Two Shows, Two Winners - Ali Ki Ami & Guzarish

Two shows just came to an end, two shows that I watched with a lot of anticipation each week.  And two great shows they were! 

Guzaarish

Guzaarish was a show that I had zero expectations from.  Affan Waheed, despite being a favorite, has not had a good track record with dramas of late, so I mentally tend to write off shows once I see his name in the cast - though his name is why I still watch it despite that. Haha.

However, what a surprise and what a gem this show was!  While the show focuses on lost love, it did not shy away from the reality of life - relationships develop, evolve and grow, as do human beings.  Human beings are not set in stone; they can change, attitudes can change, love can change, harsh beliefs can change.....and, in some cases,  sometimes life can just come full circle.  This is the real basis of Guzaarish and it was presented just brilliantly.

Aly Khan as Jaffar was perfect - it was also nice to see him in a positive role while also acting in Pakeeza. Jaffar redeemed himself ten fold from the first couple of episodes, transforming into the best, strongest, most sincere male character on the show.  What was most refreshing about his character (and the writing) was that despite Jaffar going out of his way to help Zaara, not even for a moment did a romantic angle come into play.  "Jaffar Bhai" remained Jaffar BHAI.  That's very unusual for a Pakistani drama and it was great to see that another male love interest was not forced upon Zaara and the audience.  His character was the highlight of the show for me.

Yumna Zaidi is fast becoming a favorite.  From her artsy character in Ullu Baraaye, her conniving one in Mausam, her silly one in Jugnu, her sincere one in Guzaarish and her angelic one in Zara Yaad Kar, she's proving to be the most experimental actress currently on Pakistani television and is such a treat to watch! It's a shame that all the "big" shows go to talentless actresses like Maya Ali when brilliant ones like Yumna are around.  As Zara, Yumna steals your heart.  Once burned, she plays a woman tired of having her life torn apart by love.  She loved Zain with all her heart, but desires to leave that past in the past and move forward with Saad, a desire proving to be more difficult than necessary.

And then we have Zain, played by the sweet Ahmed Ali.  Zain is your adorable anti-hero.  He's not a villain.  In fact, the chaotic, messed up situation that occurs is not his fault at all, but he's the one who gets burned (emotionally) the most.  Unable to love anyone other than Zara, he stumbles through life not able to move forward, because he can't let go.  This is one of Ahmed Ali's best performances and he's really growing as an actor.

The rest of the cast was effective. As expected, Affan's role was the weakest of the roles - how many times can you see "sincere turned shakki"?  But regardless, he got the job done. As a fan, I wish he would wise up and take some challenging roles.  Maha Warsi did a great job as the confused Hina. Hina desires to be with the one she loves, with  Zain....but at what cost? Is it worth it to be with a loved one who can't let go of the past?  Maha made it easy to love Hina, because she was so REAL.  There wasn't a villainous streak in her.

The scene between Zaara & Hina was so beautiful.  Watching Zaara convince Hina that she was not a threat to her relationship with Zain and telling her that her love would ultimately win Zain over brought tears to my eyes.  In this musical chairs of love interests, it was natural to see that Zaara was unwavering in her stance towards Saad - her husband, the only man her loyalty stood with.  

After a long time, I felt that there was a quiet beauty and simplicity in a show.  This show struck me the way "Shab E Arzoo Ka Alam" once did - starting off loud and filmy, but slowly creating a path into my heart with the classy, graceful fallout.  

Highly recommended. I will miss this show a lot.

Ali Ki Ami

I avoid Geo shows like the plague, but something about this show pulled me in. I had mixed emotions throughout the airing of this show.  What was the point? Was Ali wrong?  Was his Ami right to put so much pressure on a young kid because of her life choices?  Kids don't ask to be brought into the world.  Parents make that decision.  So why should the child deal with the burden of living instead of enjoying their life and receiving love in return?

With each episode, my irritation towards Mariam grew.  Let the kid play!  He spends all his life studying! Let the kid love! Why can't he choose his own wife? Let the kid hate his father!  Why can't he decide how he feels? Mariam and her cronies were too rough on Ali for my liking. It's the JOB of a mother to raise her child.  A child should appreciate what his mother went through, but that doesn't mean the child should grow up and surrender his life to his mother and not be able to make any decisions for himself!

On the other end, Sadia and Nadir constantly went against Sobia.  Yes, Sobia was terrible, but did Nadir EVER apoligize for ruining her life? Did he ever accept that he was a jerk who ruined many lives with his actions?  No! He created the whole situation and conveniently called Sobia crazy (which she was, but by his doing).  

I'm ranting a lot. You must be wondering why I would call this show a winner?  Because all these thoughts were addressed in the last two episodes.  Nadir "got his" and we were treated to a beautiful scene between Ali and his friend with Ali finally expressing his feelings, your classic "too little too late."  

In the last episode though, we saw REAL progress.  The final ten minutes brought the whole show together.  Ali made his own life, Mariam made a real life for herself and these two lives were finally able to come together to co-exist.  "Ali ki ami" finally realized lives can't be dictated and made peace with herself. 

And THAT, my friends, was the beauty of Ali Ki Ami.  Turbulent, but ultimately peaceful.  So much credit goes to the two actors who carried this show.  Samiya Mumtaz, who was absolutely perfect as Mariam, brought me to tears several times with her quiet dignity, her commitment to raising her son her way and on her own terms.  But even more of a revelation was newcomer Asim Mehmood as Ali.  What a performance!  Immediately likable after the leap, Asim WAS Ali, a youth torn by his love for his mother and the feeling of being stifled by her demeanor.  He deserves applause for holding his own next to Samiya Mumtaz.

I would also recommend Ali Ki Ami.  It's a beautiful show with a lot of realistic emotions.

With that, two shows come to a close.  Let's see what replaces them.  Happy watching!