Zindagi Gulzar Hai Episode 13 Review

It was a sad sad episode to start with. A relationship as sacrosanct as marriage ending on a non-issue such as failure to find a middle ground is distressing to watch. The thirteenth episode of ‘Zindagi Gulzar Hai’ was an interesting episode that was thought provoking and helped shed a light on various issues, which were just superficially touched upon in the earlier ones.

Right from the word go, there was a clarity about the plot with each interaction clearing our doubts rather than creating more questions, which is refreshingly different in this episode. I could feel a sense of ‘tehraav’ in the script that made me thoroughly enjoy the interactions between all the characters.

Finally, after skirting around the issue for ages, Zaroon and Asmara sit across the table like adults and thrash out their expectations from each other. What came out clearly from the interaction is that Zaroon has atlast figured out what he wants from his future partner and Asmara has none of the qualities he is looking for in his wife. Honest yet uncompromising in his expectations, Zaroon shows rare maturity in recognizing that Asmara would not make an ideal partner for him. Having said that, his tunnel vision and immaturity surfaces when he confesses to Osama that his measure for an ideal wife is none other than his college arch-rival Kashaf.

Osama and Zaroon’s conversation was long overdue but am happy it happened when it did. From being just a shadow in their friendship trio during college, Osama emerges as the voice of reason and effectively plays devil’s advocate to his long time friend, Zaroon. What are friends for if they do not have the gumption to call you an idiot when you act like one? Osama has always been mature and given valid advice to his friends but Zaroon was blindsided by his own irrationality to give it importance; Asmara railroading Zaroon with her support in his wrongdoings not helping matters.

Just when I was thinking if such a man existed who knew what compromise was, Osama with his clear thinking and understanding has given me hope. This tête-à-tête between the two friends was crucial for the plot to get into Zaroon’s mind and finally find answers for questions that has plagued us for a while. So, janab has been using Kashaf as a yardstick in his search for an ‘ideal wife’, goes to show how skewed up his thought process is. Anyone who knows Kashaf even a little bit, would instantly recognize her fierce sense of individuality and her distrust of men, two qualities that right away disqualify her as an ideal candidate for the title of ‘Mrs. Zaroon Junaid’. Banda smart hai but relationships ke maamle mein ek dum bewakoof hai.

After Zaroon’s talk with Asmara, wherein he basically tells her ‘this what I want, this is who I am, take it or leave it’, the parents get involved when it becomes clear that their kids are on the verge of breaking their engagement on something that can be worked out with compromise and adjustment. They probably would have if they knew or had seen how it is done. Children gather most of the ingredients that make up their personality from watching their parents. While Zaroon’s father has compromised and adjusted to accommodate his wife’s independent streak and her ambitions, he has somehow failed to project it as a positive quality to his children.

Couple of things stood out and hit me squarely in my jaw during Zaroon’s interaction with his father. While I have always held the senior Junaid as a man who has given wings to his wife, I was a little taken aback to hear him assure Zaroon that Asmara would follow his ways once she steps into this house instead of asking his son if he had stopped to consider the wants and wishes of his future wife. When Zaroon bitterly comments on his upbringing in a dysfunctional family, Junaid clearly does not think on the same lines insisting there was nothing wrong. I have always thought Junaid understood his son’s anguish over a nearly-absent mother in his life, clearly I was wrong.

As an aside, every woman with a career has to make sacrifices with respect to her family to effectively balance her ambitions with her domestic duties and responsibilities. A husband, who is not just vocally supportive but goes an extra mile to share the responsibility of bringing up their children, is a blessing for a wife. It also contributes to providing a sense of balance to their children’s world.

Ghazala and Junaid, as all parents do, try to place blame on each other for their children’s lack of ability to comprehend, cope, and compromise in a difficult situation. Sara’s predicament does not gain my sympathy at all. She comes across as childish, immature, and completely self absorbed. Absolute lack of emotion on Sara’s face when Farhan agrees to the divorce tipped the scale for me. I have no compassion nor intention to shift the blame for her decision on to her mother, for as an adult, the onus of a relationship and decisions concerning those relationships rests solely on her.

Did a lightening strike while I wasn’t looking? Murtaza admitting that he had no role to play in his daughters’ achievements came as a bolt from the blue. Better late than never, Murtaza finally exhibits a sense of shame in being a poor role model of a father and thinks he does not have the right to ask any favor from his daughters. Right said Murtaza! But looks like Kashaf is in no hurry to neither forgive nor forget his nonchalant behavior towards her family all these years. Rafia tries in vain to patch things up between father and daughter and it was heart wrenching to see how of the acts of one man has left such deep scars in her.

Sigh! Let us shift focus from heavy discussions and concentrate on the fun part of the episode. Like a delicious tempting dessert after a seven course meal, Zaroon and Kashaf’s meeting at Badin as colleagues has renewed my hunger for this drama several notches higher. Oh! They are fire and ice. What a delight to watch them on screen together. Zaroon is back to being his charming, disarming self going all out to woo her. He never learns! Good for us, we get to see him getting humiliated again and again by Kashaf and her sharp tongue. He wants her personal number; she gives him her official one with disapproval. He tries to get familiar; she shoots him down with a glare. He grins, she rolls her eyes. Oh! How I love these two.

Precap of Episode 14

After a slow long walk in the scorching desert (three episodes), I finally get to an oasis. Waiting to drink my fill in the coming episode where we have more of Zaroonisms and Kashaf-shot-downs. Life suddenly looks beautiful 🙂 Oh wait, we have Osama going for the kill by dining with Kashaf. Do we get to witness a jealous Zaroon as well!

Neeraja Unni
Talk Soap

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