Written by Drama Buff

With every episode of Durre-Shehwar, I only marvel at the way sensitive, not-much-talked-about-but-felt-deeply issues are portrayed in a commendable manner. There is nothing “new” in what Durre-Shehwar is going through, but the way it has been depicted is excellent, with poignant dialogues, apt background score, and the overall look and feel of each scene.

This episode continued the flashbacks from the previous ones, and gave us a more in-depth insight into the various problems Durre-Shehwar faced. With the huge adjustment issue staring at her in the face, her plight was only augmented when Mansoor’s leaves were over and he had to return to where he was posted. It is obvious Safia, the mother-in-law, has no intention of letting Durre-Shehwar leave at all, though for now, the excuse is that Mansoor has to search for a house before he can take her.

The crux of the problem seems to be that the entire family of Mansoor’s (with the commendable exception of the men of the house) believes that Durre-Shehwar knows all the unwritten rules of the house, without them ever bothering to mention them to her. And then she is berated whenever she “breaks” any of them. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens in every other household, to date. (Which is why, most pre-marital counselling fiction advises girls to observe the system first and then learn to work around it to their benefit). Moreover, the things like Durre-Shehwar not being able to phone her parents, not being able to eat the breakfast of her choice, or her in-laws using her things without her permission also get to her.

I felt really annoyed at Mansoor today. Okay, he does not understand the nitty gritties of the female mind. It is also understandable that he and Durre-Shehwar are not really getting time to themselves to develop an understanding. But really, when he admonished Durre-Shehwar for phoning him through the PCO, it was literally too much. It was, as she said to herself later, why is she putting up with the treatment meted out to her, if her husband also does not care for her? Considering he told his younger brother to watch out for her, it is evident that he does care for her, but he has problems expressing himself. And then of course, it seems to be a family treat to admonish more than encourage anything. But finally, FINALLY, Durre-Shehwar’s parents have gotten a glimpse of just how difficult her life is. Let’s see what they advise her now.

Before signing off this review, I want to mention something SZ and I were discussing over the week. When Dastaan was on air, we were seeing a tremendous round of applause for the director, Haissam Hussain. Almost everyone around was praising the way he had dramatized a very emotional script. Come Durre-Shehwar, with the same director, and we see people giving almost exclusive credit to Umera Ahmed. No doubt, Umera Ahmed has written a very powerful script. However, a strong script alone can never work the magic (remember KPKP?). It is the cast which acts it out, the technical team which shoots and edits, and of course, the director, the ‘captain of the ship’, who handles it all and upon whom the entire package depends. If Durre-Shehwar has been able to convey the intensity of the emotions felt by the characters, if it has made you relate to the characters in an extraordinary way, AND if it has enabled you to transport yourself into a different world, and see the characters go through what you have gone through, then the credit for that goes to the entire team, headed by the director.