Faltu Larki - Seemi Raheel, Samiya Mumtaz, Hina Dilpazeer - Page 2

Originally posted by: JNam

I will add that in today's episode, there was a very powerful scene that speaks to the utter hopelessness of the situation Paro is in. She thinks her machinations (to keep Bhai Jaan unmarried) will avenge her perceived slight at his hands, and this will bring her peace. But clearly, as Bhai Jaan pointed out, her life is one big dollop of nothing. She has been deceiving her husband, while trying to wreak havoc in the lives of his family members, especially Bhai Jaan and his mom, and Jahan Ara. All this while, her own daughter is shown to be careless about her academics as well as her reputation . She is starting to get seriously involved with a local boy, and I will not be surprised if she ends up pregnant or elopes. It is clear to the viewer that Paro is on a very self destructive path even if, for the present, it makes here feel in control of her destiny and those around her.

Another such self destructive character is Imran Ashraf's mother who is shown to present a facade of piety while indulging in evil and cruel antics. I do think, however, that Paro's deviousness belongs to a category by itself. She has surpassed all evil characters in Urdu televised fiction that I have seen.

A final word of applause for Samiya Mumtaz. It is so easy to forget she is the same actress who made me weep buckets for her character in Meri Zaar Bnishan. Here she is loathsome and utterly, utterly detestable. She inhabits the character well, and brings out her hidden pain as well as her vindictiveness quite skilfully.

Originally posted by: JNam

The series ended today on the same engrossing note that it had struck throughout its airing. The Faltu Larki finally found her voice to speak against the wrongs that were being done to her, and she did so with the complete support and love of Yasir. Bhai jaan too played a small part in her liberation, which seemed appropriate keeping his subdued, withdrawn character in mind. Being sold off using a fake marriage to a mentally disabled person was the final straw, it would appear, for Jahan Ara. The usually taciturn, compliant girl finally spoke up using measured yet stirring words that made her uncle and aunt (Yasir's parents) feel distinctly uncomfortable, although they were still at a point in their desperate attempts to make a fast buck for themselves, where the lure of wealth superseded all rectitude that they might have possessed. So, they refused to bow down to her wishes, but luck was in Jahan Ara's favour this time around. She left her uncle's house in the simple outfit she had arrived in, and a chance encounter with Bhai jaan gave her an escort to the police station where she surrendered herself to the authorities. I had expected a simple, straight-forward end to Jahan Ara's tale but the writer had a different outcome in mind. Showing up at the police station, and taking the blame for having burnt her sole identity document (thereby relieving her uncle of any legal hassles) must have been nerve wracking for a girl who has seemed too overwhelmed by her challenges through most of the series. But the Jahan Ara of this final episode was a bit more assertive and assured much like Yasir was, and both attributed this positive change in themselves to their mutual affection. Although we were told that Jahan Ara might need to serve time for upto a year, and would eventually be extradited to India, it seemed clear that Yasir and she would have a happy if delayed union with each other. Yasir promised to join her in India soon enough, and the two would likely return to Pakistan married to each other.

Anjum got her liberation as well as she walked away from a terrible marriage with her head held high and her dignity intact. I loved her statement to her mother about her own self-respect being the most important thing to her. Usually, television shows straddle women in such situations with weak dialogue that mention reasons other than their self respect as the rationale behind their decision. Anjum made it extremely clear that she was disgusted by the shoddy treatment her in-laws and husband had meted out to her, and she could no longer justify being with him. She felt she deserved better, even if that better meant living life as a single woman in her parents' home and listening to endless jibes by others. It was wonderful to see that a woman in a televised series had finally had enough not because of her husband's infidelity or her own love for another man, but for the simple reason of self-love and self-respect. Bravo!

Mushtari got her comeuppance as well for her devious plot to sell Jahan Ara although her downfall merely meant having to return to Bhai Jaan and Yasir's parents' households (without any recompense for the services she had offered to her loony former employers), and possibly opening herself to ridicule through them. It was also suggested that her daughter might not be of a heterosexual orientation and fortunately, the daughter was not maligned or given short shrift becuse of that. In fact this show stood out in how seamlessly it inserted few homosexual women characters into the plot wothout making much ado about their sexuality. The more I think about this, and the fact that the show has been written by a writer from a socially conservative part of the world where homosexuality is still not considered the norm, the more I am elated and heartened by the ability of fiction to allow one (writers and readers) to venture into territory that they might not feelf free to explore in the real world.

Finally, Paro paid a very, very heavy price for her machinations. She lost her only child. While it was nice to see her make at least some apology to one of the women she wronged, and recognize how her obsession with getting even with bhaijaan cost her her daughter, she was still not able to, understandably, eliminate all thoughts of bhai jaan. In fact, in one of her ramblings to Jahan Ara, she held him squarely responsible for everything because he would not marry her or accept her love. What Paro has never understood is the fact that her feelings for bhai jaan were one sided, and therefore, her problem to resolve. Bhaijaan stayed away from her because he was naturally withdrawn, and because he was a fundamentally decent man who did not want to give her false hopes. The ache of unrequited love is heart-wrenching, and capable of turning one merciless as Paro's life showed us adequately. Another show, Naz R Bad that is currently playing in another channel, has painted a similar bleak picture of a spurned lover whose obsession with obtaining his "love" leads him down a murky path. In both series, it is emphasized that, while rejection is painful, it can not justify giving up one's rectitude.

Overall, Faltu Larki was an amazing series that had no more than 2 episodes that felt rambling, which I think is a feat for any series. I was glad to have found it, and it will remain a great favourite for years to come.

A final word: in what appears to have become the norm, the title montage of this show was based on the celebrity of the performer and not the importance of characters to the story. As a result, the real Faltu Larki is hidden behind Anum's picture which occupies the center stage even though she was an important but supporting character to the plot. In fact, her plotline, while refreshing has little to do with the main plot which revolved around Jahan Ara, Yasir, and the others.

Ps- It was nice to see the makers recreate the Indian movie Ishaqzaade for one of their scenes. I am guessing this was because they couldn't get a hand on the actual footage of the film. Regardless, the makers were able to show, quite effectively, how young people, especially children, can get confused by their own burgeoning sexuality and the content of the television and movies that they watch, and this can, on occasion, result in alarming tragedy as was the case with this show.

Originally posted by: Famishah

Thanks! I am glad you enjoyed the show and my review :-)