Dillagi: Episode 9

Dillagi continues to engage with its localized take on Beauty and the Beast. Women find the character of Mohid (Humayoun Saeed) completely swoon-worthy for his silent, brooding and macho exterior and mushy heart (an irresistible combination) and I have to say that Mehwish Hayat does full justice to her character, Anmol, the gorgeous woman with an icy block of steel for a heart. But it’s Saba Hamid who completely overtakes everyone whenever she comes on screen. It’s refreshing to see the portrayal of such a strong woman, one who commands her super-machismo of a son and actually has a backbone and a sense of power as well as values. The fact that her daughter is a weakling is also natural; this tends to happen with overpowering mothers.

Episode 9 emphasized on characters and their relationships. Anmol’s mother expresses how unhappy she is with her daughter’s obstinacy and closes doors to her so that she can adjust with her husband, in her sasural. Mohid wins Anmol’s mother over when he picks her up and takes her to a private hospital; he shows further resourcefulness when he calls the doctor and makes sure his MIL is well taken care of. On the other side, Mohid’s mother assures her daughter Sabiha that she will not allow her to return to her ‘zankha’ of a husband even if that means filing for her divorce and getting her remarried. Mohid, in the climax of the episode, convinces Anmol that if she truly wants to be with Farid then he will find him and reunite them. This part reminded me of Woh Saat Din and of course, the ending is bound to be the same. This ‘threat’ keeps Anmol awake all night and she compares it to “mein aasman se gir kar khajur mein atak jaoon gi.” Now that her mother no longer welcomes her, Anmol appears to be having a change of heart when it comes to using Farid as a scapegoat to get out of her marriage with Mohid.

I do think that the bond between Anmol and Sabiha will be a game changer, especially since we are led to believe that Sabiha has taken Anmol to her room to share some sordid family secret with her.

I have to say that the dialogues of this play are very strong. Performances are great though Humayoun Saeed could chip out of his single, serious and brooding expression and add some dimension to his character. Mehwish Hayat is beautiful as Anmol and as I said, Saba Hamid takes the cake.

And of course, we’re all waiting for the turning point of the play, when Anmol finally falls for Mohid. How and when it’ll happen, we don’t know.