A review on Pakistani drama TV series, Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay Episode 17 (2021). The new TV series is written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Farooq Rind. Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay is a Momina Duraid Production and currently airs on HUM TV.
(Note: If you’ve already read the review of the previous episode, you can skip directly ahead to the High points section).
+ Crew
- Directed by Farooq Rind
- Written by Umer Ahmed
- Produced by Nina Kashif & Momina Duraid Productions
+ Note
Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay marks 5 years since Mahira Khan appeared in a TV drama and as was the case before, this drama was also originally a novel by Umera Ahmed where the childhood and upbringing play an important part in the main plot of the show. The show deals with dark topics such as drug addiction and its impact on a child’s upbringing.
The show also focuses once again on a love triangle between three cousins who shared a childhood together; Mehreen, Mashal and Aswad. Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay is essentially a case study of internal flaws and unspoken guilts that makes us human and how we learn to cope up in a less than ideal society.
+ Main Cast
- Mahira Khan as Mehreen Mansoor
- Kubra Khan as Mashal Tahir
- Usman Mukhtar as Aswad Ayub
- Omair Rana as Mansoor
- Zainab Qayyum as Shagufta
- Haroon Shahid
- Laila Wasti
- Huma Nawab as Saliha
- Kaif Ghaznavi
- Shamim Hilali as Aswad’s Grandmother
- Khalid Malik
+ Plot
Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay is a story of three cousins; Mehreen, Mashal and Aswad. Their lives have coincided with each other since childhood. While Mashal and Aswad grew up in a stable, loving household, Mehreen had to live through the mistakes of her father for being a drug addict and financially unstable. As they grow older, it is obvious that they all share an unbroken bond between each other that will only culminate with certain unforeseeable events.
+ High Points
i – Its clearly obvious that the main cast of Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay are trying their level best to make this show an exciting watch. Even though the script is devoid of any creativity and the plot refuses to move on, I have to give the cast all the credit they deserve for reading out those repetitive, awful dialogue for every single episode with little to no reward.
+ Low Points
i – The episode starts off with Aswad shouting at Mehreen, demanding her to explain how much she hated Mashal. Oh boy… this show does not understand the meaning of the word ‘tiresome’. Seventeen episodes in and Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay feels creatively bankrupt since the past five weeks. The plot is stagnated between Aswad’s non-existent revenge, Mehreen’s visions of Mashal and for some reason, Saffan who has nothing better to do but be involved in this complete mess. As I watch an episode each and every week, I truly ask myself what this show is trying to accomplish. As a diligent viewer, who am I supposed to root for? This whole facade of a tragedy is now becoming a parody of itself. Episode 17 was once again nothing more than crude characterizations, shouting contests and endless self-pity sequences. And frankly put, I don’t believe any brilliant conclusion could justify the torture that the show is making us sit through.
ii – So we finally got our answer. Why was Mehreen reluctant to sign those divorce papers even though Aswad has been nothing short of a terrible spouse. Its because she loves him! Yes, the same Aswad who is convinced that his wife poisoned her cousin, the same man who has been manhandling and humiliating his wife publicly without any repercussions. What a great representation of an on screen relationship, a perfect composite of the word “Stockholm Syndrome”. This is just so forced and ridiculous that its unfathomable to even comprehend all of this with an open mind. Sadly, Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay finally proves itself to be yet another poster child for glorifying abusive relationships. Not even from the story standpoint, does this make any sense. It’s a reason that a writer comes up with when they have no other intelligent storytelling to fall back to. The Mashal murder mystery has become so convoluted at this point that the show refuses progress even an inch out of its place. Its the lamest and most illogical reasoning to this whole fiasco.
iii – Speaking of abusive relationships, the whole physical and mental torturing of the maid Shabo was an incredibly distasteful scene, almost made me shut off my television set. It’s not a complaint of being ‘unrealistic’, far from it. Its all that the show promotes; abusive relationships, mental and physical torturing the people close to you and worst of all, none of these actions have had any repercussions to them. Its 40 minutes of non-stop debasement of characters on screen each and every week. And if that is what some enjoy in their TV dramas then they really need to seek help.
iv – The restaurant scene was just hilariously bad! Coincidentally, all main cast members of the show dine in the same restaurant. Aswad and his “friend”, Mehreen and her mother in law and Saffan and his newly wedded wife (or fiance, not sure). Of all the millions of people that live in Pakistan, they all ended up in a random place together! Talk about lazy writing by Umera Ahmed. And Aswad gets frustrated because… Mehreen is having lunch in a restaurant and she bumped into Saffan and his fiance/ wife? Is the show trying to find random reasons for the story to have conflict? Which leads me to my next point argument…
v – What is Aswad’s problem? Is he just jealous of Saffan because Mehreen (apparently) likes him? But now that he is getting married to someone else, that still does not satisfy our dear Aswad. He is too busy acting like a manchild in every single episode to realise what his actual motivations in the show are. He hates Mehreen because allegedly, she killed Mashal and seeks revenge. And thus, Aswad ended up marrying Mehreen so he could torture her day and night and also keep her away from the clutches of Saffen. But at the same time, he demands Mehreen as to why she doesn’t sign the divorce papers? But if she does, he thinks that she will end up in the arms of Saffan which is why he refuses to sign the divorce papers..? What kind of nonsense characterization is that? Aswad is, by far, one of the worst main cast characters I’ve ever come across on Pakistani TV. And why does Mehreen still “love” him? This is a mystery perhaps best remains unsolved.
+ Overall
Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay failed to improve even a single aspect of its plot structure and arguably, episode 17 has only made it worse. Not worth a watch, folks!
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