If you were an avid Udaari fan you would know that Imtiaz (can we just please call him Matiaaz?, yes okay) was going to jail and that Aapa Sajjo would be reunited with her daughter and justice would prevail but really, it takes something remarkable for the last episode to still be so enjoyable.
So the episode began with yet another court scene, Farhan Saeed with his slick back hair and black suit (almost Harvey Specter? Okay no, sorry) again failing in his efforts to get his client justice.
Pause.
For those who haven’t been following Udaari, this is a fantastic play
It primarily deals with issues of ‘rape’ and ‘pedophilia’ and the problematic silence that accompanies it, especially in our part of the world where ‘honor’ gets the big bucks. On the most part, the play follows the story of Sajida, who has murdered her husband Imtiaz after he raped her daughter (Zebo) while she remained locked in the other room, only to hear her daughter’s screams. She then escapes to the city to seek help from her sister and neice, Meera- the family who previously used to neighbor them in the village where they sang and danced at weddings for a living.
Shockingly, there is the climactic return of Matiaaz who survives with a dysfunctional arm and a pulled nerve, which causes his mouth to twitch (yes, this is an important detail). He finally finds Sajida and Zebo in the city, living a respectable life, and so, uses his dirty political tactics to get Sajida arrested for attempted murder. Long story short Sajida’s case is fought by none other than Meera’s love interest, Arsh who happens to be a decent lawyer.
Anywayyy, with regards to the last episode
Kahani mein twist comes when Jamshaid, a guy who witnessed the rape, returns to not only take revenge from Matiaaz for some economic fraud, but also to act as the desperately needed witness to serve justice to the girl. Jamshaid is repeatedly shown as shrouded in a chaadar, weeping endlessly over a grave- his daughter, Shaano’s grave, “jis ne goad mein hi dam tor diya”. So Jamshaid’s confession of having witnessed the murder eventually send our twitch guy to prison but the important bit is the fiery exchange that goes on in the court room as Jamshaid delivers his confession.
Twitches are on the extreme and Ahsan Khan’s green lenses (or eyes, whatever) dominate the camera which beautifully captures the extreme tension. At some points I thought, yeah maybe a little bit over the top because I’m not sure as to whether you can literally threaten judge sahab in his own court while being handcuffed in the defendant’s chair.
That being said, I genuinely believe that Ahsan Khan cannot be praised enough for his exceptional performance in the scene.
Adding to that, Urwa Hocane’s composure on screen while maintaining a particular accent plays out brilliantly with her character. Not just that but other characters such as that of Sheeda, is played wonderfully by none other than Bushra Ansari who injects comic relief and does nothing short of justice to the character of a stereotypical ‘maraasan’.
The audience absolutely loved Udaari and it was particularly refreshing to see the ‘unsilencing’ on such taboo issues.
Thank you #Udaari we can now finally break away from saas-bahu dramas and bring worthy issues to light. God knows the morning shows won't.
— Kiran Haroon (@CinnamonCurls) September 25, 2016
GUYS #UDAARI IS OVER. WHAT NOW.
— WannabeJannati (@StuckInTheDunya) September 26, 2016
#Udaari one of the best TV shows ever in Pakistan.
Such an Inspirational story & outsanding performance by all ?
Say No To Child Abuse !— Ariba Jalbani (@ArybaJB) September 25, 2016
A very strong plus beautifully scripted story #Udaari was. It's time we stopped hiding child abuse, support the victims as much as we can?
— Shehreena (@ShehreenaKhan) September 25, 2016
Pakistan needs more of such stories because until we talk about our problems and discuss them, we will not be able to discuss how to tackle these problems.
Annndd we’re back to the nuclear war.