Khuda Dekh Raha Hei & Ishq Parast - When Dramas Become Your Worst Nightmares

Apparently, if you stop watching a drama for a week (or two...possibly three...#NoJudgingHere), all hell breaks loose and the whole drama starts going down the drain. Point in case: Khuda Dekh Raha Hei and Ishq Parast. These two dramas started out strong and different and enjoyable. Now they are just different, and not in a complimentary way.  So I'm having to do yet another review on them (1) To blow off some steam, and (2) To clarify the change of ratings.

Let's start with Khuda Dekh Raha Hei. 

The educated and righteous Zoya gets married off to the alcoholic, womanizing Adnan. He hates her conservatism so much that he says the t-word (you know talaaq) to her daily. Once it even happened in front of his entire family. However, his dad has declared Zoya as the CEO of a fake charity organization and with a multi-million rupee paycheck coming in with her name on it, the family can't afford to let Zoya leave. So they pay off a Molvi, lie to Zoya's family, and Khalda begum (who does istikharas for a living) ignores all the bad dreams she's been having and declares her daughter a lier and sends her back to the susraal. Poor Zoya is living in purgatory. Her husband divorces her daily, and then carries on with his husbandly rights. 

Yep. Now you know what I mean when I said 'all hell breaks loose.' Who comes up with these ridiculous story lines? These disgusting story lines? Fine. Show her being abused by the family, maybe some zulm from the husband - I mean it's ridiculous but a husband slapping his wife is tame compared to this bakwas we are being shown. 

And Sajal Ali - she started out so great in this drama. After Chup Raho, I was like 'Yay! She's back!' But nope. She went from a strong girl who knows her mind to this hallow-eyed door mat. I think the Zoya from the first three episodes would've fought tooth and nail to get justice, fought against this pathetic excuse of a husband and the cheating inlaws. Even the best friend, who knows what is going on, comes to Zoya's house, chit chats for a few minutes, and leaves. WHAT? Worst BFF EVER. 

If you need further proof, here's what happens in the opening of this weeks episode: Zoya goes with the family to a function in honor of the charity she is 'CEO' of. There, the love of her life Junaid, makes his debut come back to music. After the concert Zoya refuses to take a picture with Adnan and Junaid. Adnan slaps and divorces her in front of everyone. The press captures it and starts airing the clip. Zoya's dad calls Adnan's dad in a panic and this happens...

(Luckily, daddy dearest changes his mind and turns up at Zoya's susraal, catching Adnan in the act of beating her and ends up saving Zoya.)

Oh and if you need yet another reason to drop this drama like a dud, it's the entry of this madam from Mein Bushra...

And she's doomed to be the jilted bride once more. But then again, this drama is written by an idiot, so maybe Zoya's life will never be righted and Junaid will marry Sana and no one will live happily ever after. 

Moving on to Ishq Parast...

Dua was conned by her parents into marrying Zohaib. She fights with them, then falls in love with her husband and makes up with them. Meanwhile, Hamza comes back and doesn't take Dua's rejection well. He swears to wreak all kind of havoc in her life as revenge. As step one, he stalks and proposes to Ursala and has managed to, somehow, convince his in-laws to be that he should live with them after they are married. But that's not the 'all hell breaks loose' part. 

A rational person, who has her husband's love and knows how much he loves his sister, would tell her husband the truth about his sister's suitor: he is a stalker and conning them all to get back at Dua. Is Dua a rational person? Only until episode 10. Maybe 11. So she is saying *drumroll* NOTHING. Even when her BFF and then Hamza's best bud find out - do they tell Dua to confess all to Zohaib to save Ursala's life? Nope. 

So Hamza gets married to Ursala and doesn't waste a single opportunity to stalk Dua or make pointed remarks at her. Zohaib can tell Dua doesn't like Hamza, but he doesn't do anything to find out why. Zohaib even gives Hamza a job at his office. Hamza tells Dua's dad he is the same boy they rejected and how he plans to make Dua's life miserable. 

But that's not the 'all hell breaks loose' part! Yup. You heard me. 

All hell breaks loose when Hamza runs Zohaib over - not enough to kill him, but enough to get him admitted to the hospital. And while Khala and Ursala are at the hospital tending to Zohaib, Hamza goes home and - get ready to be appalled and disgusted - rapes Dua. 

I mean...where do I even start? I feel disgusting just reviewing this. What is wrong with the writers, directors, actors, production houses and channels? Is it really necessary to show such incredible extremes? It's not shocking for audiences. It's not entertaining. It's disgusting and, in my humble opinion, airing these bizarre twists works to desensitize society towards such extreme behavior. 

And that, friends, is how two dramas that started out with such great potential lost all rhyme and reason and my viewership. What a disappointment. I feel like I need to go watch an episode of Full House or Sesame Street just to reset my eyes and mind. 

At this point, I feel like I've lost faith in happy endings for any of the dramas I'm watching. 

What an absolutely depressing sign off for a post...

Ishq Parast - Update at Episode 10

I've had a couple of people ask me about this drama, so I decided to do a update on it. I really like this drama. It has an easy-going storyline (which in the beginning kind of reminded me of Dhardkan,  the Bollywood flick with Suniel Shetty and Akshay Khanna), and the characters are well developed and likeable. So, I'm just going to give you a quick up-to-date on each character and what's going on with them up until now...

This is our hero - Zohaib. He fell in love with the heroine (Dua) at first sight and thanks to a great sister and Dua's parents, he manages to marry her too. Unfortunately, shadi ki raath he, Dua decides to tell him she has married him against her will and is in love with someone else. But Mr. Perfect is undaunted. He thinks he can win Dua over. So they pretend to be happily married in front of his family and he takes her on their honeymoon, where he proceeds to stay in a separate room. She also asks him for a khulla on her honeymoon, and he refuses. He tells Dua her izzat is more important to him and that if she wants to get separated from him, he will divorce her on grounds of something that will prove to the world that she is Ms. Sati Savitri. 

This is Ursala. Her brother (Mr. Perfect) has raised her as his own since they lost their parents at a young age. She is quite spoiled but loves her brother unconditionally. You would think she would be causing all kinds of rifts between her brother and sister-in-law, instead she gives her brother advice on how to romance and make up with his wife (who she thinks he has had a tiff with). Her conversations with their Khala are hilarious.

Reacquaint yourself with Dua. She was in love with her college fellow and to make him a more attractive proposal, encouraged him to apply for a job in Islamabad (or Pindi...basically out of their hometown). The second he leaves, Zohaib ke rishtay ki entry and Dua gets deceived into marrying him by her parents. She tells him she can't be a wife to him because she's in love with someone else on their wedding night. However, she is slowly, yet surely, comparing the two men in her life and I think she understands on a subconscious level, that she got the better guy. 

Ahhh. Let's talk about the parents. Pasha Sahab from day one is in hero's camp. He knows this is a great rishta for his daughter. When Dua insists she won't marry him, Pasha Sahab fakes a heart attack (supposedly brought on by the stress of Dua's refusal). Hence, Dua says yes to the wedding. Shortly after she finds out how she was fooled by her parents (poor mom's pronounced guilty by association). She isn't exactly on the best of terms with them. Pasha Sahab, however, has no regrets and feels reassured he picked the right man for Dua. 

This is Hamza - the jilted boyfriend. Hamza comes with a lot of emotional baggage: divorced parents, step-parents that didn't let his biological parents  keep him...He feels his only real  relationship was with Dua. With her marrying someone else, Hamza is pretty much going bonkers. He follows her to her honeymoon and forces her to hand Zohaib the khulla papers. He is stalking her in malls. Basically, he described his emotional turmoil best: If he can't be happy, no one can be happy.

 

This is the guy that should win the Best Friend of the Year award. Asad is Hamza's best friend and his voice of reason, even though, unfortunately, nothing seems to be getting through to Hamza. Asad understands his bestie got dealt a bad hand and that his life sucks with Dua gone, but he also understands where Dua is coming from. I'm glad to see a supporting character providing a positive influence....or trying to...

Unfortunately, the same can not be said for Dua's friend who has done nothing but aid and abet Hamza on his psycho-stalker path. She's the one who told him where they were honeymooning. #GreatGoing

Episode 10 ends on this note: Dua looking torn and Zohaib looking miserable. Dua fakes a headache to get out of the lawyer appointment and Zohaib goes and brings the divorce papers home, only to deliberately spill coffee on them to gain another day with Dua. Nothing over the top needed, hats off to the director and the actors for making us fall in love with these two and feeling for their situation. 

I hope I did a good job of whetting your apetites...the new episode should air today and maybe you will all be tuning in with me too...? 

Ishq Parast - Episode 1

I'm not quite sure why  I was looking forward to this drama. I guess it's because I liked the chemistry Jibran Syed and Armeena Khan had in Mohabat Ab Nahi Hogi and because the story isn't about a dosari biwi or an unnnecessarily rhoti dhoti aurath. It looks like two couples whose lives will be intertwined and provide us with some good drama as they sort themselves out. So, I'm giving this a try.

Since this is a first episode, there is bound to be a lot of introduction to the characters and setting of the scenes. So, let's meet these characters...

Inse mileaye - the wise-ass, no-good, 'hero'. You know, the type that's so full of themselves you dislike them from the second they appear on screen. Yup. That's this guy.

The loser is in some kind of a romantic alliance with the studious chick of the school. Cos that  totally happens. 

Of course, this relationship could only be more complicated by providing the heroine with this  guy as a dad - who didn't learn much from Mein Bushra cos he still seems to be a stingy, taana giving parent. #HowOriginal

Enter jori #2. Indulgent, older brother with his pampered, sassy (Urdu mein badtameez) sister...who is on a mission to recruit a bhabi. No matter what it takes....even if she has to proposition random women standing at bus stops.

And apparently, in this warped drama universe, the younger sister can interrupt important meetings and tell her brother and attendees off. Professional office hei ya mazaak?

Meanwhile, at the Dua household (Dua = heroine), dad is gripping about the salt in the food, at which Dua giggles and calls her dad cute. Honestly, I'm a little appalled because it feels more like unnecessary verbal abuse of the mom. So why is Dua giggling?

So Ursula (...coincidence that she's named after the sea-witch in the Little Mermaid? Hmmmm...) and her brother live with a well-meaning aunt. 

This scene - Jibran's expressions were hilarious.

Hamza (aka the hero) has a lot of mommy-daddy issues it seems. Both of his biological parents are remarried and he has spent his life not welcome in either homes. From our introduction to his mom and stepdad, it looks like his mom is barely welcome in her home as it is. 

These mommy-daddy issues have led Hamza to rely heavily on his relationship with Dua, which really puts an interesting twist on this relationship. Hamza also has some anger management issues...

*Sigh* We all know she just signed the death warrant for this relationship by saying that, don't we?

...wait. Did I say 'anger management' issues? I meant anger management and obsessive possessive issues too...

Dua's mom knows how her husband is, and seems to take his ranting and raving in her stride. However, she has declared she will only marry her daughter to a guy that doesn't get angry.

FYI: Hamza does NOT meet this criteria by a long shot. 

And lastly, if we needed any proof that Dua and her family are firmly middle class, we have Aba Ji counting his coins. #Overkill

Overall, I got what I expected from the first episode and I will probably be watching this drama. The characters are well etched out (even if Ursula and Hamza a little OTT), and I wouldn't want to go anywhere near another drama that shouts dosari biwi.

Happy watching!