Sangat's Finale (and a line or two on Yeh Mera Deewanapan)

Colossal errors in judgemental. Shoddy writing. Lack of understanding characters and audience members. Failure to create a palatable ending. HOW?!?!?!

These were my feelings towards the end of two highly promising shows.  

I'll start with Yeh Mera Deewanapan, as my feelings towards this show are a little more open and shut.

A show that promised to showcase an unusual love story with a multitude of beautiful characters.....somehow spiraled into something highly ridiculous and it's clear that the writer had no idea how to satisfy the viewers who kept up with the show for the close-to-50 episodes.

Meena and Jahangir should have been endgame, period.  Instead, Jahangir's son disappears for parhai abroad and  Meena is casually mentioned as Choti Ami once by him, acknowledging that she still exists in the city, before he is never seen again.  What happened to Meena's father, the man who loved his daughters so much?  

Why was a character like Morni necessary? Loud does not equate to pure. Jahangir and Morni was a highly forced union that had no "sar na pair."  

It was nice to see Shaqoor repent and reform and to see Mehtab receive her justice while still forgiving Shaqoor.

The rest.....I have no idea how such a beautiful show turned into a senseless last few episodes.

Moving on to Sangat....

What I really enjoyed about this show was the stark reality of the situation. The characters were grey, rather than black and white.  Sangat focused on rape and the aftermath and societal views towards that act - namely how it affects the woman.  

We had Aashi, who refused to be a scared victim despite her life falling apart in front of her. Rather than fear her rapist, she instilled fear and guilt in him on a daily basis. We had Adnan, Aashi's husband, whose perfect world was shattered after finding out that his flesh and blood wasn't so, but the product of a terrifying ordeal his wife lived through. Outwardly behaving like the jerk blaming the victim and isolating his wife for a crime she didn't commit, Adnan was dying inside for being unable to help his wife and protect her in a society that blames the woman and demands proof before allotting justice. And lastly, we had Shavez, a character that should've been unable to garner any sympathy after his heinous act of rape towards Aashi, but became so "human" over the course of episodes, his guilt and disgust with himself forcing him to repent in every and any way possible.  Shavez was somehow redeemable after committing an unredeemable crime. 

But then the show lost me with the very last scene. 

This is simply not how life works.  While my brain and heart can't argue that there was honestly no other way for Samgat to end, the way it was done just felt ridiculous. Adnan commits a crime, kills another (innocent) woman's husband, picks up Sangat, Aashi smiles and the family is reunited.......WHAT?!?!  This just boggled my mind! There are consequences to actions!  Adnan would not be getting off Scott-free!

A friend pointed out that Shavez's father would forgive Adnan, so he would probably never go to jail.  That's a valid point - but then why not SHOW this?

Would it physically harm the writers/producers/directors to extent dramas by one episode? Sangat NEEDED one more episode. We can be forced to watch 5 episodes with the same nonsense repeating, yet when it comes to wrapping up the show, it's all done in a rush in the last episode, leaving a bad taste in the viewer's mouth.

Anyway, I thought Sangat was a good show overall, but it would've been a great show had more work been put into the ending. What a shame.

Now that these two shows have ended and a new slate of exciting dramas are starting, we can look forward to some new discussions (hopefully)!

Happy watching! 

Gul e Rana

As usual, I'm lagging behind on writing - and how so!  There are so many things to write about: The end of Yeh Mera Deewanapan Hai, the brilliant Man Mayal, the plethora of exciting shows starting (Dillagi, Pakeeza, Mera Yaar Miladay).  But before I can even move on to discuss any of these tings, I just HAVE to dedicate a blog post entirely to the mess that is currently Gul-E-Rana.

I had some people comment on an earlier post as to WHY I found this show interesting?  Why did i feel this was an out-and-out love story?  How could I stomach such a terrible male lead character?  I'm not in the dark - I understand all the complaints.  From the moment this show's OST released, I fell in love.  A bad boy turned good, a man who makes his wife's life torture but then goes on to fall in love with her, an arrogant male chauvenist who realizes the worth and value of his wife and women in his life......this is what I was expecting from Gul-E-Rana.  This is what I'm STILL holding out hope for from Gul-E-Rana.  But when the hell are we actually going to GET THERE?!  And will it simply be TOO LATE?  As a viewer, this show has begun to test my patience.  Rana's refusal to confide the truth to her family is treading thin.  And Adeel's absolutely douchey behavior has put him pretty close to the point of absolutely no return - HOW will this character be redeemed?  Is it possible?  Maybe, but not if he continues on this path for even one more episode......

Going back to some majorly irritating flaws in the last few episodes:

I completely understand that Asher Bhai is Rana's confidant and she considers him one of her best friends.  But as a "samajhdaar" girl, when she realizes that her relationship with Asher Bhai is such a huge deal when it comes to Adeel, shouldn't she be a little more intelligent about her phone calls?  Her words to Asher Bhai were considerably uncomfortable and "relationship-like" for the bare, general ear.  Considering Asher Bhai is so rooted and stable, why don't we ever see a scene with him explaining that these phone calls may not be in her best interest?  Likewise with Rana's mother and Khala - these are small things that family members DO discuss with their daughters.  But of course, for the sake of story, all these characters have pulled the wool over their eyes.

Moving away from that, can we discuss what happened with "Mona" for a moment?  #1, I was waiting with baited breath for the ramifications from that episode to be cleared up in the next.  What WAS Adeel doing that made him look so guilty?  Was this a ploy on Mona's part?  WHAT was this?!  And why did Adeel offer absolutely zero explanation in the coming episodes?  Was he really trying to have his way with her?  I doubt it.  So why did he feel the need to go completely silent on the issue?  Rana assumes the worst of him, but you'd think he'd clear up that misconception, considering he prides himself on every woman wanting him.

#2, I think I had a really hard time digesting Rana's "victim shaming" comment to Mona, discussing how her clothes and her demeanor caused Adeel to "attack" her.  Wait.  Pause.  Why are Rana's sleeveless shalwar kameez covered with a flimsy chiffon dupatta more modest than Mona's covered T-shirt and jeans?  Let's throw shade elsewhere, Rana.  Not only was the comment stupid, it was also hypocritical - but let's blame the chauvinistic writers there, I guess.  Second, seriously?  What did Mona do to bring this on in Rana's eyes?  Especially considering that Mona made every effort to ask Rana for her approval to stay in her home, being perfectly nice to her (in theory - whether she was a mess-creator will come out later, I suppose).  I just REALLY had a hard time stomaching this scene and Rana's comments.

Considering Adeel has never been a saint and Taaya Abu has been well aware of Adeel's flirtations with his nieces, why does he suddenly turn a blind eye, accept Adeel as an angel and place blame entirely on Rana?  Yes, somehow the very last scene of the last episode did calm me a bit with Taaya Abu discussing with Rana how women sometimes have to take control of messy situations, somewhat affirming that he is not as in-the-dark as he would seem.

Rant over.  There's much more to talk about regarding this show, but I feel this much is enough.  I have a lot of hopes pinned on this show.  Despite the intense flaws and tedious main male character, this show is very interesting.  The show is "consistently on top" according to the channel (not for long with Mann Mayal in FULL intense love story stride!).  I just hope the writers realize the audience is reaching the breaking point, the point of no return.  We cannot be taken for fools.  Adeel needs to reform and reform IMMEDIATELY.  Like maybe get into a car accident, become wheelchair bound, have Rana nurse him back to health and then realize her worth......but something drastic needs to happen to bring this guy back into a positive light!

Happy watching!