is borderline crazy because she can't decide whether to be nice to Hareem or yell at her (sometimes for no reason).

And there you have it friends - a nice, long, round up for this month of some hits and some misses that we are watching. Of course, even while we complete this there are some new dramas starting that we're looking forward to (Mera Yaar Miladay and Pakeeza to begin with), so go ahead and leave us a line in the comments if you enjoyed the post and would like to see something similar next month!

Until then, happy watching!

100 Din Ki Kahani - Episode 18 Update

Awesomeness continues in 100 Din Ki Kahani at a slow - but steady - pace. Here's a quick break down of why you need to be watching this drama!

Raheela baybaki se goes to Bilal's house to confront Samra and Bilal hurries and ushers her out before she can cause any damage...

...Not that it stops her from trying again. This time she answers his phone when Daddy dearest calls. Rest assured, Bilal manages to save the situation one more time. 

Bilal and Raheela duke it out until he breaks the Big News to her: If he divorces Samra, she gets half his jaidad. Now Raheela hates Samra's guts because she managed to out smart them all. 

For her part, Samra has come up with an answer to her own created problem. She and Bilal should run away to Europe for long enough to come back with a baby and claim it's theirs. Of course, Bilal is on to her, so it's fun watching him being snide to her andar he andar. 

Meanwhile, the achi wali choti behn has found out about Zeeshan's beemari and she is going to leave no stone unturned to help him get treated...

...Including getting the house evaluated in this scene which provides some comic relief in the form of a frustrated real estate agent. 

Zeeshan continues in his quest to be a jerk to Mariam - I mean, I get it, but I don't get it. It's just cruel the way he's treating the poor girl. Oh, also he has - by silent omission - agreed to marry his sister's nand (who of course plans to oust Mariam as soon as she walks into the house). So basically, Zeeshan will marry phone-stalker Afshan (then die, so no issues) basically ensuring his sister gets to return to his susral AND Mariam hates his guts so she won't be sad and miss him when he dies. Wah. Logic dekho. *taalian* 

Luckily, the drama has this cute child-star to help Zeeshan face the realities of the stupid decisions he is making.

In a rare moment of greatness, Mariam decides to tell her nand off and refuses to hand over a golden chain Zeeshan had given her... Unfortunately, the spurt of spunk lasts a total of 15 seconds, then she gets bullied by her nand and she gives in. Seriously, who wants to see Mariam kick some ass - Me! Me! Me! #TeamMariam

And now, for my MOST favorite twist: guess who's husband is busy playing hanky-panky behind her back? Safia's!! YAAASSSS!!!

As the premise of this drama proves, the writers sure do have a keen sense of irony. On the outside this is a story of how Zeeshan's life is ending where his child's is (and his as a parent should have been) beginning. But within this grand scheme are the side stories, all of which provide the same lesson: You get what you give. I can not wait to see how fate (or hopefully Mariam) kicks Safia's butt! #TeamMariam

Until next time...

Bay Qasoor - Episode 7 Update

Wow! I'm on a roll with these episode 7 updates! Today, we're talking about Bay Qasoor, starring Samina Peerzada. 

Bay Qasoor is the story of Sadaf, a naik single mom that remarries to help provide her and her infant daughter with a roof over their heads. Waseem, her second husband, literally provides little more than that roof. He has a daughter from a previous marriage, Sehr, who he has spoiled rotten and she has grand dreams of marrying into money, i.e. Sadaf's daughter is the good daughter and Waseem's daughter is the bad daughter. 

Sehr marries Shreyar, a man three times her age to achieve the monetary luxuries she has always dreamt of. Daddy dearest suffers a massive heart attack due to his daughter's foolish actions. To add injury to insult, Shehreyar is Sadaf's ex-husband and Hira's dad. 

Now you know why I'm so inexplicably absorbed by this drama. Because it's gross in a train wreck you can't look away kind of way. 

Let's explore what happened this week In the most current episode...

Hira confronts her slimy dad, who promptly calls his ex-wife an adulteress and she slams out of his office to run home and confront her mom. What follows is the most uncomfortable scene of screeching and crying that I've witnessed in a long time. 

The only saving grace of the meltdown scene is this miss: Waseem's talak yaafta behn that lives with them, who overheard the commotion. This is the second drama where we see a sister from hell, being played phenomenally well by Javeria Abassi. She's lazy and greedy and she's raising her boy to be a future ghunda. She's happiest that Sehr has married Shreyar because she gets to mooch off her brother and his daughter  (Sidenote: Her ex-husband was played by Aijaz Aslam. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out why he would play such a nonexistent role...Answers, anyone?)

Sehr is living the life. And nothing anyone can say is going to bring her down. I think Aiman Khan has done a good job portraying Sehr. She's very beleiveable and her character is well developed. She knows what she wants and she's not afraid to do what she must to get it. 

I'm sorry...I'm innocent...blah blah blah... 

Hira vows to avenge her mother and then storms into Shreyar's office to scream at him i.e. The quiet and suljhee hui Hira looses her mind. Maybe it's because we haven't seen her co-worker beau in this episode...?

Shreyar isn't about to let his ex-wife or estranged daughter mess up his life - he promptly storms to Sadaf's house and enlightens everyone of their previous relationship, the one secret Sadaf was trying so vainly to keep.  

Speak of the devil (or angel in this case)... Meet Hira's Mr. Wonderful. He is - duh - perfect. Of course Hira's stupid stepdad can't see that, and he has all but rejected Babar's marriage proposal for Hira. #Jerkface

Ok. Maybe Sadaf didn't think that. Maybe it was just me. But it's worth repeating: Stepdad has lost his mind.

And with this, all the cards are now on the table. How will Sehr react? Aiman (and Javeria, who I suspect will help Aiman's character plot her next move) has done such a great job playing this spoiled - yet naive - brat, that I'm excited to see what will happen next. 

On the down side, I'm disappointed Samina Peerzada is playing such a wishy-washy role when she is capable of so much more...and the fact that Sajid Hasan and Waseem Abbas are playing the same old same old is just that - same old, same old. #Snooze

At any rate, Bay Qasoor remains my favorite guilty pleasure at the moment. And if anyone else is enjoying this drama too, don't worry - this is a judgement-free zone! *smirk smirk*

Happy watching!

Gul E Rana - Episode 7 Update

Hmmm...another lucky episode 7! Let's talk about *Drumroll* Gul E Rana!

So here's a recap of what's happening up til now in a nutshell: Gul-e-Rana is this perfect being (i.e. Cliched Pakistani drama heroine) whose loving father dies and she, her mother and younger sister, come to live with their dad's super duper rich, estranged step brother. Uncle is a nice enough guy, he genuinely cares for his brother's kids, and his sister's kids (more on that in a while). He has a wife (who either has a medical condition that makes her fragile as glass or she's scared of her own shadow, not sure which yet) and an obnoxious, ultimate bad boy, waiting to be reformed by the right woman, son (more Pakistani drama cliched characters), Adeel. Uncle also has two, money hungry, leechy sisters who have a daughter each, both fighting to win the coveted Adeel in marriage. Adeel - the ultimate dreamboat that he is - has gotten it into his head that he should marry GuleRana. And that is where we find ourselves at the beginning of the episode, Adeel telling his elder Phuppo off on how there is no way GuleRana will marry her son, Zafri. 

What I like about this drama is that the evil characters aren't as blood thirsty as we have seen them to be in the past (*cough* #MohabbatAagSi #Humsafar *cough*), for the most part they provide comic relief and make sure there is more to this drama then watching how perfect GuleRana is and what a big flirt Adeel is. Zafri is one of my favorite characters. He's a good for nothing, lazy nincompoop, and his scenes with Adeel are always amusing. 

I think the whole secretary coming to complain the boss "toyed with her emotions" bit is completely unnessary. We know Adeel is a jerk. Rana knows Adeel is a jerk. So I'm assuming this bit is just thrown in to prove to us that Rana can stand up for a cause and she has a backbone. Yay. 

Rana's younger sister is definitely the more gullible and seedhi-saadhi one. In an inexplicable way, Adeel's being 'nice' to her and her friendliness towards him, provides the false sense of security that deep-down-inside Adeel has a good guy inside of him. You know, like the Grinch. 

Auntie, I hope your tarbiat isn't about to backfire...

Stepmom's reaction to Adeel declaring he plans to marry Rana are priceless and spot on. Though, as pointed out earlier, I don't know why Farah Shah is playing such a muted character. It seems like such a waste of her talent. 

Let's talk about Rana's khala ka beta, Asher bhai. It's quite obvious that he has a thing for Rana, tu why he is getting engaged to someone else is anyone's guess. As for Rana, of course she's completely oblivious, as a shareef lardki should be. Just in case you were wondering, in my humble opinion, Imran Ashraf that shines like no other in Mohabbat Aag Si, is also wasted as the khala ka beta in this drama.  

As you can see, everyone's goofy smiles of joy were left biting the dust when Rana flat out rejected Adeel and any marriage plans to him. 

Predictably, Adeel ain't taking no for an answer. When he confronts Rana, she says no and slaps him. The look on Adeel's face post-slap was scary enough to have me quaking in my boots. 

But, lucky us, Adeel has a plan B: kidnap Rana to force her to do his bidding. Lord help us all...

Quite honestly, I think Hum TV basically banked on the star power of Feroze Khan and Sajjal Ali together for viewers to watch this drama. The drama is watchable - so far - but Adeel's aggressiveness may prove to be a deal breaker. Sajjal Ali is doing what she does second best: looking pretty and giving occasional glimpses of what her true acting capabilities are. Feroze Khan teeters dangerously between good acting and trying too hard. When he's in polished duds, he looks the part quite well. When he goes casual he becomes more trashy and less classy -- the skin tight, cap sleeve t-shirts (a size too small) need to be ditched. And set on fire. As soon as humanly possible. Just sayin.

I hope as the drama goes on, Rana can start doing her magic on Adeel and we viewers are spared endless snooze fest episodes of zulm and sitam on Rana. Also, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's reaction to Adeel's ingenious plan.

Until the next drama...