“Muhabbat Gumshuda Meri” now has two episodes left with our leads, Zobia and Saim, face-to-face once again. However, their relationship is in an even messier place than it was previously with Zobia’s cousin, Seemab, unnecessarily laying claim to Saim. “Muhabbat Gumshuda Meri” started off as an innocent love story, but has grown increasingly complicated over time. Starring Khushhal Khan and Dananeer Mobeen in lead roles, the show also stars Omair Rana, Ayesha Toor, Farah Sadia, Ali Tahir, Laila Zuberi, Naureen Gulwani, and Ali Raza, the story has been written by Rahat Jabeen and directed by Shahid Shafaat.
In episode 24, the story does begin to move in the right direction – but while Saim’s (Khushhal Khan) actions are admirable and lovable (despite his terrible “look”), Zobia’s (Dananeer Mobeen) have turned her into a downright unlikable female lead. Saim has now realized that there isn’t any reason for he and Zobia to live apart. They are married according to the laws of God, are independent in their professional lives and that should be enough for them to make choices for their future. Unfortunately, Seemab, who is by far the most annoying character in the entire show, has decided that she will marry Saim. Why? When did Saim okay this? Never. Rather, he told her he loves someone else from his past. Just because Seemab loves Saim does not mean he will ever have any interest in her. But who will explain this logic to Seemab? Seemab catches Zobia and Saim together and has a full meltdown, which irritatingly puts fungus on Khala’s brain as well. The two are now “against” Zobia, because she is the “ex” of the man Seemab is interested in. Someone please make these characters make sense. But wait – it gets worse. Zobia decides to be all sacrificing and tells the two that she’s his past (as his present, still married wife) and Saim is still an option for Seemab. Fortunately, Saim is the voice of reason and rationality and flat-out tells Seemab that Zobia is not his ex or his past, rather she is his wife.
Quite honestly, Zobia’s behavior has deteriorated from being a sweet, naïve, young child to being downright annoying. Sure, her and Saim’s innocence is what got them in their current predicament, their rosy-eyed glasses prompting them to take the huge step of running away without truly thinking their actions through. But they did take those actions and while a lot of chaos ensued as a result, they still need to take responsibility for them. Saim has taken all the right steps, from convincing Ibrahim (Omair Rana) to discussing the situation with Nana and now even making sure Seemab is aware of the reality. This is being a mature adult. Saim may be a rockstar with an unprofessional appearance, but he’s the one of the two who has truly grown up into an adult. Zobia, on the other hand, is proving to be the daughter of her parents – immature, rash, unfair and illogical. She is a product of her household, a product of bad parenting – and this needs to be acknowledged by the writers. If Zobia could lay claim on anything in her life after being abandoned by her parents, living a life of a nomad, having abandonment issues, having a lack of a stable home – she could absolutely lay claim on Saim as her husband and he’s there for her to do so. We, as an audience, would’ve loved to see her do so and while it’s unrealistic to see her screaming from the rooftops about it, at the very least, she could’ve just stated “I’m married to Saim, he’s not an option for you” to Seemab. Zobia has been very disappointing and even more disappointing than Zobia is her Khala, who is blindly falling into Seemab’s spoiled, entitled, bratty mindset. Loving someone or being attracted to someone does not equate to “ownership.” Love is a two-way road.
Honestly, Khushhal Khan is the heart and soul of this show as Saim. Saim is the dedicated, loyal lover and he has been since the beginning of the show. Even when everything went south, Saim still actively searched for Zobia for her safety. This is a hero worth rooting for. Khushhal Khan proves with eachshow that he’s one of our best young actors. Now we only hope Khushhal stops sporting that terrible wig for the last two episodes. Dananeer Mobeen continues to be a natural as Zobia, an actress who is easy and breezy on the eyes while watching her perform. Unfortunately, she has been saddled with a character who is making her life more complicated than necessary – and yet, that’s Dananeer’s challenge. Will we be able to understand Zobia in the last two episodes and support her or will her behavior eradicate all good will from the audience? “Muhabbat Gumshuda Meri” has been a very strong show from the beginning, but it has lost its grip in the past few episodes with some strong parts, but overall writing its female lead into an unlikable corner. It would be disappointing if the last bulk of episodes ruin the essence of what the show has been until now. Let’s turn it around.