Sanam Jung’s, much-hyped comeback to dramas had everyone buzzing. The actor has been an extremely popular morning show host and her fans were eagerly awaiting her return to the screens. Sadly, her latest offering Mein Na Janoo, which also stars the new heartthrob Affan Waheed and Zahid Ahmed, has fallen flat, leaving the audiences confused.
Till now, six episodes have been aired and with every passing episode, the plot spirals into some unknown universe.
The drama, produced by Adnan Siddiqui, revolves around Saira (Sanam) and her half-sister Kiran, played by Komal Aziz Khan. Both the girls have the same father but different mothers. While Kiran’s mother has been accepted by the family as their own, Saira’s mother (Huma Nawab) is an outcast and treated like a maid in the house, for reasons still unknown. All through the first six episodes, Saira’s mother is referred to as a “chalaak, gunegaar, behaya aurat” because she apparently stole her husband. Saira is also mistreated and vilified by the family even though her father supports her and defends her when the rest of fam accuses her of chalaoing her “jadu” on the men.
Meanwhile, Nain (Zahid Ahmed), a former Airforce officer and Nehat (Affan Waheed) are Saira and Kiran’s cousins. Both of them are in love with Saira and want to marry her. However, Nehat’s mother refuses to make Saira her bahu (because you know she belongs to a behaya mother) and wants Nehat to marry Kiran, while Saira’s father is unsure about giving his daughter to a person who is blind, even though Nain’s family loves Saira.
In short, the plot is basic and has nothing new to offer – crying heroines and abusive families have been done to death. Though I have to admit, the level of abuse in this drama is over the top and makes you cringe. Dialogues like “Iss larki nay izzat mitti main mila di,” “Iss ko main aisa sabaq sikhaoon gee keh dunya dekhay gee,” etc have been generously used. And of course, girls and boys have no right to fall in love with each other and if they do, it’s the girl’s fault because she trapped the guy.
Both Saira and her mother as victims are seen crying in almost every scene. Saira’s mother barely says anything, just walks through every episode with her head down as the rest of the family members vilify her and call her names. Sanam’s expressions come across as wooden in most scenes, but then again her character has been written like that. Affan does a decent job as the arrogant spoiled brat as does Zahid as a blind former Airforce officer. But none of the actors give their best. Their acting is slightly above average at best.
The drama is currently moving at a snail’s pace and leaving many questions unanswered which is why it is getting boring and dry. I hope the writers shake things up because if they continue like this, no one’s going to watch it. Affan is expected to turn into the antagonist and become a complete psychopath so that is one thing to look forward to.
