Zanjeerain Episode 1 Written Update and Review

Picturesque Pakistani pahadi ilaqa

The episode begins as two cars speeds down narrow roads in the picturesque (I’m guessing northern) Pakistan. The tyre of the leading car suddendly bursts, and the aadmi in the following car instantly approach.

Aap baithey rahein, hum dekh lete hain.

Inside the leading car, are our first couple: Sher Bano and Sar Buland. Despite the warning, both get down. Sar Buland gets down because Sher Bano is thirsty. I don’t know how they had time to gather 50 people in a car to follow these two but nobody thought of buying a bottle of water. Main bazaar tak jati hoon toh bhi ek bottle purse mein hoti hai. One would argue that maybe paani khatam ho gaya thha. But in that case, I’d demand to see empty bottles lying on the back seat of the car.

Anywho, rant aside, they both get down. While he gets water, a guy asks Sar Buland to buy him (the mute guy) some food. Sar Buland does. On the other side, Sher Bano heads straight to a majzoob-like woman. Let’s call her Sarkar.

Sher Bano: Hath dekhti hain?

Sarkar: Allah ke ilm se zindagi dekhti hoon.

She holds Sher Bano’s hand and moves as if current hi lag gaya ho. And we instantly know something bad is about to happen to Sher Bano. “Keep reciting Astaghfirullah”, Sarkar says. So, it’s perhaps something Sher Bano is not doing right?

They get back on the road.

Happy Budday

We see Mudassir preparing a surprise birthday party for Rabiya. She’s all emotional.

Rabiya: Meri birthday kisi ne celebrate nahin ki.

A nice cake, a pricey bracelet and then suddenly, we see men with guns outside. Mudassir and Rabiya exchange a look, and then we travel back in time. Kyunki sabko non-linear narrative ka importance samajh aa gaya hai.

Biya’s Kitchen

We see Biya preparing to welcome more customers (they call them guests). Her father is reciting Surah Rahman. (I couldn’t help but notice a few tajweed mistakes. I’m also learning, so my ears are attuned to some of those rules). Rabiya’s brother Tayyab is tasked to bring in staples from a guy who’s known to procrastinate (I forgot his name, pardon me).

Cut to four lukkhas in a jeep (Sar Buland, Mudassir, Saad, Jawad) on the way to Sar Buland’s home). They stop by for some tea. Thanks to Biya’s amazing marketing skills, end up ordering a lot of food. When settling the bill, Mudassir leaves a huge tip, and taado-ed Rabiya for a loooong time. Like to the point of being creepy, but of course, he’s the hero, so usko sab maaf.

Laal pathhar

The scene cuts to this laal pathhar ka khazana. In first looks, I thought it’s pile of meat. Different size of these stone is sorted separately. And then the scene changes. We don’t know who owns this but we can sense this will cause phadda between two families in the future.

Gadhi Alif Khan

Okay, so we see this next. Sher Bano walks to meet “Bi Jaan”, her hone wali saas. They’re too kind and nice to each other. Bhabhi Gul, however, tells Sher Bano to learn a thing or two about running the kitchen.

Lalas

Sherdil and Sohrab Lala go to settle some matters. They first drive the car. Then, Sherdil gets on a horse while others are still in the car (why? ghud-sawari ka itna shauq or just creating a nice shot for the drama?). Their men have caught three men from “dushman” side (I’m guessing Adnan Siddiqui). Long story short, Sohrab Lala is wounded, just a little bit but enough for his wife and sister to be all worried.

“We are brave people,” Sohrab tells his son Umer Daraz.

Haan bhai, dekhenge.

Stakes raised

Rabiya: Hamari sharafat ko hamari kamzori mat samajhna

Tharki: Abhi ja raha hoon, jald wapas aaunga.

Review

Non-review Rant

The Sajal Factor

Sahar Hashmi

I have not watched a single drama featuring Sahar Hashmi. I started watching first episode of Zulm, saw her first scene, and how cringe her dialogue delivery was, and gave up on the drama despite Faisal Q and Shahzad Sheikh in the cast. And then every other drama where she’s there, I ignored. Couldn’t tolerate her.

For that matter, all the heroines with swollen upper lip (I know there are few, one is coming with Mohsin Abbas where she’s in love with someone else but had to marry Mohsin’s character; and others, but don’t know their names). -1

And Then

Adnan Siddiqui is a fav +1, Ameer was fine in Sabaat so I could watch him. For Ahsan and Daniyal, I’m neutral. But then… Muamma just finshed and I have nothing for Wednesday. So…

Review, Sachhi Mein

Final Thoughts

Sorry for the late review. The second episode is probably already out. Dinner, mom-and-me bonding time, and then I will come back with review of second episode.

Salaam!

Until we meet again, check out my books on Amazon. You can subscribe for Kindle Unlimited for free for the first month, just saying 🙂

Shabana Mukhtar