“Burns Road Kay Romeo Juliet” has been growing from strength to strength each week, delivering a well-written and executed show. While from the outside, this appears to be a show only about romance, it’s about so much more, including family dynamics and the importance of self-growth to nurture relationships. Starring Hamza Sohail and Iqra Aziz in lead roles, the show also stars Shabbir Jan, Khalid Anum, Raza Samo, Zainab Qayyum, Shaheera Jalil Albasit and others in a story written by Parisa Siddiqui and directed by Fajr Raza.
In episode 22, Yaqub (Shabbir Jan) passes away after a massive heart-attack. However, while Yaqub had been estranged from Farhad in his life, his last moments were spent thinking about all his faults, his mistakes and his missteps, not only towards Farhad, but also towards his wife and daughter. It’s always a sore point when the father in a show dies of a heart-attack at the moment when his daughter needs him the most – however, in this case, maybe this is exactly what was needed to bring the family back together. Farhad’s mother (Zainab Qayyum – what is this character’s name?) illogically blames Friya (Iqra Aziz) for her husband’s stress-induced death, keeping Friya from consoling the family while Farhad grapples with the loss of his father.
There are some points that have been handled well in this episode. First, the train of generational toxicity continues with Farhad’s mother. Fixating on Friya, the young woman she sees as the disruptor in her family, Farhad’s mother blames her for for Yaqub’s death. She is blind to the truth – and maybe she simply does not want to take that guilt upon herself, being the only one who truly knows what Yaqub was stressed about. Both Kiran’s marriage and Yaqub’s guilt towards his wife were the last thoughts going through his mind and it’s difficult to cope with this thought. Unfortunately, as long as Farhad’s mother remains on that tangent, Friya will not be able to enter Farhad’s home. Zainab Qayyum has done a great job as an emotionally (and physically) abused wife who has filled the void with her son – and resents his wife for taking that emotional support away from her. Of course, we cannot discuss this episode without discussing Shabbir Jan, who has been simply excellent in the past four epsiodes. He is a powerhouse of an actor and in this role as well, he has played the part of authoritative figure and repenting father excellently.
Kiran’s (Shaheera Jalil Albasit) marriage appears to be nearing its end with Yaqub’s final decision. While Kiran’s greedy husband wastes no time in taunting Farhad and the family about how Yaqub has left the business to him, Farhad’s Chacha quickly sets the record straight, declaring that the business is in Kiran’s name. With Yaqub’s parting words, we now know that he wanted his daughter to be brave and take control of the business herself – and potentially remove herself from her marriage entirely. We cannot wait to see Kiran move towards an independent life free of her abusive husband. Shaheera Jalil Albasit has played this role before in “Razia,” but she certainly does it well.
“Burns Road Kay Romeo Juliet” is a show which leaves us, as the end of each episode, wondering “That’s it?” We want more and look forward to the episodes each week – and that’s a show’s greatest success. Now as long as the narrative continues at a realistic pace and the characters do not turn unrealistically toxic, “Burns Road Kay Romeo Juliet” will continue on its winning path!