I know, I know, I know. I'm definitely a slacker these days and I not only apologize, but applaud you all for putting up with me. Haha. I promise to consciously make an effort to improve!
I was incredibly excited to watch the first episode of Goya this week! However, I will write up my review in a couple of days rather than group it with this blog, as it deserves some attention. Before I can give it the needed attention, I definitely need to discuss two shows that concluded.
This week, two of my shows finally came to an end. Whether those endings were well-written, well thought-out endings or not, that's what we will discuss.
Let's begin with Soteli.
The essential premise of this show was endearing: A little boy loses his overtly loving mother at a young age and lives his life in the shadow of that love, feeling rejected by his own father, mistreated by his stepmother and neglected due to his step-sister. Interesting. The performances by the little boy who played Milkoo was great! Then, the story took a leap.
Unfortunately, where the story should have taken a turn and leaped bounds, the show moved in the opposite direction. Rather than seeing how (naturally) Milkoo's relationship with his stepmother progressed, how she turned his father against him and how Phupo protected him, we were treated to........two love stories.
Mishaal's love story was blocked by her own mother, for reasons beyond anyone's understanding. But then she changes her mind. OK, let's blame it all on a tumor. Was this tumor there from the beginning? Is this why Ayesha Khan's character was so horrible to Milkoo? And if that's the case, how would a tumor grow SO slowly as to being treatable?
Now if the tumor was NOT the excuse for her bad behavior, why did she have such a huge change of heart? Milkoo always cared for her, respected her and treated her like a part of the family. Did a few dreams simply change her mind entirely? And if that's the case.....how silly.
We see that Ayesha's character discovers the box of Milkoo's letters. She breaks down after reading them. But again, why such a huge change of heart? Was she unaware of all the things she did? Of course not. She knew. The wrap-up was simply too convenient for my tastes.
And lastly, we come to the final "Put in place" moment: The wrapping up of Milkoo's love story. Oh my goodness, and what a love story! The writer took a page from "Mujhse Dosti Karoge" for this final scene, almost ridiculously so. Why couldn't a logical discussion have taken place between the friends rather than the dramatic scene? Or was the love triangle necessary at all? In my opinion, it did nothing to serve the actual story, which was a nice one. Rather, it distracted entirely from the original story getting the attention it deserved.
To wrap up, Soteli was a show with good direction, good emotional content and great acting. But unfortunately it failed to capture my interest after the leap due to throwing in too many sub-plots. Yet another drama knocked off my shortening list of shows!
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And now let's move on to the "blockbuster" drama of this year, Bashar Momin.
I can't explain my thoughts towards this show. I honestly can't even explain why I watched this show from beginning to end without giving it up. My views towards this show have been blatantly clear in my blogs about it: The show was generally an over-stylized, dragged-out, prolonged story of a thoroughly bad man who destroyed lives and used his power (and money) to dictate the lives of others.
It was only in the last two episodes that we began to see where Bashar "came from." What was his past? What caused him to behave this way? What made him so hateful? In fact, the last two episodes may have been the most interesting ones and one is left wondering why the writers and director didn't focus MORE on the back-story, Bashar's true emotions, his scars, trials and tribulations? Instead, we were treated to 28 episodes of smoke-filled rooms, blue tinges, Faisal Qureshi's barking, Usha's timid expressions and Maheen's crooked smiles.
We also find out that Bashar's servants were sent home before the raid, because Bashar cares SO MUCH about his servants and their well-being. As an audience, we are supposed to forget how badly he treated these servants previously.
We are also treated to the world's most awkward family reunion!
It was also nice to see Aadil give Saira and Tayyaba a much needed dose of reality - not only about their misdeeds, but their overall bad attitudes. To hear Aadil tell Saira how "Full of herself" she is was the best moment of this show. On the down-side, Saira's apology and acceptance of Rudaba was completely hurried and very unnatural. Women like Saira do not accept their flaws that quickly.
I was incredibly excited to watch the first episode of Goya this week! However, I will write up my review in a couple of days rather than group it with this blog, as it deserves some attention. Before I can give it the needed attention, I definitely need to discuss two shows that concluded.
This week, two of my shows finally came to an end. Whether those endings were well-written, well thought-out endings or not, that's what we will discuss.
Let's begin with Soteli.
The essential premise of this show was endearing: A little boy loses his overtly loving mother at a young age and lives his life in the shadow of that love, feeling rejected by his own father, mistreated by his stepmother and neglected due to his step-sister. Interesting. The performances by the little boy who played Milkoo was great! Then, the story took a leap.
Unfortunately, where the story should have taken a turn and leaped bounds, the show moved in the opposite direction. Rather than seeing how (naturally) Milkoo's relationship with his stepmother progressed, how she turned his father against him and how Phupo protected him, we were treated to........two love stories.
Mishaal's love story was blocked by her own mother, for reasons beyond anyone's understanding. But then she changes her mind. OK, let's blame it all on a tumor. Was this tumor there from the beginning? Is this why Ayesha Khan's character was so horrible to Milkoo? And if that's the case, how would a tumor grow SO slowly as to being treatable?
Now if the tumor was NOT the excuse for her bad behavior, why did she have such a huge change of heart? Milkoo always cared for her, respected her and treated her like a part of the family. Did a few dreams simply change her mind entirely? And if that's the case.....how silly.
We see that Ayesha's character discovers the box of Milkoo's letters. She breaks down after reading them. But again, why such a huge change of heart? Was she unaware of all the things she did? Of course not. She knew. The wrap-up was simply too convenient for my tastes.
And lastly, we come to the final "Put in place" moment: The wrapping up of Milkoo's love story. Oh my goodness, and what a love story! The writer took a page from "Mujhse Dosti Karoge" for this final scene, almost ridiculously so. Why couldn't a logical discussion have taken place between the friends rather than the dramatic scene? Or was the love triangle necessary at all? In my opinion, it did nothing to serve the actual story, which was a nice one. Rather, it distracted entirely from the original story getting the attention it deserved.
To wrap up, Soteli was a show with good direction, good emotional content and great acting. But unfortunately it failed to capture my interest after the leap due to throwing in too many sub-plots. Yet another drama knocked off my shortening list of shows!
---------
And now let's move on to the "blockbuster" drama of this year, Bashar Momin.
I can't explain my thoughts towards this show. I honestly can't even explain why I watched this show from beginning to end without giving it up. My views towards this show have been blatantly clear in my blogs about it: The show was generally an over-stylized, dragged-out, prolonged story of a thoroughly bad man who destroyed lives and used his power (and money) to dictate the lives of others.
It was only in the last two episodes that we began to see where Bashar "came from." What was his past? What caused him to behave this way? What made him so hateful? In fact, the last two episodes may have been the most interesting ones and one is left wondering why the writers and director didn't focus MORE on the back-story, Bashar's true emotions, his scars, trials and tribulations? Instead, we were treated to 28 episodes of smoke-filled rooms, blue tinges, Faisal Qureshi's barking, Usha's timid expressions and Maheen's crooked smiles.
The episode began with Rudaba meeting Bashar in jail, the two finally connecting and declaring their love and respect for each other. What? Why? How? I don't know. Don't even bother asking those questions, because it won't make sense any way you spin it. When Bashar handed Rudaba that glass of juice, my insides churned and I wondered "HOW can she trust him AT ALL?" But that logic is not for you and I to understand. It's LOVE. Forget that this love has transpired and materialized out of nowhere.
We then witness a (useless) scene between Bashar and his "friends" (rivals) where he persuades them to let him go that day rather than the next, because his wife gets scared alone. The sole purpose of this scene was to show that "Bashar Bhai still has it." That's it. And of course, Bashar Bhai gets his way and comes home to a waiting Rudaba. Yay? Sure.
We are also treated to the world's most awkward family reunion!
Saira basically taunts Rudaba for not looking in on Saira and Tayyaba while Bashar was in jail, leaving them in "buray haalaat." She also taunts Bashar for being a doormat to his wife. If there was ANY scene in this show worth watching, it was THIS scene, because we finally got to see Saira bearing the brunt of Bashar's anger for her bad behavior. Bashar's anger when Saira accuses Rudaba of STILL leading Buland on was actually something that was necessary for this show. Both Saira and Tayyaba needed to hear that they were responsible for their own life situations, regardless of the hand Bashar played! Adil's SMIRK at Saira's pain was simply the icing on the cake, as we have all seen his treatment at the hands of this family.
In all the chaos, Tayyaba goes into labor and gives birth to Buland's child (who is completely missing in action).
The heart-to-heart between Bashar and Buland was actually refreshing to watch, because it tied up all the loose ends and emotions of the show perfectly. Bashar's plea to Buland to accept Tayyaba and her child for the sake of society was so beautiful to see, as he didn't want another Bashar to be created.
The show ended happily with practically all problems being resolved and tied up. The last episode actually provided the viewer with quality content. If anything, this made it glaringly obvious that the rest of the show had been lacking entirely in this aspect! One is left wondering why such quality content and writing was lacking in the other 30 episodes!
Regardless, it was nice to see an otherwise mediocre show pick up and right its wrongs in the last episode. Bashar Momin was an eyesore throughout for me, due to lack of emotions and content, but ended up being a beautiful, well-written last episode that ALMOST wiped out the negative thoughts I had of the show.
Alright, so now we can retire Bashar Momin and Soteli after their prolonged runs. Here's looking forward and hoping to add more good shows to the roster!
Happy watching!
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