“Dunk” is moving towards its finale, which airs next week. Over the months, “Dunk” has gone on to tell a tale of a false sexual harassment claim and the fallout that occurs because of it. While the story started off interesting and touched upon an interesting premise, the episodes in the middle began to drag in a way that was unnecessary, turning the show into a “love” quadrangle rather than a story about the evils of society. And now that the story has finally gotten back on track, the story takes an unlikable turn this week. Starring Bilal Abbas Khan, Azekah Daniel, Sana Javed, Yasra Rizvi, Fahad Sheikh, Shahood Alvi, Laila Wasti, Saife Hassan and others, “Dunk” has been written by Mohsin Ali Shah and directed by Badar Mehmood.
In episode 30, Yasra Rizvi steals the show as Saira takes the stand. Saira attempts to accuse the lawyer of harassment, throwing him off guard, and goes on to describe how easy it was to pin a false accusation on Humayun under the same circumstances. Saira’s words register with the audience and the other characters as she grieves for her deceased husband, a man who killed himself out of shame over being accused of something he never had any part of. Yasra Rizvi’s performance stands out the most in this episode, her five minute monologue making the most impact as she depicts not only what a wife goes through in such a situation, but also what a daughter experiences at her father’s disgrace. It’s unfortunate that Yasra Rizvi wasn’t given a larger role to play in this show, the story putting focus more on the Haider-Amal-Safeer-Minaal angle rather than the family of the accused.
Now we enter la-la land, the part of the story that does not sit well. Haider (Bilal Abbas Haider) decides to kidnap Amal (Sana Javed) in order to show her what fear truly is, to allow her to experience what she has put everyone else through. And most importantly, he wants Amal to feel true disgrace by keeping her locked in a room all night away from home. This is honestly a very low blow and sends out a negative message. Why is Amal’s vulnerability as a woman being used as a plot point to show her “disgrace”? While Amal is a thorough villain due to her vindictive behavior, why couldn’t her lies simply be tackled in court with evidence? Why was it necessary to go down this slimy path?
These unethical, drawn out storylines have become associated with this team (remember Cheekh?) and it’s unfortunate. Haider has been a pretty stand-up guy overall, but this one action of his is throwing all of that out the window. Bilal Abbas Khan is a phenomenal actor, but that cannot make up for how terrible his character’s behavior is. With only one episode left, is it possible for “Dunk” to end on a strong note? Or will this be another show, like “Cheekh,” that is better left forgotten?
