I'm mostly a silent reader, mainly because anything that one writes about this show inadvertently leads to a debate - not that there is anything wrong with that, but I wanted to make sure I comment when I will have time to actually participate in the discussion too :)
First things first: Regardless of the content of the show, the performances never disappoint. Saba Qamar and Zahid Ahmed are the stars of this show; Mikaal is also doing a tremendous job, especially in the climatic scenes such as the revelation.
I know there is a lot being written about the show, particularly with regards to the portrayal of the rapist as a "hero". I, for one, have never felt this that this is what they are trying to show and today's confrontation between Shavez-Aashi confirmed it. As soon as Shavez was about to start his rant about how he is doing all this "zaleel hone ke liye", Ashi stopped him right there. All her dialogues today mirrored EXACTLY what all viewers wanted to scream at Shavez. Because there is no sympathy and no forgiveness for him, no matter what he does now. One thing I hope the writers don't forget is that this entire incident was pre-planned and not an in-the-moment sort of thing - he came there that night to commit a crime and he was not able to stop himself. How can such a man ever be forgiven?
All his supposedly "heroic" acts are his attempt at redemption which the maulvi has earlier clarified is something he can chase all he wants, but it will never come to him for he has committed a heinous, unforgivable crime. Everything he does, then, is futile - the good can never erase or outweigh the evil. Despite the fact that Ashi had forgiven him (as she said today), that no one suspects him, that he has so much love and support (illogical but Salma and Prof. Zubeida do blindly support him), he still has nothing because of his guilt. Because he is a criminal. No one is punishing him, yet he IS being punished. Of course, I do want to see him formally being punished in the worst possible way at the end, but for now, this internal conflict is clearly ripping him apart. And this is not a punishment that he has imposed upon himself so that he can be labelled a "hero", the weight of his crime is actually that heavy that he simply cannot escape it. The last scene between the father and son also hinted at this - his father's pride is something he does not deserve and he knows it (brilliant expressions by Zahid in this scene, by the way). When Shavez cried at the end, I won't say I felt sympathy but I did feel that he was suffering and rightfully so - again for this, I attribute it to Zahid's acting as none of this can be picked up from the dialogues alone.
Long story short: Shavez is not a hero. No matter what he does, there is no sympathy and no possibility of redemption.
At least, that's my interpretation of the show at the moment. I usually don't watch Pakistani shows that deal with this subject because I know it will be poorly handled (the psychiatrist in Sangat is a good example of this - still waiting for a logical sentence from that woman). Only watching this for the strong performers in this show and the fact that they are trying to offer the unique perspective of a rapist too. Fingers crossed that it remains morally sound and does not become a trainwreck in the process.
P.S. Didn't mean for this to get THAT long. I've been meaning to comment on the show for a while now so it was all bottled up ;)
Edited by xSaiyaara - 8 years ago
