Shak - Episode 16

I love this drama.  I love these characters.  I love the realistic plot.  There is nothing in this show that strikes you as "This is so over the top" or "This could never happen."  It's EXACTLY as Nabeel Shaukat sings in the OST:  "Agar shak dil mein aa jaaye, bharosay toot jaate hain."  And when you lose that ability to trust, your entire relationship goes down the drain.

Watching Ehtasham and Sehrish this week, I found myself exclaiming "Stupid Sehrish!  If I were your husband, I would never look at your face again!"  Sehrish is not a bad person - in fact, she was a very sweet person; however, her own problems, her mistrust of Ehtasham and her ability to be influenced by Maham has turned her into a person her husband no longer recognizes.  To see this perfect couple end up in such a pitiful state is almost heartbreaking to watch.....except that you hate Sehrish right along with Ehtasham.

On the other end, we see Ali desperately trying to salvage the remnants of his life - his mother and his child.  He can't take care of them as Sania had and he realizes he has little patience for either of their antics.  In a moment of defeat, he finally realizes that Rumi is better off with his mother.  Of course, the audience also realizes that he's not a great man - a part of him does it to spite Sania.  And we're then witness to the most heart-wrenching scene of the episode:  Ali's abandonment of his own mother.  I cried buckets during this scene.  I have to give kudos to Badar Khalil for being one of the finest actresses in Pakistan.  Her acting made me hate this old woman and want to hug her at the same time.

And of course, our greatest victim in it all - Sania.  Sania has suffered the most in this entire scenario and continues to suffer.  Despite being innocent, she is viewed almost as a criminal from all ends, barring Ehtasham.  The one rainbow in this entire mess is that Sania finally got her son back.

Shak has proved to be the best show on air over the last few months and continues to be the best.  It needs to be commended for being consistently interesting each episode.  This show started off light and natural and has slowly progressed over the weeks into a heavier, hard-hitting storyline.  Yasir Nawaz has to be given praise as a director - he's always been associated with quality work.  And of course, the cast's natural chemistry has made this show a winner all the way.  Adeel Husain, Sanam Saeed, Ayesha Khan, Jibran Syed, Badar Khalil and Shamim Hilali make this ensemble cast one worth waiting for each week.

With the chaos that is now Shak, I am left wondering "How can this end well?"