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So I was right about one thing. The romance that we've all been dying to see every week between Ashar (Fawad Khan) and Khirad (Mahira Khan) has offically come to an end. And things are just going to get worse from here on out.

Ashar spent all episode ignoring Khirad, and annoying me to no end. He has no reason to be angry at her, and he knows it too. When she asks him what she's done wrong, he tells her that she hasn't done anything. And yet, he still refuses to have a civilized conversation with her.

When I first saw the promos for Humsafar, my first guess was that Sarah (Naveen Waqar) would be the one to cause mayhem in Ashar and Khirad's lives. However, judging from today's episode and the precap, Khizar (Noor Hassan) is the real culprit. He has taken Sarah's rejection to heart, and the only words he seems to remember from her tirade are "Tum Ashar ka muqabla kabhi bhi nahin kar sakte."

I really felt the tagline of the show, "How fragile is the bond of love?" coming back again and again throughout the course of this episode. Ashar is a man who is easily misled, his insecurities about his and Khirad's relationship causing even tiny little things like Khizar's complimenting his wife to put his mood off. And the biggest problem with his personality is that the he doesn't know how to communicate with his wife, to tell her why he's angry with her in the first place. And then we have Khirad, a headstrong girl who is too proud to let her ego be trampled. Add in someone like Khizar, who is bent on destroying Ashar's life, and you've got a big problem on your hands. It's not hard for misunderstanding to find its way between these two characters.

I already knew that Sarmad Khoosat is one of the best directors we have in the drama industry, but today's episode still managed to wow me. The first scene in which Ashar is thinking was artfully directed, as was the last scene with Khizar at the beach. I didn't like that Khirad was constantly thinking throughout the whole episode, but I suppose that it has to be done in order to translate the emotions from the novel.

I'm worried about how Mahira Khan's acting is going to play out in the coming episodes. From the looks of the promos, we've got some intense scenes coming up, and while there's no doubt that Fawad is going to rock them, I'm not too sure about Mahira. There's nothing worse than an intense scene ruined by mediocre acting. Mahira has been doing pretty decently so far, with a few mistakes here and there, but I'm not sure if she'll be able to deliver in the next couple of episodes.

After watching the precap, my initial thought was "That's it. He throws her out of the house and she goes back to Hyderabad, never to meet him again for years and years." But then I analyzed every single one of the promos again, and realized that there is still a lot of story left to unfold. Great. Now I can spend the next couple of weeks constantly thinking about what's going to happen next.

-Noorie AKA Sarah

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Hi guys :)

so heres the fun part for all of you:) a very loyal reader of Dramapakistani from India (Rohkma) questions regarding Humsafar.. yup "woh humsafar thaa!!!! "   :P

so i thought , since our readers here are PHD or should i say FRCS on Humsafar and Ashar :P lets throw the questions out to you all,,

Happy Answering :P and anyone can give their own take on the questions below

Questions of a Humsafar fan from India :)

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Today, while I was working on something totally unrelated and far removed from the drama world, my mind wandered and I ended up somehow thinking about Humsafar and it occured to me that it had been about forty days since it had ended, a kind of a chaleesvaan, if you will. So, as they say rasm-e duniya bhi hai, mauqa bhi hai, dastoor bhi hai … let’s reminisce … lets muse over why we continue to miss Humsafar. Why is it that most of have watched the serial more than once in its entirety? Why are Ashar and Khirad still as dear, and just as real to us as our family members? Why do we invariably end up comparing almost all new dramas to this dearly departed serial? Why is it that every time Faraz posts his weekly comment on the Humsafar thread, it becomes the hottest thread for the next couple of days… why, why, why Humsafar?

Needless to say I cannot answer any of the questions above – these are not the kinds of questions that can be addressed by either logic or rationale. Rather, the answers are unquantifiable, related to that something extra, something indefinable, which elevates something mundane and ordinary to a whole other realm. Yes, we all know the story was, in the memorable words of a beloved Walt Disney character, a tale as old as time/a song as old as rhyme. The formulaic love triangle, with a conniving mother-in-law thrown in for good measure, has been done to death before. Nonetheless, Farhat Ishtiaq’s superb weaving of the Ashar-Khirad-Sarah-Fareeda-Baseerat-Khizar saga still managed to mesmerize a jaded audience. We fell for the purity of the emotion - Ashar’s passion and pain; Khirad’s naïveté and strength; Sarah’s love and despair; and Fareeda’s manipulation and retribution. We felt every nuance of their emotional graph, and the credit for making the audience empathize with every character belongs to Sarmad Khoosat. His keen understanding of human psychology coupled with his aesthetic sensibility made for a winning combination. Shehzad Kashmiri’s excellent cinematography, Quratulain Baloch’s haunting rendition of the OST, and excellent editing by Kashif Ahmed and his team, breathed life into Sarmad's cinematic vision, making the screenplay come alive and take on a life all its own.

Beautifully written and brilliantly translated as it was on to the screen, none of it would have worked if it wasn’t for the superb acting by the whole cast and the explosive chemistry between the Fawad-Mahira-Navin triumvirate. While we applauded their acting, and talked about the chemistry while the serial was on air, I don’t think we fully realized the potency of their lethal combination. The heat generated by this triad made us overlook so many of the fault lines in this wafer-thin story. Even as socio-cultural stereotypes were being reinforced, we willed ourselves into ignoring the obvious incongruities: Ashar, a foreign-educated, successful businessman easily gives into his father’s emotional blackmail; the ladies in the family have planned his marriage but he remains blissfully ignorant; he is easily led astray by his mother’s nefarious plans; and even in this day and age, Khirad is unable to communicate with Ashar and tell him her side of the story. I could go on and on, but I think we are well aware of these shortcomings. Moreover, while we criticize the excessive smoking and inappropriate language shown on TV these days, we were treated to a healthy dose of these here as well – Ashar smoked liked a chimney, and slurs like begahairat, behaya, besharam, and kamina were repeated ad nauseam. Though we complained about these issues then too, the overall impact was such that these appeared to be minor grievances. Simply put, we bought the whole package. Brilliantly executed as it was by Momina Duraid, Sarmad Khoosat, Farhat Ishtiaq, Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Navin Waqar, Atiqa Odho, Behroze Sabzwari, Hina Bayat, and the rest of the cast and crew, we fell for Humsafar hook, line, and sinker. Way to go guys!

While I am not one to look back and say the best is behind us, I will confess to being just a tad bit sentimental about Humsafar. Almost certainly there will be another stellar romance soon on our TV screens, but it will have to be something beyond special to fill the void left by Humsafar.

Written by SZ~ sz.reviews.dp@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: SZ_DramaPakistani (@sz_dp)

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Humsafar is over - but it has left us with many things to write about which we, at least here on DramaPakistani.net, hope other producers/directors will note in order to improve the quality of drama serials that will hit our screens in the near and distant future.

1) A fresh lead pair

With Fawad Khan and Sanam Baloch coming together in Dastaan, Akbari Asghari AND Kuch Pyar Ka Pagalpan, it was refreshing to see Mahira Khan doing the female lead opposite Fawad Khan. The presence of Naveen Waqar in her debut role, as the third link in the love triangle was also very pleasant, especially as Naveen shone through in terms of her acting and her spot-on expressions. Thumbs up to Sarmad Khoosat, the director, who was able to bring out the best from both Mahira and Naveen, as well as the rest of the cast.

2) Gray characters

There are quite literally, very few serials who have gray characters, that is, characters who have both positive and negative qualities. In many cases, the extent to which a serial is elongated in terms of story depends on one "vamp" character, either male of female. Take him or her out, and the entire story would fall on its face. This did not happen with Humsafar, where every character had some negative qualities.

Khirad was sweet but too naive and unsuspecting in the beginning. Ashar was caring but he would not communicate. Sarah was very calculating BUT she did not let Ashar and Khirad's marriage break her (until the end, anyway). I cannot think of anything positive for Fareeda, but the point is, if you take Fareeda out of the drama serial, you would still have a story (relationship of Ashar and Khirad, Hareem's illness, and so on).

3) Professional production

I feel bad even writing this but most production houses these days are presenting drama serials with sloppy editing, numerous bloopers involving continuity of props and wardrobe, inappropriate dialogues and an overall disinterested approach in the way the final product is present. (No, I am not just referring to ONE serial here; there are numerous that fit this description).

Humsafar had its fair share of bloopers BUT the production was excellent. Kudos to Momina Duraid and her MD Productions for ensuring that the editing was crisp, the quality of picture and sound was excellent, and the background score blended perfectly with the dialogues. The direction was at its best - again, credit goes to Sarmad Khoosat.

This is not even rocket science - most production houses and directors can achieve this level of professionalism if they only put some time and effort towards their finished product and not compromise on quality in order to ensure the serial goes on air sooner.

4) Excellent marketing

In this day and age, when there are so many drama serials, it is extremely important to market a serial well. Humsafar's marketing was done commendably - promos were released on time, the complete OST was made available well before the serial started, and of course, professional portraits of lead characters was done. Photographs of the shoot were uploaded everywhere, and most important, this marketing was done such that none of the crucial bits were given away. No promos of Hareem were released beforehand and till the very end, no one knew exactly how the serial would end. With most other dramas, the marketing is below the mark - either it is too much and gives away every single detail of the plot OR it is totally non-existent. Humsafar struck a critical balance and hit the jackpot (sorry, I could NOT resist this cliche!).

5) An ordinary story - told beautifully

I totally agree with all Humsafar critics that the story was nothing out of the ordinary. We have watched numerous drama serials which have a similar plot line. What made Humsafar distinct was the way the story was told, in terms of dialogue and pace - as SZ wrote in numerous comments and reviews, it showed a "mature" love story. In a country where many marriages are still arranged, there is little surprise most of the younger audience was mesmerized by the way Khirad and Ashar fell in love with each other AFTER marriage.

The story of Sarah was more developed than in the novel and made the audience sympathize with her as well as feel incensed at her.  The track about Khizar was also added further to include the events after his return from America. In other words, Farhat Ishtiaq broadened her original plot and ensured that her audience were not left wondering what happened to the other characters in the end. All loose ends were tied up in the end, and the audience were left with a smile on their faces.

So there you have it - my top five reasons for Humsafar being popular. There were many more, of course: excellent acting, emotional appeal in the form of an ill child, "outdoor" sets when required, more action and less over-talking, and of course, visuals of all the best scenes from the novel. However, I would credit its popularity chiefly to the aforementioned five. Will other production houses/directors take a leaf out of Sarmad Khoosat's masterpiece? I sure hope so!

Written by Drama Buff (dramabuff.dp@gmail.com)

PS: This "PS" should have been in the "comment" section of the finale, but I thought I'd write it here in order to make it more prominent. This is for Mahira Khan: Thank you for visiting DramaPakistani.net and commenting on the finale post. I know I am a very "ruthless" critic at times, especially when I get too involved in a drama serial. As SZ said, it was nothing personal, and purely objective critique. I am glad to know you read my reviews, and hope to see you back in another drama serial!

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Oh MAN! You know, right now, I really do not mind that HUM TV extended the drama serial to include one more episode. And this is only and only because today's episode was just awesome. It had every ingredient that keeps you hooked to the screen, and in the end, when it's over, you could let out a long sigh and realize that everything will be eventually wrapped up next week.

I had started watching this episode with zero expectations. I was very sure there would be more than a few flashbacks and quite a few scenes with "nothing" happening. However, even if the episode was artificially extended, it was done very decently.

Khirad finally left for Hyderabad, after leaving a letter for Ashar. We all discussed this action of hers on this forum last week - for some reason, I still felt everything could have been sorted out with her in Karachi. Her leaving Hareem in the same house as Fareeda only means one thing: she was still naive enough to assume Fareeda would not harm her own granddaughter. Or, she had some extraordinary faith in Ashar that he would protect her. I still find her action hard to digest. But then, there are things that happen in a drama serial simply to make the story move forward smoothly, so I will just consider Khirad's action as one of  "those things".

Fawad Khan was again brilliant as Ashar today - he displayed a range of emotions, first promising Disneyland to Hareem, finding out Khirad had left, reminiscing about their time together, turning Khizr out of his office without bothering to listen to him, and finally, discovering the long lost letter. We also find out that Jamal had given the letter to Ashar, only he never bothered to read it. More than the letter, the conversation he over-heard his mother having with Khizr compelled him to realize the way he had been misled. That scene was brilliantly done, juxtaposing Baseerat Hussain's conversation with Khirad's and Fareeda's voices on that fateful day.

Sarah's life ended in a tragedy today, as her second attempt at suicide proved to be successful. I can only feel terribly sorry for both Sarah and Zareena - both were played by Fareeda to achieve HER aims. I say, played - one can ask did these educated ladies not have a mind of their own? The sad fact is Sarah wanted ONLY Ashar - in the novel, she ended up in a mental hospital simply because she could not accept Ashar and Khirad together again. Who was at fault? Was it Sarah's for loving her best friend? Was it Ashar's who could never see her in "that light"? Whatever the case, Sarah needed to move on with her life, but she didn't do that. She kept clinging to a thin thread of hope meted out by Fareeda that Ashar would eventually forget Khirad and be with her. In the end, she realized it was not to be.

Naveen Waqar! I can only say HATS OFF! You pulled off your debut role BRILLIANTLY. We hope to see you more drama serials in the future.

The episode ended at a very suspense-induced mode but what really annoyed me was the preview of the last episode. In my opinion, there should be NO previews of the last episode to maintain the right amount of suspense. Why did they show Khirad returning with Ashar? Apart from this minor glitch, today's episode progressed smoothly and I hope it will come to a gradual (not hurried) conclusion next week.

Written by Drama Buff (dramabuff.dp@gmail.com)

PS: This is my last review of Humsafar as SZ will cover the Humsafar finale next week. I will take this opportunity to thank all the readers for their encouraging comments and keeping the Humsafar thread extremely active.

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Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! Wah! What an episode! By far the best one so far, and that’s saying a lot!! Excellent direction, superb acting, beautifully framed shots, hard hitting dialogues, spot-on editing, great use of the OST – in short, everything gelled together, and how!!!

Today’s episode covered only about the span of a day or so, but so much happened that it was difficult to move away from the screen for even a minute. Hareem’s surgery was indeed successful and she is now recuperating. Batool Khala came to visit and we heard Khirad re-confirming her plans to leave Hareem with Ashar. Fareeda’s neurosis continues unabated. Cornered by an angry Khizar threatening to spill the beans, she attempts to placate him with empty promises. Sarah, on the other end, now totally heart-broken, is finding it very hard to conceive of a life where there is not even the faintest glimmer of hope of ever getting Ashar. As Sarah’s mother, Zareena is at complete loss as to how to help her daughter gather her shattered dreams and move on. Standing out among all these threads was the central story of Ashar trying to come to terms with his re-kindled feelings for Khirad. Finally, he sat down and had a long overdue conversation with himself about how/where things had started to unravel between him and Khirad. Unlike the last time, the sight of Khizar in his house, and the story concocted by an unfazed Fareeda, does not blind him to such extent that he cuts off all communication with Khirad. Instead, even after that, he opens up to Khirad, confessing his willingness to move on and build a new life with her. Khirad, on the other hand, refuses to even entertain the thought of reconciliation, and continues to remain adamant about leaving after Hareem recovers. I was struck by the similarity in her present attitude to that of Ashar's obdurate stance four years ago, when he had refused to heed any of Khirad's pleas.

For me, this episode was sheer brilliance in terms of Fawad’s acting. His voiceover was powerfully delivered. Every word was dripping with emotion. His confession to Khirad was outstanding. Mahira was strictly ok. She has improved a lot, but still her dialogue delivery remains flat. Generally she is fine but pales in scenes with Fawad. My heart broke for Naveen Waqar as she lamented for her unrequited love. Hina Bayat was fantastic as the mother who can only look on helplessly as her daughter makes a complete mess of her life. Atiqa Odho was great as the absolutely whacko mother, one who just refuses to give up. It’s all about her ego.

Excellent as everybody was, the real superstar today was Sarmad Khoosat. I don’t think Farhat Ishtiaq’s fantastic story would’ve shaped up the way it has, if it weren’t for Sarmad. Farhat’s done a great job of adapting and extending her story, but it is Sarmad’s keen insight and his even-handed handling of all the characters that makes this drama exceptional. To make an audience empathize and sympathize with each character is a difficult task, but in highlighting the grey shades of every character he has managed to do just that. Today, I felt Sarah’s pain, shared Zareena’s helplessness, cried with Ashar, and understood Khirad’s need to stand up for her dignity. Atiqa’s is the only character that is more black than grey, so, Aunty Fareeda, sorry no sympathy for you!!

And, after watching the dhamakedaar pre-cap for episode 22, can’t wait for next Saturday. Intizar shuroo….

Written by S Z~

sz.reviews.dp@gmail.com

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Now THIS is what I call a thoroughly satisfying, action-packed episode. Everything finally seems to be going towards a gradual end, and all the characters are now beginning to realize their follies as well as their errors of judgement.

Hareem had her crucial surgery, Sarah finally told off Khizar, Zarina gave a much over-due talking-to to her sister, and of course, Ashar admitted that he could not make himself hate Khirad inspite of all that had happened.

The best scene of the entire episode, however, was the one in which Fareeda brings the proposal. The way Sarah's face lights up (when she thinks it's Ashar's) and falls when the reality dawns on her (it's for Khizar) was heart-wrenching. I have had very little sympathy for Sarah. However, the way she was used as a pawn by her own Khala, and the so-called "plan" Fareeda had for her was shocking. Sarah was right in the end, "Jo aurat apnay betay ki na ho saki woh meri kiya hogi?" Hats off to Naveen Waqar for her brilliant acting and spot-on emotions as she gave a resounding reply to Fareeda.

Khizar, of course, was a hilarious sight when Sarah told him off. Man, the only word that came in my mind was: sissy! So is it now a "race"? Let's see who tells Fareeda the truth first and how?

Khirad and Ashar shared the extreme torture that parents go through when they see their children in pain. Mahira and Fawad both were brilliant in all the scenes during the operation and after. Khirad's expressions, especially when she saw Hareem with her oxygen mask and all the tubes, went straight to my heart. Ashar's icy demeanor finally seemed to be thawing in the face of Khirad's show of emotions. The scene where he was talking his heart out and she dozed off was excellent.

While the episode was amazing through and through, I did note two major bloopers. Firstly, there is the scene where Sarah is wearing the blue top and yelling at Fareeda. It was followed by the one in which she was dressed in black and the floor showed shards of broken glass. In the next scene, everything is back in its place and she is wearing the same blue top and then she throws everything on the floor. I think this scene should have been first and THEN the black-dress scene in which the floor was cluttered with glass.

The second blooper was that you usually do not get a separate room in a hospital to doze in. After having experienced this myself, I can say for sure that the only way you can doze on a hospital bed is, if there is an extra bed in the patient's room. Of course, you can argue that Ashar's money could have bought anything. However, I remember in the novel, Khirad dozed off on the sofa outside and not on any bed.

Anyway, the bloopers pale in comparison to the rest of the amazingly acted-out and brilliantly directed episode. Hats off to the entire team! I cannot wait for the next episode now.

Written by Drama Buff (dramabuff.dp@gmail.com)

PS: Man, did anyone catch Fareeda's "Yeh kanta tou nikal jaata?" comment? How cruel can one be?

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Ashar! Ashar! Enough already! Haven’t you learnt ANYTHING in the past four and a half years? Knew you were a tool, but such a big one?? How can you leave your once charming mother and your now bitter wife alone with each other, while you calmly take off for work or go looking for non-existent wedding pictures? Did you really expect these ladies to just forget the past and get along as if nothing had happened in the interim? Hasn’t it sunk in by now that they hate each other? Don’t you realize that the minute you turn your back they go at each other’s throats? You blithely plan family outings and when your daughter tries to tell you that dadi is mean to her and her mama, you seem surprised. Really? Are you that clueless? No wonder your life is a mess – you just don’t get it!!

Whew! Ok! So now that this rant against the hapless Ashar, brilliantly played by Fawad Khan, is out of the way, I can now take a deep breath and carry on.

In terms of the story, not much happened this week. It was a lethargic episode. The tensions between Fareeda, Atiqa Odho in excellent form here, and Khirad, a strictly average Mahira, continued to gather steam, and I can only hope that we are not made to wait till the very last episode to see the final showdown between the feuding mother and daughter-in-law pair. The long awaited letter, which Khirad had given to Jamal on that ill-fated night, also made its guest appearance today. I guess we’ll have to wait till next week to know how it ended up being tucked away among old photo albums. For more than half of the episode, Ashar appeared seemingly oblivious to the tension between his wife and mother. It is only when Hareem hints at the stress, that he makes a clumsy attempt to reason with his mother. I am at a total loss here and cannot comprehend why Ashar is being portrayed as such a loser. Surely, there must be some redeeming qualities to this man!!

Hareem’s upcoming surgery continues to bring Khirad and Ashar closer. Fawad was superb as the grieving, stressed out father. The scene where Ashar talks to Hareem about her hospitalization was sensitively done, as was the scene where he talks to Khirad after she is done praying for her daughter’s life. Mahira is okay on her own, but tends to appear flat in her scenes with either Fawad or Atiqa.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting but slow episode. Judging from the preview, next week promises to be more action-packed: Khizar’s return, Sarah’s breakdown, Hareem’s surgery, and Ashar’s confession that he still loves Khirad. Looking forward to the fireworks!

P.S. Was anybody else aggravated by the fact that the episode ended so abruptly. We didn’t get to see the Ashar/Sarah scene, the one we’d been shown in the preview for this episode. At first I thought it was a problem with the link I watching and so went to watch another one, but still the same – aarghh!! What was the point of that? So not funny!!

Written by SZ ~

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Wow. During the first half of today's episode, I was literally clenching my teeth, and saying: Come ON, come ON! I want to see a Khirad-Farida confrontation.

But when it finally came on the screen, I was literally blown. Wow. It was really an intense scene and I was struck by Mahira's improved acting as much as I was by Khirad's determination and her complete unfaltering attitude in front of Farida, who was her usual snooty self. Finally, Khirad has learned to stand up for herself and her daughter.

Apart from this one scene, the episode had nothing to write home about. I don't think there was any reason to show Sarah making TWO phone calls to Farida. One would have been quite enough. And then there were two useless scenes of Zarina and Sarah which could have been cut out quite easily. We all know Sarah is still obsessed with Ashar - we don't need to find out anything more about her rejection of proposals.

The scene with Afsheen and the peon asking for holiday was nicely done. Also, when Khirad tells Batool Khala she will leave Hareem with Ashar was very poignent. I felt Mahira should have shown more emotions there, but then, I guess she did the best she could. In the novel, Khirad has this conversation with Ashar so I wonder how they will show this now.

Overall, this was another slow episode. I am looking forward to Khizar's return next week and his apparent blackmailing of Farida - wonder if he wants more money or Sarah. Hurry it up already!

Written by Drama Buff (dramabuff.dp@gmail.com)

PS: Is it me or is the entire cast now looking a bit worn out and indifferent? For some reason, they ALL look as if they have had enough! LOL!

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