Fifi, woh value kar payega is ki?
Of course karega! Aur agar main doongi to zaroor karega….
Was this an exchange just about a mere painting or was it about Hamza questioning Falak on the wisdom of handing her heart on a silver platter to Salman? Without having been provided any substantial encouragement, why is Falak so confident about Salman? How is she so sure of her place in his life? As Hamza repeatedly keeps asking her, why is she so blinded? Can she not see Salman as the shallow, egotistical person he is?
Such is Falak's absolute faith, however, that nothing, not even Rushna's eye rolling and gentle sarcasm or Hamza's long-suffering sighs and repeated admonitions, is going to deter her from her single minded pursuit of this man, whom she sees as an embodiment of all her conscious and unconscious desires. So yes, in all ways that matter, Falak is rightly an idiot and fully deserving of all the pain she is presently suffering, and will continue to suffer throughout the course of her ill-fated relationship with Salman.
But, on the other hand, is Falak's obsession for Salman something she can control? Can she harness this flood of emotions that has engulfed her? Why doesn't she heed reason, dump the egotistical Salman and appreciate Hamza's love? Why is a self-obsessed girl like Falak willing to accept Salman nonchalant dismissal of her affections? Falak, where has your self-respect gone? Why Falak? Why are you doing this?
These are the kinds of questions that we have been asking repeatedly. Today too, we saw Falak continue along the same self-destructive path, BUT, at the same time we were also provided a lovely insight into Falak's insanity. Drawing on her intriguing life experiences (I hope we hear more about the two naanaas) and her innate wisdom, as naani patiently explains to her distraught granddaughter, much as we might think otherwise we have absolutely no control over our minds and hearts – jab Allah chahta hai insaan ka dil yoon pher leta hai…Allah ke hukum ke beghair kuch ho bhi tau nahin sakta…Insaan agar chahey bhi na tau apni marzi se ek saans bhi nahin ley sakta …
Lovely lines like these have now become a hallmark of Shehr-e Zaat. As viewers we are challenged weekly to engage with characters that are not just unidimensional paper cutouts, with no substance. Rather, these are multifaceted characters, real in the sense that we've all come across a Falak or two, and we've all seen guys like Salman in action. During these past weeks, we've gotten to know Falak, Hamza and Salman quite well. We've see not only their interactions with each other, heard their self-doubts, and shared their moments of joy and suffering, but we've also gotten an insight into why they act the way they do, their conscious and unconscious motivations. For me, naani is the real storyteller in Shehr-e Zaat. Falak, Hamza, Salman, Mehrunissa, and Rushna are merely acting out her story, and its various facets, to help us better understand what is lacking within us, what is it that we as humans need to learn to live up to the title of Ashraf-ul Makhlooqaat.
Shehr-e Zaat is gradually blossoming into an enchanting tale of mirrors and reflections. Falak and Hamza have turned into images of each other, both like moths to a flame, uncaring, and unheeding of the dire consequences. Similarly, while Falak is pursuing an uncaring Salman, she is also unconsciously mirroring his actions. She spurns Hamza's affections with as much disdain as Salman does hers. All three of them caught up in a frenzy that is now an uncontrollable madness. Who out of these three will be the first to pause and reflect on the truth reflected in the mirror – not a worldly mirror, but that which lies buried in all of us and needs only to be polished to see the true beloved reflected within?
Needless to say another week, another lovely episode; with every new installment Umera Ahmed and Sarmad Khoosat are outdoing themselves in bringing to life a story that goes beyond the realm of the run-of-the- mill stories. Kudos to the entire team of SeZ for a fantastic job; all actors deserve equal praise, it is very hard to pinpoint one over other – all are doing justice to their very complex characters. The cameramen, the technicians, the creative teams, all are equally worthy of praise.
Looking forward to next chapter!
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