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FawadHolic

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+ 2

Posted: 11 years ago

#1151

All I can say is what a beautiful closure to this wonderful journey called Humsafar.

Everything was just perfect. I even loved how they culminated Farida's character.

But FM was the star today. I won't review the episodes because no words can justify the beauty of today's episode. And I even loved loved how it was not a fairytale apology and simple forgiveness.

The last scene conveyed to me that Khirad, now done with the fighting, wanted back the bliss of normalcy, and has hence fallen back into a life with Ashar and Hareem. No, she hasn't really forgotten and forgiven. She is not even again ready to give herself fully into Ashar's life. She has rightfully claimed time to heal, and for the meantime, spend a life with no bitterness. Ashar, on the other hand, is now detetmined to win back Khirad's love and trust. He has taken the responsibility to make his family a perfect one like it should have been.

My two favorite scenes were aired today. The apology scene and the last rain scene. The way he opened her hair, the way Khirad smiled.😳

"Mohabbat mari nahi hai, bas kahin kho gayi hai."

The earnest "I am sorry" said it all. And Khirad finally letting go of her guard and admitting she was tired. And finally, their laugh when the watch the rain.😳

And of course, Ashar speaking up for Khirad. What a brilliantly powerful scene! And what caught my eye was Khirad's exptessions. That's where her resolve and anger melted. Finally, the man who once meant the world to her stood up for her and defended her integrity. All her lost respect was restored. That's all she had ever wanted, for Ashar to trust and support her.

Oh, what a lovely way to end this show which had become an integral part of our lives, and will always be!

Humsafar, you will be missed.😳

And Fawad Khan, how am I to spend the upcoming evenings without you?😆

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BlackStar

@BlackStar.

Sparkler

Posted: 11 years ago

#1152

HUMSAFAR REWATCH PARTY : Episode 23 Finale

Posted by Sadaf On April - 16 - 2014

One of the strongest and perhaps most prevalent threads in the tapestry that is South Asianculture is the belief divine or karmic retribution. The subcontinent has little patience for "the randomness" of life explanations and open ended philosophy of the West: we look for finite conclusions to finite situations. Now I realise this put the producer and director between a rock and a hard place, Farida had to be punished without knocking into that other pillar of our society: honouring your mother. One of the main underpinnings of the Humsafar story is that Asher trusted his mother above his wife Khirad. So I think they chose the easier option and gave Farida a nervous breakdown rather than allowing her to be abandoned as in the book.

Asher never willingly confronts his mother despite the absolute confirmation of her guilt. He blames himself, bangs his handsome head on a barrier before jumping into a car to fetch Khirad. He can barely meet her gaze now knowing how abominably he treated her but manages to cook up an excuse to bring her home. Again he does not confront his mother or blame her till she starts haranguing Khirad at the door. I found this the most disturbing part of the finale.

Fawad, Mahirah and Atiqa had us enthralled. I am sure the entire country held its breath when Asher said "Bas Mummy Bas" ..." Hareem meri beti HAI, agar iss baat ka koi saboot nahi hai tho saboot iss baat ka bhi nahin hai key main Baseerat Hussain ka beta hoon " Even then Farida is not willingly to accept any guilt or shame " tum ,tum mujhe galiy dey rahey ho..?" I have to commend Atiqa Odho for carrying off that entire mental break down scene alone in her room but for me this was not a satisfying conclusion to her track.

The best of this entire episode was the reconciliation between Asher and Khirad, beautifully done; it has to be one of my favourite scenes out of all the dramas I have ever watched. Fawad and Mahirah carried the whole thing off with such subtlety; we could see the ebb and flow of their emotions as Asher negotiated his way back into Khirad's life. The shake of Khirad's head had him worried but then she admits that she is tired of struggling through life without him. I know some people think Khirad should never have forgiven Asher but as Farhat Ishtiaq herself has said "Khirad and Asher loved each other so there was never a question of them not reconciling" I really don't think Khirad let Asher off the hook that easily, the ending scene shows it took time for them to reach some kind of level of trust.

Poor Sara was in my opinion unnecessarily killed off and I think Khizar, who played the most iniquitous role in the entire plot against Khirad was let off too easily. Zarina really did pay the heaviest price for her really quite minimal involvement. Farida never really lost Asher but Zarina lost her only daughter. Again Hina Bayat's scenes were heart breaking so there really was no need for that awfully fake wail of "sarooo" each time she picked up her daughter's framed photograph. Perhaps I really am a little absolutist but let's just say I would not have cried too hard if Khizar or Farida got accidentally run over by a bus.

Of course I adored the final scene of the happier family running around in the rain and despite my reservations about Farida I was left with a happy smile by the end of the program. I hope all our regular readers and commenters have enjoyed watching this serial again as much as I did. This serial, these characters, will always hold a very special place in our hearts. It is a rare event when all the factors that make a serial come into such perfect alignment. The writing, the production, the direction and the fabulous acting of all the parties made this show iconic and an unforgettable part of our culture.

I have the last episode of Humsafar on DVR so I watched it just as it was broadcast, sandwiched between promos of Bilqees Kaur, Durre Shehwar and Mata e Jaan Hai Tu. This really illustrated how spoiled we were: Daam on Sundays with Kuch Pyaar ka Pagalpan during the week .In my naivety I imagined that such rivers of milk and honey were unending and being the eternal optimist I am still hoping that those days will return. The singular most powerful achievement of Humsafar is that it managed to unite a huge, diverse and geographically fractured viewing audience around its characters. Despite all the options available to the viewing audience both in Pakistan and outside it .Despite the slews of gyrating naked images from Bollywood or the even more graphic violence and sexuality presented to us from the English language channels so many people from so many diverse backgrounds chose to watch this simple story sans any intellectual frills or flowery dialogues. And that ladies and gentleman is the power of love.

written by Sadaf

PS a shout out to all our old reviewers of Humsafar when it originally aired SZ , DB and Faraz ..It is easy to review something after you have watched it from beginning to end a thousand times but reviewing it the first time is more difficult .I loved readibng all your work :)

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664269

Suspended

Posted: 11 years ago

#1153

the fact that Asher does not willingly question fareeda but does it only after she insults khirad holds true to his character. he is the same Asher who never questioned khirad also 5 years ago, he always keeps it to himself, silently would digest the betrayal and give khirad her rights back, but because fareeda had crossed her limits, he had to step in and he bursted out all his grief.

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FawadHolic

@FawadHolic

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+ 2

Posted: 11 years ago

#1154

"Yeh kiss tarah ki mohabbat ki aapne mujhse ki mujhse aitbaar tak naa kiya?"

Khirad finally vents out the anger brewing inside her and desperately demands as to where she or their love fall short that Ashar did not trust her?

And in the next moment, as Ashar holds her, she admits that she is tired. She may not forget the last four years, but she has found her way back to love and forgiveness.😊

What a beautifully done scene this was!

Reminds me of a quote from One Tree Hill, "People that are meant to be together always find their way in the end."😳

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reviewmovies

@reviewmovies

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Posted: 11 years ago

#1155

Originally posted by: harshu.sundas
sadi, i just love the way he holds her, so gently and tender, and he replies, " abb main kabhi tumhe akela nahi chorunga "... awww, and khirad trusted him...

Alternate ending ..

"abb main kabhi tumhe akela nahi chorunga" .. "magar pehlay ammi say poochh loon"

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reviewmovies

@reviewmovies

Explorer

Posted: 11 years ago

#1156

Originally posted by: MamuKiBhanji

Or she have 2 more sis in a row .. Asher marries again to have a son .. and nicely dovetails into the sequel ..

Zindagi Gulzar Hai

Edited by reviewmovies - 11 years ago

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reviewmovies

@reviewmovies

Explorer

Posted: 11 years ago

#1157

Originally posted by: harshu.sundas
" Biwi tou dhoka de sakti hain, lekin maa tou kabhi dhoka nahi diya karti na mummy ... agar aap ko mere biwi se itna hi nafrat tha, tou kehdeti mujhe, talak de deta, chordeta issko, ye uss chiz bhi behtaar hota jo apne kiya hai iskey saath... Aaapni maa aur biwi ki darmiyaan agar mujhe kisiko chunna hota, tou main apni maa ko choonta " 😭... Asher Hussain.,.

Take a bow, dialogue writer for these lines, and Fawad Afzal Khan for the delivery ..👏👏

Not to get too technical (again) here .. I am sure Asher was saying this rhetorically in his pain and to convey the deep consideration he was willing to go for his mother .. so I am sure it was said purely to convey his emotional state of being torn between two compulsions - his (islamic) duty to his parents - and his duty to his wife.

However saying he would divorce his wife if his mother says so (if he meant it literally) is not exactly confidence-building (for Khirad) .. since marriage to the wife is a contract (again that whole thing about your obligations are one-to-one with a person) and it would be wrong to harm that contract on the whim of your mothers superficial likes and dislikes.

Edited by reviewmovies - 11 years ago

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neerjashingla

@Neerjaa

Sparkler

Posted: 11 years ago

#1158

Originally posted by: reviewmovies

Not to get too technical (again) here .. I am sure Asher was saying this rhetorically in his pain and to convey the deep consideration he was willing to go for his mother .. so I am sure it was said purely to convey his emotional state of being torn between two compulsions - his (islamic) duty to his parents - and his duty to his wife.

However saying he would divorce his wife if his mother says so (if he meant it literally) is not exactly confidence-building (for Khirad) .. since marriage to the wife is a contract (again that whole thing about your obligations are one-to-one with a person) and it would be wrong to harm that contract on the whim of your mothers superficial likes and dislikes.

I just found that his saying that he would have chosen the mother shows his respect for his mother . And I do not know what was in novel but whatever was shown in the story it was done beautifully .

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reviewmovies

@reviewmovies

Explorer

Posted: 11 years ago

#1159

Originally posted by: Neerjaa
Writing someone,s comments which kind echoes my thoughts but she has described the whole sequence quite very well .
Disclaimer , its not my comments but as i felt the same so posted .

( I loved that part when Khirad told Ashar on the stairs that she was going back with him because Hareem wasn't eating. The way he looked at her, as though it was reinforced to him again, that his wife hadn't changed one bit from what he knew her. She still believed whatever was she was told.
"Mummy jab mein paida hua, kya mere baap ne aap se gavahi maangi ki mein unka beta hoon ya nahi" "kya har ma ko apna shohar ko yeh saabit karna padti hain ki uska bachcha ka baap wohi hain" These had to be the lines what got all the kudos from me for woman empowerment. More so because it was from a man! Brilliant, is an understatement!
My heart stopped beating during this entire bit! Watching Khirad looking at Ashar, not quite sure what he was trying to say, and how he slowly unraveled to her, while telling his mother off, that he finally knew the truth. And got to know only today! I put Ashar back on a pedestal for the way he stood up for Khirad. He addressed every issue of the humiliation that Khirad was subject to. From his loyalties to his mother, framing and maligning Khirad and her character, to even thinking about terminating Khirad's pregnancy, Ashar didn't mince words, and didn't leave any part of his mother's evil plan unaddressed.
The next most heart wrenching part was Ashar ad Khirad finally having their time together. From the pedestal, Ashar went up another few notches in my eyes. For the way he took onus of the entire blame on himself. He finally understood the hatred he saw in her eyes in the last few weeks. But he never defended himself. Not once did he even try and mention that he too was victim. He took sole responsibility of deserting her and leaving her in a lurch. Forget men, there are not too many people in the world who will do that and take the entire blame. "mein toh mohabbat ke laayak hi nahin hoon" "hamari zindagiyon mein, jitni judaaiyan or dukh aayen hain, un sab ka aazaab dilanewala mein hoon" (taking onus of the bad time he gave Khirad before leaving for Islamabad many years ago) . I simply loved the way he asked Khirad "Mujhe ek baar phir kabool kar lo." Khirad's minimalistic nod in denial, was so so "Khirad" again.

Khirad, keeping in line with her character of being one with few words, communicated the anguish and pain at being abandoned so effectively "... beech raaste, tanha chhod ke chale gaye mujhe?" Ashar's "I'm sorry" was a classic case of "2 small words, but overloaded with meaning"

For those who couldn't believe that Khirad went back to Ashar, after all that he did to her, I want to share something I loved from Dur-e-Shehwar, in this context, which holds so true in many cases. It was from a part in the last episode there, when Shandana asks Shehwar about being able to love a man like Mansoor. Shehwar tells her that that a husband-wife relationship is ajeeb; that when one sees your husband with unconditional love for the child, something changes in the heart. No matter what he has done, with that kind of love for the child, it's not possible to hate that man.
The bottom line was they loved each other. Circumstances and situations made matters worse, but "mohabbat mari nahin, kho zaroor gayi thi" Given the way Ashar loved Hareem, and they way he regretted what happened with Khirad, it made sense to me, that she was willing to give reconciliation a chance.
The last rain scene was perfect. I always have a big smile on my face when Ashar runs away from the rain.
Fawad! What does one say to you? You thought you were going to be the weakest link in this drama, but this wouldn't have been what it became with anyone else in it! You were terrific and only you made Ashar the only man I was willing to forgive inspite of being a total ass.
And Mahira, take that bow again. And again. And again. Momina Duraid knew what she was saying when she kept telling you that only you could be Khirad.
Episode#23 was most the fulfilling ending and didn't leave anything more to be desired in the heart, but sighs and smiles and the desire to watch it all over again.
Humsafar will always be the the most heart warming romance for me. Ashar and Khirad have spoilt me for anything else. )

Realistically the situation that is shown in the ending is not a cakewalk either .. there are so many "gillay shikway" (ruefulness) there that it will take YEARS if ever to resolve.

Khirad would STILL have a really hard-to-digest mother in law - and a husband who will always remain divided between them. Sara's death would also complicate. Asher may blame his mother - but would at one point or other also wind up blaming the whole marriage to Khirad as perhaps the reason the whole thing started ..

So is NOT an ideal situation to be in - REGARDLESS of the romantic connotations people are ascribing to the play's ending.

In reality it would be a pain to live through each day - what with all the baggage people are having to carry with them of all the turmoil - and it would be problematic for Asher too - as his mother would always remind him of the sh*t that transpired - he would be doing his duty to her - but he would not again respect her in the unconditional way he had before - but perhaps this is the "growing up" phase that is shown for Asher - i.e. he finally grows up - just as Khirad grows up - and becomes more independent as a person (as opposed to requiring "romance" to complete her life).

In a way the play is actually arguing that a marriage does not require romance to remain intact - and that point will be obvious if you imagine the play without Hareem in the equation. There would have been no crossover - Khirad would have had the least interest in resuming that relationship after the rift which would have damaged her trust in Asher forever.

The play however IS romantic - or a better would be an emotional rollercoaster - because it carries the audience through the turmoil and the heartache. Just because a war movie makes the hero heroic - esp. when it includes irreversible damage (i.e. people dying which is irreversible) - that does not mean that the war journey is something that should be wished on anyone.

Edited by reviewmovies - 11 years ago

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Natz

@natz

Rocker

Posted: 11 years ago

#1160

I don't know about everyone else..but I wept for Zareena after the last episode. Her pain was the greatest IMO. When she says "maine toh iss khel mein apni zindagi hee haar dee" uff..I wept!

Take a bow Hina Bayat! She gets bit roles & flawed characters but is good without being OTT in her capacity 👏