Negativity of Convenience

I'm having a hard time keeping up with my shorter-than-usual list of 15 dramas that I'm watching these days.  Unfortunately, with the exception of Mere Humdum Mere Dost, Marasim, Pyaray Afzal, Aahista Aahista and Laa, I'm struggling to maintain an interest in the rest.

So that said, I have NOT caught up on the remaining 10 dramas in the last 2 weeks.  I do apologize for the lag in updates for other dramas.  I can't be blamed for some of them though, because due to the Geo shut down, obviously shows like Bashar Momin, Laadon Mein Palli, etc. aren't being aired anyway.  But I apologize regardless!  =)  Hopefully in this next week, I will be able to catch up.

Coming back to the point of this post, after watching this week's episodes of the 5 that have been maintaining my interest, I've been left with a similar feeling after each episode:  characters are turned negative just to conveniently fit the way the writers want the story to go.  

In Mere Humdum Mere Dost, we suddenly see Mazhar (Junaid Khan) at his negative worst.  We are presented an entirely new face in the latest episode (episode 10), where it's revealed that Mazhar's still-first-wife Saima has given birth to a baby boy in Pakistan and he's been using Sajeela for her money, as well as lying about the divorce.  We're also made aware that Sajeela's marriage to Haider was all part of Mazhar's grand plan from the beginning.  For me personally, this seems like a twist of convenience, as up until now, we were made to believe that their relationship had at least started off  as genuine.  We also randomly see Aiman (Sanam Jung) suddenly begin to snap at Haider, her attitude blatantly rude and insulting.  Of course, the attitude change only lasts for the episode, but honestly, what was the purpose of all that nonsense?  

In Marasim, we see Momina (Sonya Hussain) and Dawood (Ahsan Khan) re-bonding while spending time with Abdullah and Deeba.  This is an interestingly annoying turn of events, considering Dawood was the one who told Nayyab (Urwa Hocane) that he wanted to have a relationship and she had given birth to his son.  We also see Dawood and Momina shamelessly making eyes at each other at Abdullah & Deeba's wedding right in front of Nayyab and also see Momina hesitantly speaking to her mother and husband on the phone while continuing to make eyes at Dawood.  I'm not sure what sort of "realism" we're being presented with here, but it's disturbing.  After at least two years of marriage, we're supposed to stomach that these two are still experiencing such a disconnect with their (very nice) spouses?  What disgusted me even more were the scenes showing Geeti Ara and Deeba insulting Nayyab to Momina right in front of Nayyab and watching Momina listen with a smile.  It's hard to root for a girl's happiness (Momina) when she refuses to stay out of another woman's marriage.  In the upcoming episode, we're shown a preview of Dawood's complete 180, saying he'd like to leave Nayyab and would like her to start distancing herself from their son in order to make the separation painless.  WHAT. ON. EARTH?  We're also shown many parenting bloopers by Nayyab, deeming her a "irresponsible" mother.  Why?  I'm not sure what role these conveniently new character traits play, but they are grating on my nerves.  With this new turn of events, I'm feeling less excited about the show and more annoyed.  Yet another example of writing characters to go against their past personality.

And then we come to Aahista Aahista, where we see Zawaar turn into an obviously agitated man with not only Soffee, his wife in the US, but horribly so with Hayaa, his wife in Pakistan.  A man who was, in the last three episodes, a very nice man has slowly been written to be very little short of a jerk.  You're found wishing that ultimately both women leave this coward - and it's only been 4 episodes!

Laa does not fall into this category so far, fortunately and is progressing nicely.  At this point, there's still little to write about the show, as it's still in its starting stages.  Sabreen Hisbani has finally made her appearance, though it remains to be seen what part she plays in the story.  Sadia Khan's acting still leaves a lot to be desired, but I definitely feel that she may improve now that she will no longer be required to play "hyper and happy."  The adoption angle, though realistic, is leaving me feeling very sad for Daniyal's (Mekaal) parents.  Let's wait and see how this one progresses.  =)

That's all for now.  Hopefully my next post will be sooner than later and about a show other than this usual list I've been working with.  Haha.  Happy watching!