Coke Kahani ~ Episode 5 Review

By SZ on December 8, 2012 • ( 8 Comments )

Ostensibly a mellower episode, there was so much electricity zinging about though, that it was hard to not get singed. Beginning with Maya’s surprise arrival, to her slipping, to Asfand spilling his tea, to the flashback, to both giving each other covert glances, methinks that despite all her protestations to the contrary, Maya memsaab might just ending up cancelling her ticket and staying on in Karachi, bomb blasts n all. Maya and Asfand are one hot couple – loving them!

From one hot couple to the other, Nusrat and Mutma’in are just in a whole other league. Generally speaking our dramas portray older couples in a very unflattering light. They are typically depicted without any agency; we see them as weak, frail, dependent on their children, and meddling into everybody else’ lives because they have no lives of their own. This is so not the case here. Far from being an unempowered or a boring aunty-uncle pair, Nusrat and Mutma’in are so lively and sharp. This is the couple I want to go hang out with over a cup of coffee. They are so fabulous and they deliver their sharp zingers with deadpan humor. Loved the lines about what are you going to be when you grow up. I laughed at their exchange and then pondered about it afterwards. How often do we stop to think ke hum kahan ja rahe hain? hamen kya karna hai? So much of our lives are spent living on a day-to-day basis, without any clear thought for the future. If questioned, liked Nusrat or even Rayan earlier, we talk about doing and accomplishing big things; often forgetting that all big things begin with small baby steps. Much as we might want to believe otherwise, changes do not happen overnight and heroes are not made in a day. Waisey Mutma’in uncle, aise subjects main degree nahin milti to kiya hua, banda khud se to parh sakta hai na?!

On to the third couple, Zoya and Rayan, I am thoroughly enjoying their sweet moments of camaraderie and friendship. I appreciated how Rayan heard out Zoya’s anxieties and offered his support unconditionally. Unlike other dramas where any boy/girl relationship is necessarily always a romantic one, I like that this one is kept as normal as possible. Yes, there are hints of an attraction, but the affection and support is not premised on any waadas of tumhari khatir chand sitarey tor launga! Thank you Team CK for keeping it real.

Clearly I’m enjoying the CK ride. Loving the story and the refreshing humor, more importantly, I appreciate that there is no resort to innuendos, slapstick or gags. How can one not laugh at Maya poking fun at Mutma’in uncle’s wig and him getting back at her with tum mazeed buddhi lag rahi ho! Excellent stuff from Mohammed Ahmed and Yasir Rana!

One thing I should appreciate are the lovely interiors of Asfand’s house. I drooled over the book-lined library and the artwork in the dining room. Along with the decor, the lovely lighting, the play of shadows, and the camerawork all play a huge part in making it believable that this is indeed house that has been around in Asfand’s family for generations. The shot where Maya draws the bedroom curtain to look down at Asfand having his morning tea was just beautiful. The light falling on Maya’s face was just lovely. Excellent job by Farhan Alam and the people in charge of lighting. Also to Farhan and Mehreen’s credit, those interspersed shots of the hustle and bustle of Karachi made for such a lovely contrast with the quiet, shadowed interiors of Asfand’s house.

To wrap up, a slower but crisp episode. Fingers crossed that Zoya and her gang can help bring her feuding parents together, and save the house and the business – tall order that! Let’s see how they go about accomplishing that in the weeks to follow. While lacking the zip zap action that is now a CK signature, this was still fun, and I walked away thinking about how to wrangle invites for hangout sessions with the uber cool Nusrat and Mutma’in and the ultra hot Asfand and Maya. Can anyone help with an intro?!

Written by SZ~

P.S. On a random aside, Maya’s line to Asfand, about him taaro-ing her, reminded me of this video that was released just a couple of days ago and has gone viral since then. If you haven’t seen it yet, then check it out and enjoy 😉

Categories: Coke Kahani, Entertainment, Hum TV, Pakistani Dramas, PTV Home, Urdu 1

Tagged as: Adnan Jaffar, Ahmed Zaib, Almas Fidai, Coke Kahani, Faisal Rehman, Hum TV, Maheen Khalid Rizvi, Mehreen Jabbar, Pakistani Drama Reviews, PTV Home, Shamim Hilali, Shariq Zaidi, Sonia Rehman, Syed Mohammed Ahmed, Syra Yousuf, Urdu 1, Yasir Hussain, Yasir Rana