Now it was about needing sleeping pills and not being able to look his wife in the eye. Now muhabbat was no longer about romanticizing his sanbhaley huey puraney khaton ki potli, it was about him being a buzdil and kamzor. His confrontation with Afia left him reeling. With the painful example of his own life in front of him he was determined his son not suffer the same way, hence it took little convincing for him to go ask for Zulekha’s rishta.

Then came the maar dhaar and the court kachehri ke chakar and Wajih realized his son was dead serious, as in wouldn’t blink twice before welcoming death in the name of love. As the story unfolded we saw the reasons why… Wajih was a nakaam ‘aashiq, one who had never really gotten over his first love. Though on occasion he reminded his son to be mindful of Zulekha’s izzat aur naam, he never really condemned his son’s one-sided ‘ ishq. When we first met him Wajih Ahmed was supportive of his son’s love story.

Take for instance the examples of Wajih and Nudrat, Yousuf’s father and stepmother. It is at this point that the majority takes a pass and goes back to repeating and reiterating the very same antiquated ideas and ideals they had initially set out to change. Fact of the matter is that truth is brutal, the reality too harsh to bear, and egos very fragile. The problem, however, arises when in the process of ushering change they are made to stand in front of a mirror and acknowledge and own the distorted reflection that stares back at them. There are many who set out to challenge the staus quo. that its not just the men but women too are equally complicit in perpetuating and preserving what is essentially a self-serving system is an open secret… what is perhaps not quite as easily understood is how and why we are so deeply invested in this very problematic way of thinking. That we live in a patriarchal society is old news….

( 11 Comments ) Mera Naam Yousuf Hai ~ Episode 17 Review.

Zindagi gulzar hai episode 17