And More Endings......Bunty I Love You, Rukhsar and Mera Raqeeb.

Bunty I Love You

Technically, this deserves a blog post on its own.  I have been blown away by this drama in the last few weeks, as it told a very compelling story of love and desire in a very odd, possessive, twisted way.  While the show had a slow start, it boasted of great performances from Saba Qamar, Abid Ali and Noman Habib, which is what kept the viewers interested.  By episode 15, I found myself unable to tear my eyes away from each scene.  By the time the last episode rolled around, my heart was in my throat as I anxiously awaited the ending.  That's what made Bunty I Love You an incredible watch - the viewer had no idea how the story would end.  Would Mrs. Patel finally get the happy ending she felt was ripped away from her at a young age?  Would Bunty finally realize he was wasting his life chasing girl after girl?  Would Bunty accept Mrs. Patel as his companion in life?  Would Mrs. Patel learn to trust Bunty?  Or would Bunty be set free to meet other young women his age?  Would the ending be tragic or happy?  The questions were relentless in my mind, as the writers did a fabulous job of keeping the audience on their toes.

Ultimately, what transpired was not only shocking, but also incredible as it fit perfectly with the psyche of Mrs. Patel and mirrored everything she'd gone through in her own life.  I'll avoid discussing the ending for those who may pick it up now.

What I can say is that the performance of Saba Qamar is what kept this drama high on my must-watch list week after week.  When I first started this show, I found it odd, unrealistic and just downright "kooky."  But once I absorbed myself into Mrs. Patel's world, I found myself sympathizing with all the characters involved - but mainly Mrs. Patel, played so beautifully by Saba Qamar.  She displayed Mrs. Patel's weaknesses, strengths, ego, dreams, desires all so beautifully that when she laughed, I laughed and when she cried, I cried.  While Mrs. Patel was a complex character, full of as much negative as positive and the audience was well-aware of her dark side, she still came across as likable.  Such was the power of Saba Qamar's performance.  Take a bow.

Abid Ali played Mr. Patel as he should have been - mysterious and Mrs. Patel's conscience.  After leaving the world, he was still present in Mrs. Patel's world, whether chalked up to bitterness or showing that he had a positive influence on her life (regardless of her opinion).  And Abid Ali played this role with a lot of sincerity.

Noman Habib is a rising star.  He played Bunty to the point of making Bunty feel like a real person - he went from being a street-wise yet naive boy to becoming a more jaded, fickle, arrogant man and Noman played that transition flawlessly.

As a whole, I think Bunty I Love You was a great experience as far as dramas go.  The team dared to do something different, which made it stand out from the other typical stories on air.  Do yourself a favor and if you haven't watched this drama, watch it.  This goes down as one of the best shows so far this year (for me personally).

Rukhsar

Now let's talk about this disappointment of a show.  What started as a promising concept for a show quickly started to tailspin down the drain.  There's something highly unlikable about characters that are "goody goody" on the outside and spew judgmental lines on the other end.  Such was the case of Rukhsar and company.

Case in point being the character of Rida.  She's portrayed as this "sweet and innocent beemar girl with a heart of gold" (cuz you know, she has a hole in it).  Yet she's constantly spewing nonsense like "Rukhsar Baji, aap ko yeh nahin lagta ke Ammar Bhai ke saath yeh sab kuch is liye ho raha hai kyun ke unhon ne aap ke saath ghalat kiya tha?"  And Rukhsar's reply?  "Aisa nahin kehtay, Rida."  This girl had problems - heartless and equally as bad as Ammar's entire family.  Even while Rukhsar was married to Ammar, all Rida ever did was "kaan bhar" people about Ammar, how bad he was, how he's not good enough for Rukhsar, etc.  This is the perfect example of an evil person being potrayed as being good.  No, writers, NO.

Whether it was Rukhsar, Rida, Rukhsar's mother, Faizi, or Zaheer, these people were all portrayed as "good," while having shades of complete grey.

That aside, I did not like Ammar's outcome.  Nor did I ever feel that Zaheer & Rukhsar's relationship was sincere.  It all felt very forced and unnatural.

Going on to performances, there isn't one performance to praise in this drama.  Sumbul did a good enough job, but her character was too goody two-shoes to warrant a good performance.  Imran Aslam was wasted entirely - I wasn't sure what he was even doing on this show.  Agha Ali gave a decent enough performance, while Ushna Shah was irritating throughout.  The rest were not worth a mention.

The highlight of Rukhsar?  Getting to see Sana Khan's beautiful face for the last time, as well as her pairing with Babar Khan.

Mera Raqeeb

This is a show I don't even have a desire to write a review for.  So much potential, such a great cast and such  pathetic final few episodes.  I don't want to review this.  I'm glad one couple sorted out their lives, but on the other end was chaos.  Stay away from this drama.  It was a lot of heartbreak, a lot of crying and a lot of misery for nothing.

That's all for now!  A line of new shows have made their way onto my list, replacing those ending.  I'll have to compile a new list soon!  Happy watching!

Mohabbat Subh Ka Sitara Hai - Closing Remarks

I know - I haven't been writing lately.  Unfortunately, the current crop of dramas have failed to hold my interest and while I'm still watching 15 + of them, very few inspire me to write.  But I do feel MSKSH deserved some closing remarks after the finale.

This show started off slowly, but progressively got better and better.  The love story between Nabeel & Rumaisa won hearts - at least it won mine.  Nabeel played an ideal husband, Rumaisa his loving wife.  This couple was perfect - unfortunately for Rumaisa AND for the audience, tragedy struck.

What should have been a turning point for the drama instead became the drama's downfall.  I won't claim that this drama was bad.  It wasn't.  It portrayed a very real situation, very real emotions and very real reactions.  What this drama suffered from is very simple:  An uninspiring lead character.  Rumaisa's silence after Nabeel's death, her behavior towards Maham, her behavior towards Zeeshan - instead of inspiring pity, it made Rumaisa highly unlikable.  On the other end, Zeeshan's complete 180 in personality, his behavior twoards Rumaisa (the woman his beloved brother loved so dearly) and his distant behavior towards Nabeel's child was irritating to watch.  Regardless of his feelings towards his situation, I expected to see him act like a human being towards the family of a brother he claimed to cherish so much.

Given, Zeeshan's character progression in the last two episodes was much better, but I did not understand his bad behavior in the episodes leading up to that moment.

I also have to say that the drama dragged needlessly.  For 4-5 episodes, the show had almost zero progression.  This show also boasted of an intense number of villainous characters.

OK, you all must think I hated this show.  Not at all.  I actually really did enjoy it and was sad to see it end.  Unfortunately, it was not a masterpiece and definitely not one of Umera Ahmed's best dramas on air.  But it did tell a beautiful story of love, loss and the re-emergence of happiness.  More than anything, it taught a lesson as to how important communication is!  

The cast did a great job, namely Mekaal and Adeel.  Sanam Jung is such a cute actress and is very talented, but this role was too meek to do her talent justice.  The boys, however, both shone in great roles and shared great chemistry with each other!

One by one, I feel like my favorite shows are ending and are leaving voids, as there are so few new promising shows right now.  But to the team of Mohabbat Subh Ka Sitara Hai - thanks for entertaining us for these last few months!

Ranjish Hee Sahi - The Finale

To be honest, as my older dramas are ending, I'm becoming lazier about watching dramas.  Why?  Because all the others I'm watching are "timepass" dramas and not as good as the ones that are finishing off (Shukk, Meri Beti, Do Qadam, etc.)....and now add Ranjish Hee Sahi to the list.

This drama lost the plot for a few episodes where I felt a loss with Faisal and Samiya's characters no longer in the focus.  However, now in hindsight, I feel this drama not only did a great job with a beautiful story, but also presented realistic scenarios and emotions.

I was most impressed with the way the writers chose to end off the show.  This could have gone any other way and it may have been more "happily ever after," but it would've left me with an unsettling unrealistic feeling.

The episode begins with the return of Arsal, who is concerned about both Tooba and Hiba and lets Tooba know that he's there if she ever needs his support.  He also informs her of his mother's death and his sister's wedding.  "Taluq khattam ho sakta hai lekin ek doosray pe haq khattam nahin ho sakta."  And with this line, Arsal once again steals our hearts.

Meanwhile, Tooba is made aware of Hiba's feelings for Rohail through her journal and learns what had transpired between Hiba and Rohail.  If finding out that Rohail was Kamaal Uncle's son wasn't enough to push Tooba away, this final shove makes Tooba realize that she cannot move forward with a relationship that her own sister once desired.  This is the beauty of this drama.  Realism.  If you love your family, you will not break those boundaries of loyalty for your own happiness.  This is what separates reality from......Bollywood.

We continue to see Arsal's support for Tooba and Hiba, while Tooba assists in helping Hiba move on with her life and find happiness, despite now being relegated to a wheelchair.  It is here that Tooba realizes Arsal's never-withering love and loyalty towards her, despite the pain they'd endured in the past.  She reminds Rohail of Hiba's love for him and how Hiba always put him first - she tells him he'd do well to appreciate that sentiment.

On the other end, we see Kamaal and Bilqees' desire to bring Tooba home as their daughter-in-law.  Bilqees has realized her own mistakes in trying to control her husband and has realized her part in Yamna's demise, Kamaal's unhappiness and her own un-fulfillment.  She declares that the only way for her to rectify this mistake would be to accept Yamna's daughter into her family.  This was beautiful, as we also see great character development in both Bilqees and Kamaal Hassan.  They both equally realize their own mistakes, whether it be regarding their own marriage or Kamaal's relationship with Yamna.  And when they share that moment where they finally accept each other, I found myself breaking into a smile.

Winding up, we see Kamaal and Bilqees happily taking responsibility for the girls and we witness Tooba and Arsal's wedding, which is a happy occasion for all.  We also witness Rohail's proposal to Hiba, where he promises to take care of her and give her a happy life.  The scene is carried out with Yamna's picture in the background, showing her part in the girls' life and how her dreams were still being carried out after her death.

Ranjish Hee Sahi strived to cross carries and make a heartfelt show with realistic characters, realistic mistakes and realistic realizations.  Emphasis on "realistic."  I thoroughly enjoyed this show and hope more television drama directors will strive to make shows like this, shows with more heart than glamour.

Here's bidding adieu to yet another beautiful show.

Happy watching!