From the time they aired the first teaser it captured my imagination. As i’m sure it has everyone else’s. The promise of a strong male villain, sorcerers & magic, beautiful visuals together with that oh so hummable Kahani Humari stayed in my mind long after the promo finished airing.
From then on i was greedy for any new information they provided be it any new articles, star’s interviews & other teasers. Throughout it all there stayed a question at the back of my mind which i look forward to being answered. Will it be a purely supernatural show like Nazar or will it be an everyday daily soap drama ?
Before giving the recap i wanted to discuss the factors that drew me to Jinn.
The Jinn & it’s world building - Coming from the makers of Nazar I’m confident they will reinvent the mythology of Jinn just like they did with the Daayan. It is as yet an unexplored concept in itv. Then there’s the imaginative world building that they’ve already displayed in Nazar. I am curious in the absence of hindu god’s & goddess what new concepts they would bring in. We’ve got a talented team helmed by Director Atif Khan. So I’m confident of the final product.
The OST - Be it Soulful tracks like Saajna or rousing one’s like Namo Namah or the Daayan’s anthem they always churn out good music. We already got a taste of it in Kahani Humari. So music is another thing i look forward to.
Exploring a new culture - We’ve never had a supernatural show with a muslim backdrop before, combined with the charm of Nawabs, beautiful palaces, the refined language etc i was hooked. And yes the charismatic leads Aman & Roshni and their fairy tail like love story.
It remains to be seen whether the expectations raised by the promo will realised in the show ? Let’s find out.
Note : This a one time recap only
Monday’s Recap : Meet Aman & Roshni
The episode opens with 3 boys taking a road trip passing by a river on either side of the road. Turns out they’re helping their friend escape the clutches of a Jinn. While his friend is clearly freaking out about this, the one driving is sceptical about this so called Djinn. The friend explains that just like there are ghosts & fairies there are Djinns in this world. People go to them for help for various reasons, it could be for beauty for riches etc. In exchange they have to agree to the Djinn’s demands. His father too made a deal with the Djinn to become rich. “What if they don’t agree to pay then ?” the one driving curiously asks. “Then the Djinn personally comes to collect payment himself ! ” the third friend chimes in ominously.
Just as the friend driving scolds them for unnecessarily scaring themselves, he sees something that causes him to abruptly pull on the brakes. The car spins around throwing his friends out of their seats. They're about to upbraid him for it, when he points at a terrifying sight. There appearing out of the fog is the mythical Jinn making his intro with appropriately spooky background music.
All three sit petrified while he menacingly approaches them causing the ground to rumble with every step he takes. Gathering their wits they try to drive out from there but the car stays put with the tires squealing in protest. ( Uh-oh ) Trying to get out they find the car doors locked. All the while the Jinn steadily closes the distance between them. He stoops down from his great height to peer at them to reveal one huge eyeball ( Yikes ! 🥶) Heart pounding in their chest they wait for his next move. He doesn’t disappoint. The Jinn crushes their car with his bare hands as if munching on fruit loops including it’s passengers. Having demolished the car he tosses it’s remains into the river. (Ouch
)
Our narrator comments on people’s limited imagination. Jinn & fairies don’t just exist in books they are real. And who should our narrator be but a cheeky 1200 year old fairy guarding the water fountain. Meet Maddy she’s here to guide you on the magical love story of Aman & Roshni. But first let’s meet our leads.
We then see a young man who is being waited upon hand & foot via magic. The tea pot pours him a cup of tea, toasts butter themselves etc. etc. Just like in the promo. This is Aman Junaid Khan ! Only for everything to come to a crashing halt when his dadi catches him red handed. They rehash an old argument. She scolds him for his use of magic, to keeping a pet eagle, to his choice of clothes. He is getting married after all so he should dress to look different from the rest.
Bad choice of words ! It serves to reminds him how different he really is ! We see flashes of a beast like creature. Frustrated he asks his reflection in the mirror “Why am i like this ? “ Dadi as usual tries to change the subject. But Aman wants to know the truth , why does he have these powers, powers that only a Jin..Dadi cuts him off mid way. She forbids him to speak that name in this house ever again. Regarding his questions she doesn’t have the answers either. Except our narrator Maddy knows she’s lying ! Dadi can’t bring herself to tell him the truth, that a Jinn is after him...
The fairy continues if Jinn’s exists then so do Angels & also human beings who possess angel like qualities. The scene shifts to a balcony where we see many sparrows feeding from a bird bath & eating leftovers from a breakfast tray. Generally making a mess of things. Annoyed a women who we later come to know is Roshni’s mom ( Garima Singh) chases away all the sparrows. Only for Roshni to again fill the bird bath when she turns away. Holding the grains in her hands she whistles for the sparrows. They happily feed from her. Fashioning a crown from twigs they crown her as a reward. Our narrator introduces her as a tawaif with a golden heart. We leave her to dance in joy as the scene shifts back to Aman’s house.
While everyone in the house is busy preparing for his marriage Aman looks around for his ami. He worries that ami would be missing abu at such an important time. Dadi yells at him for always starting this topic. She looks really agitated. To appease her Aman promises not to bring up abu again. Mood restored he again asks for his ami. Dadi points her out to him. We then see a radiant Smitha Bhansal aka Parveen. She is all smiles & laughs as she reassures her son she is all right. In response he tenderly kisses her forhead ( Aww ). She hugs him back while she hides her worries from him. Both Dadi & Parveen share a heavy look. ( What exactly are the women hiding from him ?
)
Whatever it is we aren’t kept in suspense much longer. While Aman goes for the Chand Raat celebration Dadi shares her worries with Parveen. It hurts her heart to hide the truth from him, but how can she tell him the root cause of all his problems is his own abu ! Scene flashes back to his father who is none other than Sushant Singh. Parveen replies it their duty to protect Aman even if it means lying to him. But dadi fears that the Jinn will come to extract his payment in exchange for fulfilling a wish. Parveen doesn’t think so. More pressing is how to hide his father’s bad deeds from him.
We are treated to some more flashbacks...Aman’s abu holding a briefcase full of money....He & a woman hugging a man while sporting a calculating look...He ruined so many lives, took many lives Parveen recounts...A plane crashes & we see him coolly walking away from the wreckage leaving a couple to die. The worst offence was throwing baby Roshni into the river... We know it’s her because she was wearing a golden bangle at the time. The same one Roshni currently holds in her hands.
Holding the only link to her past. She asks for her mother to confirm again how she rescued her. Mom apparently found her in a basket with 4 birds guarding her and fished her out from the river.
Mom though is more concerned as to why Roshni refused to dance at the MLA’s son’s wedding reception especially when she was offered a huge sum. It wasn’t as if she was asking her to do a mujra. We come to know they’re facing financial difficulties. Roshni plans on earning money by opening her own bakery. (😒 Roshni you’ll forget all about your bakery once you get involved with Aman) Ami wants her to stop running away from the truth. She is a tawaif’s daughter & people won’t see her any differently. It’s a painful subject but Roshni doesn’t let herself get discouraged. “Ami if we want the world to respect us we need to respect ourselves first ! “ Roshni tells her ( Atta Girl ). So saying she prepares to go to the Chand Raat celebration. It is said tonight whatever you wish for will be fullfilled. What she most desperately yearns for is answers about her past. She has a feeling those answers will find her tonight.
No truer words spoken for we see Aman parking his car in the mosque courtyards. As Roshni leaves mom warns her against bringing any scratches to the car. She bought it for 2.5 lakhs.
Maddy continues narrating while Roshni is looking for her past, Aman’s past was looking for him. Waiting in the clouds is the Jinn who's come to collect his dues. As Aman continues walking the Jinn’s shadow approaches him. Should it’s shadow fall fully on him Aman would forever become his. While on one side darkness was approaching him, the other side was Roshni who drives into the courtyard. Bending down to pick up her water bottle she accidentally collides with Aman’s parked car damaging it's rear end in the process. About to step into the Jinn's shadow Aman halts & turns around to inspect the damages.
All the while the shadow follows closely behind. There Roshni too gets out. Horrified by visions of going to Jail & ami selling off her bangle in her absence Roshni resolves not let him get his way. Stepping in front of Aman to confront him she accidentally steps into the Jinn’s shadow. It dissolves away into black mist startling even the Jinn. Interesting 🤔
Going on the offensive she accuses him for irresponsibly parking a big car. Poor guy ! she doesn’t let him get in a word edgewise. He clearly doesn’t want any money nor the 5 kilo Nankathai’s she offers as compensation. By this time our heroine goes too far by calling him a ‘Amir Baap Ki Bigri hui Aulaad’. He asks her not to mention his dad’s name. Oblivious to the warning signs she finishes her rant by mentioning fathers who always spoil their sons, accusing him of going crying to his abu about the broken car... Leaving him with the 5 kilo mithai ke dabba’s she stalks away triumphantly.
Our hero pained by her words takes out his anger on her car. The car flies above her head and crashes in front her. Yup the car is totally destroyed . Oh my Lawd ( That’s the 2nd car that got demolished today. Somebody is a major Rohit Shetty fan ! ) Poor Roshni is shattered seeing her car in pieces.
Aman goes to offer his prayers at the dargah. About to leave he finds Roshni there as well tearfully offering up her prayers. And we get the scene of the second promo. He looks at her remembering the flying car, she finds him looking at her and turns her head away in reproach. Scene then shifts to his house. The woman of the house are busy organising everything, when suddenly the clock strikes at 6:25 To Parveen’s Dadi & the 3rd woman’s horror it continues to chime. It’s the first of the three sign’s of the Jinn’s coming Dadi shakily notes.
In the dargah Aman is about to leave when the chandelier & everything else starts to shake. Looming high above the dargah is the Jinn ! Cracks appear everywhere in the structure, the building is about collapse, people run away helter skelter. Aman & Roshni can only watch the destruction in horror. Suddenly a child’s cry can be heard. Roshni rescues him at great risk to her life.
Back at the house all three women run to the swimming pool. To their horror it completely freezes over. This is the 2nd sign ! Parveen notes. At the dargah everything comes crashing down. Aman summons Baazigar his eagle who turns into a wand. Crying out Kiya Mifa he stops the top most structure from falling onto the people below. Roshni having deposited the child to his mom, turns around to see everything in suspended animation. Putting aside her astonishment she pulls a woman out from under there. Everyone else gets safely out from there as well. Only then does Aman release his hold over everything. It all comes crashing down.
Breathless from his exertions he views the destruction around him. In the background we see the Jinn. Our fairy sadly notes “At last the Jinn found Aman ! “
Precap : Aman grabs hold of his ami’s hand as she’s leaving. As she turns to face him we see his eyes turn ice blue & his hands & feet grow monstrous nails. Next scene they show a beast like creature hiding behind Parveen & another woman. They’re acutely conscious of him. He flies from behind them but he’s too swift to be recognised. Next scene we see the beast in his room throw a cupboard at Parveen.
🕵🏻♂️