Inspired by the story of Qandeel Baloch, Baaghi continues to give perspective to hundreds of girls who may be in similar situations. Yesterday’s episode of Baaghi highlighted yet again the struggle of a young girl, who is trying to earn a respectable living and make a place for herself in the cruel world today. Shedding light on how and why most girls end up resorting to unacceptable means to survive, Baaghi makes one think of the everyday struggle the Fauzia’s of our society have to face regularly. Fauzia Batool tried pretty much everything to make a career for herself in the city, from odd jobs to her reality show stint, and one cannot help but empathize with her. The price a girl has to pay for trying to fulfill her dreams is a heavy one.
Since we were first introduced to Fauzia Batool her big dream was to become famous. She showed a deep fascination with Madam Noor Jehan and often expressed her wish to become a singer. After failing to make a career in modeling, her only hope now remains with what she calls her passion: singing. She is as determined as ever, and despite her friend Gogi’s warnings, she is sure that her singing talent will get her selected in the auditions for a talent hunt, i.e. a version of Pakistan Idol.
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We see a very apt depiction of Qandeel’s actual Pakistan Idol audition in this episode of Baaghi. From her green and pink outfit to her dialogues, and of course Saba Qamar’s performance; it is all spot on.
Hareem Farooq, Nomi Ansari, and Gohar Mumtaz make guest appearances as the judges on Pakistan Talent Hunt. We see Fauzia struggling on stage, trying repeatedly to prove herself to the judges, who are simply having a good laugh at her expense. Of course the audition ends with her being rejected, unable to meet the standards of the judges.
The end of the episode, however, is what breaks one’s heart. Fauzia decides to go back to her last employer Gohar, whom she left because he was using her to grant sleazy men favours. Fauzia promised that she’d never resort to such means to earning a living, as respect meant a lot to her. But now, it’s “To hell with respect.†No doubt the next episode will be yet another turning point in the serial, showing us the next chapter of Kanwal Baloch’s life.
