“Neem” has presented itself as the tale of two individuals headed down their individual paths while life conspires to reunite them – with some strong social messaging included, predominantly focused on the importance of education. Starring Mawra Hocane, Ameer Gilani, Syed Jibran, Arsalan Naseer, Manzar Sehbai, Rana Majid Khan and others in prominent roles, the story has been written by Kashif Anwar and directed by Shahzad Kashmiri. In recent weeks, the story has taken a rather heavy turn with Ashhad (Ameer Gilani) struggling in the USA to deal with his greedy, blackmailing “on paper” wife. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Zymal (Mawra Hocane) struggles internally with her husband’s second marriage while prospering professionally. Episode 13 felt like a let-down of sorts with the story making little movement – however, in episode 14, “Neem” moves leaps and bounds to push the story forward.
This week, we see Shazil (Arsalan Naseer) and Maryam (Maryam Nafees) get married. There’s a dialogue spoken by Shazil’s nephew which mirrors the thoughts in the hearts of the audience when he states that Shazil Chachu was once his hero, but now he’s a villain. Shazil and Maryam are absolute villains and there aren’t any excuses for their behavior. Shazil is Zymal’s partner and in her moment of grief, he chose to make her pain about himself. He continues to blame Zymal for everything while happily marrying Maryam. We cannot wait for this character to get a taste of his own medicine somehow. Mawra Hocane is excellent this time around as Zymal struggles internally with her own life decisions. She’s the driving force behind Shazil’s marriage, but is this really what she wants at all? Will she stand for grief day-in and day-out when Shazil and Maryam begin ignoring her – which is inevitable?
While Ashhad makes the excellent decision to keep his money to himself and go to jail rather than give it to Camilla – she does not deserve a cent -, what’s happening back home will definitely force Ashhad to head back home prematurely. While Asad (Shamyl Khan) is in a helpless state, framed for forgery through his printing press and arrested, Amjad has been held captive by Karamat (Syed Jibran). Karamat beats Amjad senseless, exposing him to intense amounts of torture before finally taking him to his favorite spot and engaging in his favorite sport – kicking people off cliffs.
Episode 14 is a heavy episode, almost anxiety inducing and should have come with a trauma warning. The scenes focusing on Amjad’s torture are difficult to watch and leave the audience waiting for his ultimate end to put him out of his – and our – misery. That being said, this is an acting heavy episode as well with some stellar performances from the entire cast. Syed Jibran excels as the negative, evil Karamat, a man who is destroying an entire family and village in his desire for power and revenge. He is a character who is easy to hate, but it also gives us immense pleasure that he will be double-crossed by Jameel….who honestly isn’t any better than Karamat and is just another dictator in the making. Special mention to the actor who plays Amjad, his performance only adding to our stress levels. Shamyl Khan gives a heartbreaking performance as the confident, strong Asad’s strength is broken as he sees the cards stacked up against him. Again, special mention to the actress playing his wife who also does a great job.
“Neem” has come to an interesting point now with Ashhad’s family in serious trouble. Will this be the moment that brings Ashhad back to Pakistan? And if so, how will his path cross with Zymal? How long will Zymal allow herself to be trapped in a now toxic marriage? We are now at an interesting juncture and how it moves forward from this point out will decide the course of the show. As of this week, “Neem” is back on track!