International Segment: Rangmunch.tv Recommends Humsafar! Episode # 6 update

“She is actually quite different” ~ Ashar to his mother about Khirad

Discovering the person you have wed, your ‘humsafar’, can be the most exciting journey of your married life. Ashar sets out on this journey with patience, understanding, and hope prompted by overhearing her confession that her self-respect and pride are deeply hurt due to being forced on him. As Ashar starts spending quality time with his mysterious wife, Khirad unwittingly reveals different layers to her personality.

Ashar is pleasantly surprised and even thrilled about the fact that his earlier assumption about Khirad is turning to be far from the truth. He now finds her stunning, simple-minded, honest, and innocent with a mind of her own. To his utter disbelief and wonderment, she is also a graduate majoring in Mathematics wanting to continue her academic pursuits.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!”

Beware of the woman who does not get her man. And to lose him to another woman who she believes to be below her standards and unworthy of him, is an insult a woman can hardly bear. As Sara sees the changes in ‘her’ Ashar, and realizes, as only a smart, blindly in love woman can, that Khirad has begun to forge a foray into his heart, she begins to scheme to remain the most important person in Ashar’s life.

“Keep your friends close, enemies closer!”

Terrified of losing Ashar to the undeserving Khirad, Sara uses the age-old technique of befriending her ‘enemy’ to manipulate the situation and the equation between Ashar and Khirad.

Every time Sara hints at something more than meets the eye between her and Ashar, Khirad subtly steers the conversation away or plainly ignores her.

Will Sara succeed in using her ‘pretend’ closeness to Khirad in creating a wedge between Ashar and Khirad will be interesting to watch in the upcoming episodes.

Rangmunch Moment of the episode: Chess Scene

A scene that touches your heart, makes you smile, and compels you to rewatch it a million times gets to be the Rangmunch moment. Chess scene of this episode wins hands down.

During the chess match between Ashar and his father Baseerat, with Khirad and Ashar’s mother as spectators, Baseerat boasts of defeating his son without the slightest hitch. While making his move on the chessboard, Ashar steals a glance at his wife, and to his surprise, Khirad shakes her head to say that his move is not the right one. He quietly withdraws and looks to Khirad before making his move. She once again, with just a couple of subtle nods of her head, points him to the right move, which turns out to be the winning one.

The entire scene is well-crafted to peal away one more layer of Khirad and reveal her in a new light. The wordless interplay between the couple is delightfully intimate and leaves us wanting for more.

Rangmunch Performance of the episode: Naveen Waqar (Sara)

While Ashar (Fawad) and Khirad (Mahira) are busy getting to know each other and make our hearts aflutter, Sara (Naveen) walks away with the Rangmunch Performance of the episode.

Naveen Waqar excels in the scene where she calls up Khirad to subtly inform her that it is on Sara’s insistence that Ashar spends time with Khirad. Her expressions during the conversation are in direct contrast with the words she utters to Khirad on the phone. She has balanced the tone of her voice to reveal her feeling of superiority over Khirad, her immense belief that Khirad is an easy target for manipulation, and her confidence that she can win this game effortlessly comes out loud and clear to the audience while keeping Khirad in the dark about her true intentions.

Precap for episode 7:

I have no words to describe the precap. My heart starts beating faster and frankly, it would be unjust to capture the feeling in mere words.

All I have to say is ‘Watch out for Love’ and leave you with this video.

You can find the links for this episode @

https://www.facebook.com/HumsafarOnHumTv

https://www.facebook.com/HumsafarHumTV

What according to you are the highlights of this wonderful episode of Humsafar? Do you think Naveen Waqar aka Sara deserves to be the Rangmunch performer of the episode? If not, who else and why? And most importantly, what do you think of the precap?

More on Humsafar @ Rangmunch.tv:

http://rangmunchtv.blogspot.com/2011/10/international-segment-humsafar-journey.html

http://rangmunchtv.blogspot.com/2011/10/humsafar-update-episode-5-icebreaker.html

Neeraja Unni

Rangmunch.tv

International Segment - HUMSAFAR, A Journey you wouldn't want to miss!

Pakistani Dramas have always given us some of the best memories of our lives related to television. ‘Dhoop Kinare’ and ‘Tanhaiyyan’ are two that instantly come to mind when we think of quality television in terms of substance, execution, and direction.

We once again go beyond borders to introduce to you a drama that will lure you in with its depth, its simplicity, and characters that come alive on screen with the narrative.

‘Humsafar’ is a gem of a show that is presently being aired once a week @ 8 pm, Saturdays on Hum TV in Pakistan. It is an adaptation of a famous novel by the same name by Farhat Ishtiaq.

5 Reasons why Humsafar is a must-watch:

1) The Story/Script

Simple, thought provoking, and realistic, the story grips us from the beginning leaving us to ponder on these questions-

Have you ever found yourself torn between your wishes and those of your loved ones?

Do you have a best friend you absolutely adore and cannot do without but are not in love with?

Has a tragedy forced you to succumb to the pressures of life, and not given you a fair chance to live it the way you wanted?

Can you form an everlasting unbreakable bond with the very person you initially did not want in your life?

Lastly, how fragile is that bond you so painstakingly form with that one person you call your life?

How do you deal with these realities and which path do you carve for yourself with your decisions forms the crux of the story.

The story follows the journey of Khirad and Ashar as a couple, who are pressured into marriage due to the untimely death of Khirad’s mother.

Khirad is a self-respecting beautiful young woman living with her Ammi in their humble home at Hyderabad (Pakistan). Her Mamoun, Baseerat, a rich businessman lives in Karachi with his wife, and his son, Ashar.

Ashar is a suave Yale returned well-educated well-mannered gentleman, who manages his father’s business. He has a best friend in Sara, his mother’s niece. Unknown to him, Sara loves Ashar, and wishes to eventually get married to him. With both their mothers approving their union, Sara in her wildest of dreams, could not have imagined the turn the tale would take one day.

Khirad’s mother is soon detected with cancer and calls Baseerat for help. Baseerat brings his sister and niece to Karachi to provide her with the best treatment for cancer. When Khirad’s mother realizes the fatality of the situation, she requests her brother to get Khirad married before she dies. Ridden with guilt at having neglected his sister’s welfare until now, he promptly decides to get Khirad married to his son.

None of them are happy about this union and Sara takes it the hardest having loved Ashar immensely for so long. Ashar on the other hand is shocked at Sara’s revelation, and is torn between his wish to not see his friend heart-broken and his father’s plea for him to get married to Khirad to ease his dying sister’s angst regarding her daughter’s future.

You have to watch the show to see how the story progresses from here on.

2) The Characters:

The lead pair of Humsafar, Khirad and Ashar has author-backed roles. Khirad is someone you will fall in love with. She is shown as an individual who has a strong sense of who she is and what she wants. Ashar is a handsome dude who has his priorities right. Sara is one of the most pivotal characters, strong yet subtle in her manipulations making her an interesting watch.

All the characters in the drama are well etched, each having a role to play in moving the story forward without a hitch.

3) The Cast:

The ensemble cast of Humsafar boasts of some of the talented names in the Pakistani Television Industry.

Fawad Khan as Ashar

Fawad Khan of the blockbuster-hit film, Khuda kay liye, essays the role of Ashar so convincingly, that he IS Ashar. He is tailor-made for the role, and he speaks with his eyes, which is one of his biggest assets.

Mahira Khan as Khirad

Mahira Khan is stunning as Khirad. Her face spells character and leaves an indelible mark on the minds of the viewers and she captures the viewer’s hearts too from her very first frame in Humsafar.

Naveen Waqar as Sara

Naveen Waqar owns the role of Sara to the hilt. She plays it with such honesty that even though she has shades of grey and one wishes to dislike her for her intentions and subtle manipulations, one cant but empathize with her state.

Atiqa Odho, one of the famous personalities in Pakistani television, plays Ashar’s mother.

4) The Direction:

Words would not be enough to extol the way the show has been directed. Sarmad Khoosat has weaved magic without a magic wand. Every scene tells a story and one would not want to miss even a single frame of it. He and his team have proved that a story needs no frills to be told, it just has to be told with honesty, integrity, and dedication to the craft.

An Indian Director's Take on Humsafar:

Waseem Sabir, is a renowned Director on Indian Television who has directed  shows like Saat Phere, Remix, Maryada and recently Dharampatni on Imagine TV. Waseem not only bonds with his actors but also connects with his characters which helps him to get the best on screen. He also has an eye for details. Rangmunch.TV sincerely thanks Mr. Waseem Sabir for agreeing to write about Humsafar, the show, from the point of view of a Director who has the knowledge and the expertise to do so.

"Firstly, I would like to thank Swati Ghosh for introducing me to Humsafar. 

As Indians, we have known the Pakistani TV industry through shows like Dhoop kinarey, Ankahee, Tanhaiyan, Zeenat and many more. Yes its a limited knowledge, but am sure a lot of us who are hooked on to Indian television wont even know about Pakistani TV because we do not have the access like Pakistan has to our shows, sad but its a fact. 

As a person from the Indian TV industry, we believe in one thing, CONTENT IS KING that means writing plays a very important role in making a TV show. Coming back to Humsafar, when I saw the first episode, I won’t deny the beauty of the heroine got me hooked - the simplicity, nude makeup, and simple styling.

About the show, I would say its a very simple show, simple characters, very basic in short takings and as a maker, all I would say is, that’s the most difficult thing to do - Make a simple Show and hats off to the makers of Humsafar. The characters are so real that you connect with them instantly. It has fantastic sound track. It is an old Ghazal by the renowned Sufi singer, Abida Parveen. The scenes are slow but the story just moves with every scene, so you do not get bored even in a long scene because the layering of the characters gets you involved in every moment. There are many scenes where there is not even a single dialogue for like 3-4 minutes but the moments are beautifully captured. It is a must watch show for everyone. 

I so wish such shows with so much simplicity and closer to realism are made in India."

5) The Music:

Last but definitely not the least, the background scores that blend in with the scenes and the soul-stirring title track sung by Pakistani singer, Qurat-ul-Ain Balouch sets the tone for a great drama.

Adaavatein theen..

Taghaaful thaa…

Ranjishein thi Magar… Bicharne walay mein sab kuch tha

Bewafai na thi ….

Ke dhoop chaun ka aalam raha

Judai na thi …

This weekly drama on Hum TV, gives you enough palpitations (of the good kind), and recuperating time of one week, before you get ready for another dose of this heart-wrenching saga. The pathos in the story lies in its very own title track that goes …

Woh humsafar thaa magar

uss sey humnawai na thi…

Kay dhoob chaaon ka

aalam raha judai na thi…

woh humsafar tha ….

After the lines of the song have sunk in, you know it’s no one’s fault when it comes to the ways of the heart!

Hope you enjoy watching it as much as we have and we are thrilled to share this awesome show with you all.

You can catch the updates and links on the Humsafar official fb page - https://www.facebook.com/HumsafarOnHumTv. 

Neeraja Unni

Niharika Vidya Sagar

Rangmunch.TV