Two Shows Wind Up: Marasim & Bay Emaan Mohabbat

While one of these dramas was definitely high on my watch priority list, the other was something I watched for the cast rather than the riveting story - which is probably why I lagged behind, only to catch up on the last 3 episodes last night, not realizing the show had ended weeks ago.

Bay Emaan Mohabbat - the show definitely stayed true to its name, though ultimately, who was really the one being bay emaan in their mohabbat?  

While initially the Saba Qamar character seemed to be the vicious, scheming one, you soon realize that she's a victim of circumstance and does only what's necessary to keep her family strong.

On the other end, we have Nauman Ejaz's character, a man trapped in his marriage to a woman who was once the love of his life (Samia Mumtaz) - however, after losing her eyesight, among many other health issues, he begins to find his life with her difficult and longs for a "normal" relationship.

And lastly, we have Sania Mumtaz's character, who has become so morose in her loss of vision and so upset with the direction in which her life is heading, she begins to cling to her husband, not realizing she's pushing him away. And once she realizes his betrayal, she turns vindictive.

The positive of this show is that it took three people dealing with very different issues and brought them together.  At first, you struggle to see where Dania (Saba Qamar) fits into Nauman & Samia's world.  However, as the show unravels, you see where the story is heading.  The show has a natural progression.

The negatives of this show is also one of its positives:  natural progression.  Throughout the show, I was left wondering why some episodes even existed.  The show could've easily been condensed from 25 episodes to 20 episodes.  And then the ending came so quickly to a resolution - and while the resolution was nice, it was mildly hard to grasp after all the drama.

Anyways, the verdict on Bay Emaan Mohabbat is that it's a nice show with good acting, but there's nothing path-breaking  here, nor would I rank it as a must watch.

Then we move on to Marasim, a show which has held me riveted throughout, from beginning to end.  The cast has delivered beyond what was expected of them, as none of the leads are necessarily known for their incredible acting skills. 

Coming to the actual last episode, we see Nayyab finally on her own feet, working and independent, happy in her home.  She's no longer the stammering, mouse-like daughter-in-law or wife.  We also see her sharing a loving marriage with Dawood.  Dawood's basically on  his death bed, unknown to his family, but in his last days, he made sure to leave his family with everything they would need, including his love and their own confidence.

What really worked for this episode were the emotional moments, whether it was between Dawood & Nayyab or Dawood and Geeti Aara, each scene left you in tears.  For a wrap-up episode, everything was very nicely done.

Pros:  The cast all did a great job, namely Ahsan Khan, Urwa Hocane and Saba Hameed.  You really felt for what each of their characters were going through and what their insecurities and weak points were.  The storyline was definitely something different and didn't feel ghissi-pitti at all.  It was a new angle to the saas-bahu fights.  Kudos to the writers.

Cons:  Considering Momina was such an integral part of Dawood's life, it was odd that ALL we saw of her in the last episode was Dawood's vision of her smiling at him.  What I Do feel is a con is that this show never had any clear direction.  The ending angle felt like almost an entirely different show.  We start with a love triangle and end with a death angle  It was odd.  Not entirely negative, but definitely disjointed.

The overall verdict is that Marasim is definitely one of the better shows this year and I would whole-heartedly recommend it.

I'm really looking forward to the forthcoming new batch of shows, because I do feel the drama scene is going through an uninteresting, sluggish period.  Here's to hoping shows like Sila, Jackson Heights, Alvida, Daraar and Shanakht pick up the slack!

Happy watching!