O Rungreza has really lost the plot. What started off as the extremely engaging story of Sassi, a headstrong and unconventional young girl who idealizes her father and wants to be like his muse, Sonya Jahan, is now a tepid concoction of several storylines, none of which make for compelling drama. In fact, O Rungreza has gotten very tedious.
Sassi’s story is now on the back burner. Her childhood sidekick, the cute albeit emasculate Qasim surrendered his academic scholarship and returned for some more abuse that he’s obviously addicted to. The only sign of strength he showed was to NOT agree to marry Sassi under duress and now he’s dealing with her recent-most obsession – Wajih.
Wajih, the film producer, was Sonya Jahan’s former husband and since Sassi is attracted to ‘father figures’ and powerful men, she’s fallen for him despite his constant belittling and ridicule. Waji has taken an instant liking to Meena, Sassi’s brother’s girlfriend and the brother is another twist in the tale. His entry a couple of episodes ago completely screwed up the plot. Why is he such a wannabe? Why does he have a ridiculous accent? Why did he leave the country in the first place and return with an apparently Indian girl? Why does he hate Qasim as well as his own father (though that part we may be able to figure out)?
Sassi’s story is now on the back burner.Â
While it’s good for a story to be multi-tiered, O Rungreza has turned out to be a multi-tiered mess. Where is Sonya Jehan and why is no action being taken to find her? If she’s dead, then why isn’t anyone getting arrested? There are too many loose ends in this tangled web of a drama.
The only element pulling O Rungreza along is performances. Sajal Aly is convincing as the rebellious yet misdirected Sassi, her mother ‘Mammo’ (Irsa Ghazal) is exceptional as the apparently weak but internally strong pivot that holds the family together. Noman Ejaz is in his own league as Khayyam Sani but I think it is Waji’s character, played by Omair Rana, that is most compelling. I just found out that Tipu (Hamza Firdous) is veteran actor Firdous Jamal’s son and I hope there’s more to him than the under-achieving ABCD that he’s portraying.
To sum it up, I hope O Rungreza picks up on pace and narrative because it is a pity to see a play with so much potential waste away.
