Ok, so by now we know Falak is an idiot, Falak is willfully blind, Falak is self-centered, Falak is arrogant, Falak is …, well, let’s just say Falak is a Falak… but no matter how much of a Falak she might be, no woman, or rather no person, deserves to be treated the way Salman dumped poor Falak today. I mean come on, pehle khana khilaya phir kaha ke hey by the way, listen, I’m dumping you… and want to get married to this other woman Tabinda??!! Say what?! Mikaal was fabulous as the asinine Salman!!
Didn’t think I would feel as much as I did for Falak in this episode. Mahira was absolutely brilliant, first as the desperate wife trying to come to grips with the harsh reality that her beloved husband was no longer interested in her, then as the shocked woman who’s cold-bloodedly informed by her husband that she is being replaced very soon with a woman whom he loves, and finally as the woman who comes face to face with her competition, and finds the very core of her existence shaken by the harsh reality staring her in the face. For Falak, the fact that she is gorgeous is one that is a given – nobody’s ever questioned or challenged that – she’s been loved all her life. Though she’s probably never sat and thought about this, subconsciously she does believe that her looks have a lot to do with who she is, the way people respond and relate to her. It defines the very essence of who she is. For Falak, therefore, physical beauty is central to the way she perceives the world around her. Hence her first question, when Salman informs her of his interest in Tabinda, is to ask whether this other woman is more beautiful. Wrapping her head around that which she is familiar with is the only way she can begin to process the bitter truth that her fairy-tale of a marriage (in her head) has fallen apart.
Her breakdown in the bathroom, after she could no longer delude herself that Nasira’s taveez’ were working, was beautifully executed. Mahira owned that sequence. I love what Sarmad does with mirrors, and when I saw the big mirror in the bathroom I knew we were in for a fabulous moment. And yes, it was indeed all that BUT how I wish that the sequence had been done in one go rather than turned into a jumble. The innate sense of a building up to a climax was ruined, for me at least, by a weird juxtapositioning of long shots and close ups. Mahira’s eyes were telling a thousand tales, but each time we got close enough to hear/read them, we were rudely taken away from that moment and shown a long shot. Not cool!
Another thing I found jarring was the language of the dialogues of the voiceover in the bathroom. No doubt they were lovely lines, but they seemed to belong to a character other than Falak. Since when has our flighty Falak ever thought so deep and in such literary language? Yes, there have been lovely moments of introspection all along, but they’ve been predominantly conveyed through expressions. Here too, I thought Mahira expressions were so spot on that there was no real need to have her expressions translated. For me these lines, coupled with the loud background score, represented overkill. Surely, we as audiences are mature enough to comprehend the drama playing out on our screens. Why do we need hand holding and be told what to feel and understand. I have watched this scene a couple times since, the last time with the sound muted, and I have to say my viewing experience was so much more enhanced, with no aural distractions to mar my enjoyment of that brilliant scene.
Today’s episode also revealed the identity of the mystery woman, Tabinda. Once again, loved the confrontation scene – Mahira and Nadia were excellent. I’m a huge Nadia Afgan fan, so looking forward to seeing what she does with this role. I wish though, that she was not the “ugly” woman…. I sincerely hope some of the harsh language, describing Tabinda’s physical appearance in the novella, has been tempered in the serial. Hope that someday soon we will see Nadia playing a central role in a serial where she is portrayed as the beautiful intelligent woman she is, rather than the dumpy character she is playing here, or as the mazloom Mumtaz in Bilqees Kaur.
Overall this was another fab episode. I love the way the story has progressed, the time spent earlier on establishing Falak’s character, her relationship with her family, her friends, her rejection of Hamza’s affections, her infatuation with Salman and their subsequent marriage, complete with its ups and downs, all have led very nicely to this mid climax, Falak’s first breakdown. Thanks to the earlier build-up, whether we agree or disagree with her, we know and understand how Falak feels and thinks. Given that this really is a single track story, with no other side distractions, the fact that we remain hooked speaks volumes of the strength of the story and the ability of the story-tellers – Umera and Sarmad, and the cast and crew of Shehr-e Zaat. Excellently done!
Written by SZ~
Desi Rants N Raves 
Good to see you are reviewing again. I went to the other site to see if anyone had done a review but there were none 😦 Found out about yours from twitter.
Yes, it was brilliantly done by Mahira and Mikaal. Salman- so cruel- pehle dinner and then this bombshell. Poor Falak! Watched the last scene a few times to take it all in- Nadia’s appearance. I haven’t read the novel so had no idea that girl is plain looking so the impact was great. eagerly awaiting next ep.
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Afia: Lovely to see you here – thanks for commenting 🙂 I had thought I was done with reviewing, but SeZ is a whole different deal!
Yes! that whole dinner scene was so beautifully done — Salman building up an unsuspecting and sadly delusional Falak’s expectations and then so cruelly dashing her hopes.. leading to the brilliant bathroom breakdown …and the fantastic last few minutes — loved it all!!
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Yes!!! You are back! Mahira was great in the mirror scene, I think you were right in there was a little too much going on and those weird camera shots… Kind of off putting. Yeah the tabinda and Falak scene was brilliantly shot, loved the expressions!!! Otherwise, so looking forward to the next episode. There was no review of Sez until today on DP, and anyways I was missing your reviews too much to enjoy any one else’s. Thanks SZ! Great piece as usual!
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Hey! Good to see you here! How fabulous is SeZ? Totally love it and can hardly wait for next Friday! And you were spot on in your twitter comments about the Humsafar music playing in the background – such a buzzkill (Ashar kahan ho tum? ;))! I wish they would take it easy with OD-ing on background music in every scene.
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Read everyone’s comments. I totally agree with you SZ Mahira was Brilliant in this episode. I have critisized her acting in some previous episodes and I stick to my opinion, but this was very good. The mirror shots were great but again I agree with you. They could have been better if they would not have been jumbled up. I saw a movie recently’ Cocktail’ in which Deepika is shown in a dance club , dancing and the lonliness of her existance is beautifully shown with cuts in which she is totally alone and then next shot of hers dancing with everyone. Don’t know how to explain this but any one who has seen that movie will understand what I mean. That was done brilliantly! I think Sarmad had tried to do the same thing. It was done nicely but not really upto the mark. However, I still think it was a great effort and we do need these new innovative ways of doing things to keep our dramas interesting so Well done Sarmad and Mahira.
I read NB’s comments and I have to tell her that none of her predictions are correct. I have read the novellete and the story remains very simple and straight forward. No twists! NO reason behind Salman falling in love with Tabinda. Just this that when God makes an object attractive, you cannot see anything beyond that !
SeZ remains a great Drama ! The only nice one running nowadays!!
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SZ, thank you so much for starting this blog. Now you can post as much or as little as you want! I love SeZ and that is that!I think everyone is perfect in their respective roles, especially Mahira. For me she is a superb Falak. In my opinion, she is pretty much carrying this serial on her shoulders. Not to say that the others are not doing a great job but their roles are less demanding.
Episode 12 was amazing and Mahira’s acting was just perfect. By the way, has the Humsafar music been playing on and off in this episode or maybe its just my ears? I quite liked the bathroom scene the way it was. I don’t really think of it as a jumble because it represented Falak’s emotional turmoil, for me at least. I mean, she knows about the affair but still cannot believe that it is happening to her. Salman has literally dropped a bomb on her when he tells her that he wants to marry this Tabinda creature. I love the range of emotions that Falak shows when he tells her about Tabinda. She goes from throwing a teacup to begging him to tell her how she should change to make him happy, such desperation. I felt so sad for Falak today. Indeed no woman should go through what Salman is putting her through right now. To be honest, I never liked Salman Ansar, he is just too shallow. Yes, we are all humans and life is full of temptations for all of us, BUT marriage is something sacred. What is all this garbage about Tabinda hypnotizing him, just not on. True love should withstand all sorts of crisis. I just kept comparing Salman to Ashar and thinking that even with Sara and Co breathing down his back, he never succumbed to her charms (so sorry but this was what was going on in my mind when I was watching this scene). Poor Falak, I think reality only set in once she faced Tabinda. I can only shudder at what Falak feels at this time. At such a time, she must be thinking “What is wrong with me”, not “What is wrong with Salman”. The woman usually tends to put the blame on herself at such a time. What I don’t understand was Nani’s comment to Hina Bayat regarding Salman’s affair. Why does Nani dismiss it as something trivial? Yes, I know this was when they did not know about his intention to marry Tabinda but still…
This truly feels like a Sarmad Khoosat directed play. By the way, Falak’s wardrobe is so smart, makes me envious. The sets, lighting, music, cinematography are all gelling together and giving a classy feel to this serial.
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Oh yes and I forgot to mention that I think Mikaal was just SUPERB!!! The look in his eyes, His body language, the expression of guilt and discomfort during the dinner scene was just fantastic. He has made us well aware of the fact that he is not popular only because of his looks, but he is an excellent actor as well. Well done Mikaal. You were wonderful and outstanding!!
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Yay! YOUR reviews are finally back! Now you owe us for ep 10 and 11! =)
I honestly couldn’t get myself to leave a comment on past reviews bc I seriously don’t know where they were coming from and why reviewers are not finding this drama to be as awesome as it really is!
Anyways great to have your reviews back! totally loving this one!
Episode 12 was def the climax of the drama and best episode yet! Mahirah was excellent as Falak and there is no one who could have been a better Falak.
It was really nice to see Falak’s mom stepping up and not giving her daughter false hope of it getting better!! As we see happening most of the time but for some reason the naani seems a bit too calm about everything, i wonder why!
I also didn’t understand why Salman felt the need to get Falak all excited about things getting better by setting up a date night and then asking her if he can marry his girlfriend! Knowing Falak and her unconditional love for Salman of course she would forget everything he’s done in a heartbeat as long as he is back to being her husband who is in love with her beauty. why set her hopes up and throw her down so hard! Mahirah was remarkable in that confrontation scene and then the Mirror bathroom scene as well, although i wish, agreeing with the review, that they could have cut the music down a little bit. It took a lot away from the scene.
Finally we see the other girl, Tabinda! I have a feeling this is what makes Falak realize that indeed beauty is not everything because clearly he didn’t fall for Tabinda based on her good looks.
I feel like the point of this drama ISN’T that bad things happen to people who aren’t close to Allah because that is not true, one can be the closest to God but live a life full of hardships, but to let the audience know that its not always about beauty that people fall for and thats what Falak will finally realize.
I can hardly week to watch the forthcoming episodes as we see Falak transform into a person who becomes closer to God and how it happens!
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Enjoying all the comments guys – keep them coming 🙂
@ms: haven’t seen Cocktail, but I get what you’re saying – I’m not a Deepika fan, so stayed away from it – but will go watch it and check out the particular scene you describe. I so wish NB had posted her comment here – she had some really interesting stuff there – maybe I should copy paste it under her name here – she was too cute with her naani analogy!
Have to say while I’m enjoying SeZ in a very different way from how I liked the novella earlier, I do hope we get to see more original scripts in the future, where like Afia and NB we too can be surprised by the turn of events and play guessing games as to what’s gonna happen next – that said, I’m hopeful that Momina, Umera and Sarmad still have a trick or two up their sleeves, and will perhaps surprise us with some curve balls, a la Humsafar.
@zka: I loved the bathroom breakdown as well, its just that I would’ve preferred to have seen all that in one sequence, with Falak going through a whole range of emotions, incredulity, shock, despair, anger, ending with her breakdown at the hopelessness of her situation, when she hits her head against the mirror. The cuts were a little too much for me, but all said and done, despite the cuts, the loud music and the voiceover, it was such a fabulous scene that I have gone back and re-watched it quite a few times. LOL @thinking of Ashar – while watching Falak’s breakdown in the bathroom, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Ashar’s breakdown in the bathroom, ep 21 (?), complete with the voiceover and all!
Also I’m with you guys, @zka and @Ash, re: naani’s take on Falak’s broken marriage – I see the point of her sage advise, and agree with it somewhat in theory, that marriages need are a lot of work and need a lot of forbearance, but, I have to say that I could relate more with Mehrunnisa’s response – perhaps a bit too hasty, but still, why should Falak put up with Salman’s nonsense. Would he have taken her back if she had gone and had an affair behind his back? What do you all think?
And yes, @ ms, Mikaal has indeed come such a long way from his earlier plays and is going from strength to strength. His looks coupled with his acting abilities do make him the perfect Salman Ansar. On Salman Ansar, the absolute lack of compassion he displays when dismising Falak’s pleas and his blindness to her shock, reminded me so much of Falak’s similarly nonchalant, dismissive attitude towards Hamza, when he begged her to listen to him – truly what goes around, comes around! The exquisite lyrics of the OST, “kahin badshah hai woh takht nasheen/kahin kasa liye gada dekha,” were so apt for Falak’s situation here. Having gone from her magisterial dismissal of Hamza’s love she had now been reduced to begging for his love like an ordinary beggar asking for alms..
@zka: Indeed, Falak’s wardrobe is to die for, and let me make a guilty confession here – I just ordered one of Falak’s outfits today 🙂 And speaking of Falak’s clothes, were any of you as annoyed with Falak as I was, when she gave away half of the clothes in her closet to Nasira ??!!! Had hai!!
@Ash: LOL! No, yaar, can’t do the missed eps – but promise to include those in an over view once the series ends 🙂
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Wow SZ where did you order from? I love her outfits!!!
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@SK: Sania Maskatiya has an FB page, which has tons of pics of her clothes; you can also take a screenshot of any of the outfits you like and email it to them and they are very prompt with their detailed replies. Be warned though, Falak’s look doesn’t come cheap! Along with teaching her about the religious stuff, perhaps naani should’ve also taught Falak about garage sales 😉
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Lol…. When she throws all her clothes out maybe we can all stand in line:p
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hahaha … should we start fighting over our spots in the line? :p
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Great to read your reviews again.Agree with your and the reviewers’perspective completely.Both MK and Mikaal were sensational_the look of dawning realization on Falak’s face that in the final scene that it isn’t about being more or less beautiful and how superficial her relationship with Salman has been. Was it only me who saw a sadistic gleam in Salman’s eyes when confronting Falak about the depth of his feelings for Tabinda or I am looking for a subtext which isn’t there?Brilliant portrayal by Mikaal and his drool worthiness quotient went up by several notches in my opinion!
From what I understand about SK’s dramatic sensibilities and his treatment of the UA’s story Falak’s character is that of tragic hero in Shakespeare’ tragedies- a hero with a tragic flaw that proves to his/her undoing.Again I may be readings things which aren’t there?
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I urge you to see ‘ Cocktail’. Deepika is superb in that movie. I too was not a fan of hers but I must tell you the complex character portrayed by her in that movie is just fantastic. The movie may have some flaws but Deepika is excellent in it! You will also understand what I was talking about when you see the club scene. It has been done beautifully.
I think you should paste NB’s comments here. I think she means she does not know how to do it herself:-) I really don’t think Momina will be able to change the ending of this story because that will kill the whole purpose/ message!
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Excellent review as usual! I also found zka’s comments very close to my thoughts on Episode 12! I have read criticisms of Mahira’s acting in the scene where Salman confesses his love for another woman,however I personally think she has done a brilliant job and so has Mikaal! The way the story has unfolded has kept everyone enthralled and mystified! It also shows the state of mind of this desperate girl Falak,who despite being modern,educated,non religious and belonging to the upper strata of Pakistani society,stoops low to the level of asking her maid for a taveez from Babaji! This practice must be rampant in Pakistan…..unbeknown to me!
Now for my version of a twist in the tale!
Is it possible that eventually it will be revealed that the egocentric Salman was marrying Tabinda for some altruistic motive? Or because he was deeply indebted to her for some reason? The clues to this are as follows:
1) Tabinda is shown as a non glamorous lady.
2)There is a hint that Salman has taken his wife’s jewellery and given it to his girl friend! Does Tabinda look like someone who would wear that kind of jewellery?
3) Nani in all her wisdom is never shown as being critical of Salman!
4)The factory manager states that Salman has given a promotion to Tabinda who was an ordinary worker in the packing department!
Am I putting two and two together and making it five? Is Salman really the selfish narcissistic typical chauvinistic male commonly seen in Pakistan and therefore does not deserve the benefit of doubt?
Copy pasted here on NB’s behalf — SZ~
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hey congrats on the blog,awesome finally.Now i can break away from my habit of reading the current reviews and getting annoyed at them,Nice to see so many same old people.For me SEZ is a complete package and i find everyone doing great acting. My only first complaint is Nadia Afghan as badsorat larki 😦 god i really find her adorable and graceful .Hey sz when you mailed me this review there was great comments of NB and another one too,can you add them here.@ms oh yes Deepika was great in cocktail,Sz you have not seen it? It’s quiet good.@ash hey girl really missed you and your comments,this time leave your email id so one can stay in touch,i had to talk to you about revenge being back soon.
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you heard what i said before i typed it,hehe good one thanks for posting it
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OMG You are SO right about Nadia Afghan ! I lovvvve her and I really hope she does this Beauty Diva role some day, she is sooo good!
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A Big WOW! i literally missed your detail review SZ and you have no idea how much i love reading it:)
Agreed with Ash that this was best episode so far. Salman being so kind suddenly to falak limited down her frustrated mind and i thought how we girls immediately become happy and forget everything when men just take little care of us, speak some soft words and do all that which makes us content.. and it was hard to see Salman’s next move and Falak’s reaction to that.. I simply love the mirror scene, basically the dialogues were intriguing and mahira’s acting on that was flawless.. Mahira simply own Falak.. about camera angles.. i am too naive on that so i can’t judge anything on that hehe:) but i liked that too 😉
With Meekal’s way of expressing his love.. it was so beautifully acted by him that i so wanted to see tabinda then and then…
and yes, the last scene but surely not the least in anyway.. remarkably done. i love nadia afghan and she is not at all ‘ugly’.. but expressions of both ladies, the suspense and direction were superb!
I don’t know if it was only me but i wanted nani to say some words of wisdom when falak’s mother was expressing her worries.. may be its just im so fond of nani i want her wisdom dialogues in every episode 😀
@SZ: Wah, u ordered falak’s dress, that’s nice..:) you mind telling which one 😉
Come soon Friday!!!
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Mubarakan ji once again on the blog!
Which outfit did you order?? Now I am tempted to go back and buy the red/white outfit. Ahhhh! What is this drama doing to us?
Loving the blog and the post. I have to agree with you: the swing scene was is my favourite so far. I was looking forward to that scene from the day I saw the promos. I wish all of Sarmad’s projects were this stellar (coughASHKcough).
I think Mahira has a come a long way from Neeyat and her 5 minute role in Bol. I am glad her next project after Humsafar was Shehr E Zaat and she was able to cash in on the fame unlike Fawad Khan. I think she’s handling the role quite well and her expressions, for me at least, were spot on when Mikaal broke the news to her.
I think I am the only one who was bothered with the bathroom/mirror scene. As much as I liked the use of the mirror and what not, why did they have to shoot it in the bathroom? I am sure there are much better looking places with mirrors, no?
Keep up the good work!
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Thanks for all the comments guys – loving reading them!
@AZ: welcome to the blog – lovely to have you join in — hoping you will now be regular in our weekly SeZ discussions 🙂 Glad that we, including @Javeria and @Rehmat, are on the same page as far as Nadia Afgan is concerned. I find this whole trend of stereotyping actors very disturbing – along side Nadia, Nimra Bucha, another fantastic actress, is repeatedly type cast as the mazloom bechari or the bitter woman, less than good looking girl, who keeps waiting for rishtas, andd is either poor or very middle class. I really do wish our producers would take a bold step forward and try to change these outdated social stereotypes of beauty.
@Nadia: Thanks, as I’ve said before, your blog was a huge inspiration 🙂
Yes, agreed, Mahira indeed is a completely different actress here, as compared to her Bol and Neeyat (I still dont know what was going on in that serial).
Re: the bathroom scene, I think you raise a valid point, the only reason I can think of is that even in the novella, Falak’s breakdown happens in the bathroom… its much more explicitly written (as far as I can remember – correct me if I’m wrong) she’s in her nightclothes and views her body very critically to find the fault in her physical attributes that have caused Salman to go to another woman.
@ms: I didn’t mean that they would change the ending, but rather they would throw in some twists, a la Humsafar, to surprise viewers like us, who’ve already read the story, Lets see how it pans out… as it is so far Hamza is still floating out there somewhere and we still have Rushna, lets see how they fit into this extended version of the story.
@NB: I think the taweez/dhaga practice is indeed very common, and to me an indication of the helplessness and the level of frustration that people probably experience that drives them to seek out these seemingly quick fixes. As naani had earlier said, prayers are the best remedy for any situation, but i guess having an actual tangible object in your hand seems to be more effective o a person like Falak, more of an actual sense of doing something? Any thoughts?
@Fariha: Hey! good to have you back! Agreed, Mikaal was so good with his expressions, ther was so much going on that we could read anything we wanted to in them… The way I read it was that given as he’s being shown here, he’s actually as helplessly in love with Tabinda as Falak is/was with him… remember naani had the whole point about God turning around man’s heart in a sec if so chooses. I think Salman is as blind to Tabinda’s shortcomings as Falak was to his… and he is so hepless with his feelings … Im sure all of us remember Salman’s kinda guilty and helpless look as he sat on the stairs, I think in ep 11 (?) So I don’t think there was a sadistic look, but again Salman’s a hard nut to crack — perhaps a part of him wanted to neecha dikhao Falak .. ?
An yes, totally with you about Mikaal’s drool-worthy quotient (love the way you put it!) going up!! 😉
@Rehmat: Awww thanks! I think naani will have a lot to say in the coming episodes – so we’re definitely gonna get more of her pearls of wisdom 🙂 What I really like here is that we are continually being shown two perspectives here – the spiritual (naani) and the practical (Mehrunissa) without any judgement or moralizing … I hope Falak finds a nice middle of the ground way, which brings together naani’s wisdom with Mehrunissa’s pragmatism. Since this is a Sarmad-Umera combo, I have high hopes and fingers crossed 🙂
LOL@ the interest in the outfit I ordered, yes Falak mania is indeed very much in the air! I ordered the reversible pink/white shirt that Falak wore in ep 10 or 11 not sure .. She wore it both ways, and there were a lot of comments on various sites the Mahira was wearing her shirt ulta… I hope it looks it looks half as good onme as it did on Mahirah … since I’m definitely no Falak 😉
Nadia, girl, go for the red back one! I was so tempted to get that one as well.. LOVE the back, the front not so much … probably need to wear it to see how that tie like thing and the pockets look on me ..
Alright, I’m done with my never-ending comment, looking to forward to hearing more from you all 🙂
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Nadia Afghan wrote this for your review on Sarmad’s profile
Thank u so much for this 🙂 finally one person who understands the story …..u have no idea how much this means after all the horrid comments i got 🙂
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OH MAN!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE BACK!!!! Super excited!!! Thanks to Javeria for posting this on FB otherwise I would never known!
It is so so lovely reading you again!! I am too excited to comment about the episode 😀 hehe
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^^ Agreed! =)
@Javeria – haha yes i am here! how are you! and super excited revenge is starting soon – 2 weeks! can hardly wait! =) .maybe we can discuss it here 😀
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@SZ: I can’t justify spending so much on that outfit especially because I don’t get to wear desi clothes that much. Btw, I haven’t read the novel but the way you’ve explained the scene makes more sense now.
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Annie!!! *hugs* Fabulous to have you here! Was really missing your gems to go alongside naani’s pearls – the discussion seemed aadhi adhoori 😉 Glad you found us – and yes, thank you Javeria for directing Annie here 🙂
And now, chalo shuru ho jao and share your thoughts on the episode – the good the bad and the ugly, all of it!!! Looking forward!
@Nadia Afgan via Javeria: Nadia! thanks for reading the review and commenting – you have quite a fan following here and we’re looking forward to seeing how your character unfolds in the next few episodes. Hope that you will continue following the reviews and do hope that you will drop in for a visit one of these days 🙂
@nadia: I hear you and completely agree with you about having to struggle to justify the expense alongside the utility of these clothes, particularly as winter is just around the corner – clearly I failed to stop myself
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Hello SZ… SZ’s reviews and SeZ are made for each other. Need I say more? 🙂
Coming back to episode 12. It was a good episode, as a matter of fact one of the most awaited ones of the show. I personally, love the ”tumne kabhi din mein chimgadhad dekha hai?” dialogue and always wondered where and why will that scene turn out to be. And it wasn’t a disappointment.
The pace of the drama is precise and to the point.. we don’t have any filler scenes that we are prone to seeing in many other dramas. But when we come to the acting, MZ did quite a stupendous job as Salman, the unfaithful husband who’s smitten by the sheer innocence and truthful self / zaat of an ordinary working woman, Tabinda.
I wish, I could say the same about Mahira.. now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that she was bad. She was good, in fact like you’ve said in the bathroom scene, and the confrontation scenes she was doing a good job, but there’s still that lack of connection that one feels for Falak at this point of the story. Mahira’s done quite a commendable job considering its just her third serial and such sort of expressions and poise comes only from maturity and experience.. which I’m pretty sure that one day she’ll achieve but for this episode I feel she still hasn’t managed to give her 100%. Hopefully, we’ll soon see her do her best in the future episodes to come.
Nadia Afghan was the most pleasant surprise of this episode. I always thought that we might never be able to see the face of Tabinda in this series, or even if we do it’ll most prolly be an unknown face. Quite an excellent casting decision by MD Productions. Here’s to looking forward to the next installment of SeZ. 🙂
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Finally your reviews are back…:)
Do I need to say that I love your reviews???
Loved the confrontation scene of Tabinda and Falak and the washroom mirror scene..
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Coming to the episode. I really enjoyed the editing this time – the way the scenes flowed from dinner to chai on the veranda, to the bathroom breakdown, to the boardroom. Excellently crafted I must say! (I did want to see the full red dress though – editors kyun kaata woh outfit! Sana Maskatiya must be totally upset)
And now the other tezaab sequence made sense to me. When Naani and team were talking about it a few epis ago, I was like ‘yeh kya fazool mein faltoo scene hai’ but seeing Falak resort to that same tezaab was perfectly done!
I agree with you about the dialogues we hear during the bathroom scene. They were way too deep for apni flighty Falak! 🙂 They should have stopped them around when she says she wants to meet this girl and cut out all that mumbo jumbo on “paaon ki dhool” etc. Very digesty IMO. Nobody thinks or talks like that! 😉
BTW Mahira was brilliant during the closeups of that mirror sequence. I appreciate Sarmad experimenting. Overall the scene was good but not brilliant. Asher did it better 😉
Some of my favorite scenes were when Falak throws the chai ka cup. I think that’s the first time we’ve actually seen her angry! And when she checks herself out in what looks like a glass picture frame. Nice touches 🙂
And Nadia Afghan is such a cutie patutie. Don’t know why they showed her with that horrid base layering as if she was a girl at the beauty salon about to get her dulhan makeup done. All she was missing was blue eyeshadow, a tika, and red dupatta. Ugh! How I wish they would have picked a more average looking gal – maybe the chai wala’s wife? But then how do you audition for that? 😀 If they asked for an average looking girl, nobody would have applied lol!
Looking forward to this Friday’s episode and another mazaydaar review from you. Oh how we missed thee dear SZ 🙂
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@ Annie Thank You for connecting the dots…totally forgot about that tezaab scene! Now it makes so much sense…oh and I loved her outfit in that scene..it was so beautiful…. @ SZ But now that I know the prices, hmm waiting for Falak to throw them out in her wajood to zaat transition! I was so tempted to buy, loved quite a few but don’t think I will YET…
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Sigh! Now I feel like such a Falak — I should’ve asked you sensible ladies for your input 😦 Khair at least I just got one, for the rest, yes with you ke ab to bas Falak bibi ke sudhar jaane ka intezaar hai …for all the wrong reasons LOL!! Were she to read this conversation, naani would not be very happy with the two of us 😉 Btw, expensive as they are, most of the clothes have to be ordered, they’ve pretty much sold everything
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SZ it’s just one outfit so it’s OK 😉 The rest of the stuff I am sure we’ll be seeing duplicates very soon for half the price.
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@Hasan Umar: Thank you! Glad to have you on board! I hope you will continue visiting and commenting – looking forward to reading more of your thoughts on the next review 🙂
@Howzzat: Glad we’re all on the same page as far as Nadia Afgan is concerned — loved her! And yes Mikaal has shown tremendous growth as an actor, as everybody else has commented as well. Re: Mahira: hey! its totally fine to have different viewpoints on how a particular actor’s take on a character. For instance, I personally love Mahira as Falak, I think she is the perfect choice for the role – she has the right body language, attitude, the expressions etc… but during Humsafar, I just could not fall in love with Khirad, nothing Mahira did with the character appealed to me. For me, she was strictly average as Khirad, and I said so, many times in my reviews/comments, and I remember being told many times over that I was biased against Mahira and she a fabulous as Khirad … so i guess, no wrong or right answers 🙂 Its great to read how we all respond differently to scenes/characters and how we are interpreting the story in so many different way – that to me is the most enjoyable part about a serial like SeZ, that it gives a lot of food for thought … so lets keep exchanging thoughts and opinions and see how the serial progresses 🙂
@Annie: Wah! kiya yaadasht hai tumhari – I had totally forgotten the acid story earlier, wow – totally makes sense now! Excellent connections being made here, just as @howzzat rightly said, not a scene wasted…
Absolutely Nadia is indeed a cutie patutie (you a Rosie fan?! I use to be such an avid follower of her show and her whole crush on Tom Cruise bit!) and a fabulous actress.. I’m not watching her new soap Raju Rocket, but happened to catch the first part of Mon or Tue’s ep and I just burst out laughing – she was beyond fab! Apparently she was dreaming of having gone out on a “date” with the Raju character, she was a the chest heaving OTT filmy kinda girl. The way she played that Shabnam kinda character was something to be seen. Do check it out. I just watched that particular scene so cannot recommend anything else beyond that 😉 Anybody else here knows anything more about this soap?
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haven’t seen Raju Rocket. Didn’t even realize Nadia Afgan is in there 🙂 The name of the soap was so silly that I didn’t bother clicking but will check it out and see if I am able to digest it 😉
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@Annie: I just saw that one bit — but if you can sit through it, please do come back and tell us if its worth a serious dekho or not 🙂
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@Annie, what naani tezaab thing are you talking about? When the servant lady was going on about her gossips?
And yes! I loved the chai cup throwing scene. Totally made me jump and Salman also was like umm wth just happened. !?!?
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yes it was a few episodes ago and Falak had said how despicable and jaahil it was for people to do that, and I had wondered why that 5 minute scene was inserted there.
Yes I loved seeing Falak Angry!! 😀
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Nice to find you SZ. You and I did tend to agree on most dramas. Its good there are two such sites .
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Hi! Great to see you here! Glad you found this blog 🙂 Absolutely, always good to have more places where we can read and share different takes on the dramas we watch so passionately, some dramas we fall in love with, some we love to hate, and then of course there are always those that we hate to love 😉
I hope you’ll continue visiting and commenting – looking forward to hearing more from you – how come nothing on last week’s ep of SeZ?
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it was a tough episode to watch.. Gut wrenching but a turning point in the story. I am going to enjoy both sites. for sure.!
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Indeed, gut wrenching is such perfect way to describe this one! Can hardly wait for tomorrow!
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A friend yesterday told me that after a tragedy in her life, she asked her mom in the same way falak will ask hers- that why did you not make me aware of God…
Her own mental strength and her husband helped her find God in time….
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Congrats!! I noticed that your blog has been put up on the official page of Umera Ahmed. That is really something!!
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ms they did that every week since she started Sherezat reviews 🙂 in fact sole admin of the Umera Ahmed offical page commented here too 🙂
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Thanks! I saw and was thrilled! I had no clue that Hasan was one of the admins of the page – I am very grateful to him for sharing my review 🙂
Looking forward to reading your thoughts on the latest ep 🙂 And yes! Rushna and Hamza are back in the next ep!
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I really don’t know how you do it every week, SZ but you need to take a bow for this week’s review as well 🙂
The scene where Falak has a mental breakdown is really something that Mahira needs to be applauded for. MZ’s weird expressions were kinda hilarious otherwise. Nadia Afghan just had one scene but wow she continues to charm as Tabinda. The last scene like you’ve said does have a different impact on the viewer. Nani’s naseehatein will finally change Falak’s life it seems. 🙂
Looking forward to the Falak-Hamza scene that we saw in the precap for this week!
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