Main Manto Nahi Hoon fielded episodes 5 and 6 and while many are waiting for the story to take off, side-tracked and distracted by alluding to mot-ivation and teacher-student relationships, there seems to be more to the story than meets the eye.
The problem is, if problematic dialogues would not resurface every now and then, the story might have more talk points, like Suraiya and Mehmal’s bond, Mehmal and Siraj’s relationship and Farhad’s psychopathic tendencies. Add to that, Manto’s complex past and his denial of a father who apparently neglected him in childhood, and his ‘less than heroic feels’, yes, Manto is a hero who fears more than being feared, one would find the drama to be intriguing narrative, unravelling episode by episode, character by character to give us intriguing storytelling.
So let’s leave motivation aside and talk about how Manto wants to deny any parallels to the real Manto, the poet, the activist, the defiant, daring writer who was fearless with his pen and his thoughts. Our drama Manto has nothing to do with him. Or so he tells Maria. He also doesn’t want to have anything to do with his father Manto, and would rather not use his name, but was advised to do so by the man who brought him up – Haq Nawaz. Hence, Main Manto Nahi Hoon the name, takes root from denying your origins, or your lineage as well as a famous person known by the same name. To be fair, how many Mantos do we know other than Saadat Hassan Manto the poet, and the one in the drama.
Any parallels to them? Well, so far our drama hero has denied them, but there has to be a connection, and we’ll find out soon. Maybe the Manto who fears Farhad’s goons today turns into a fearless version of himself tomorrow. And that will be his journey no doubt?
And maybe then, our hero will really and truly, imbibe the same spirit in him as our world-renowned Manto – defiant and fearless? Will the drama title then, swap names and be titled as – Main Manto Hi Hoon? Just a wild thought.
But onwards to the cake cutting scene which was directed with some thought behind the lens. Nadeem Baig wanted to make sure the drama is as poetic is the name and hence, the frame where Mehmal claps for Maria and both Manto and Farhad, squeezed into one frame, seemed to send out a message – don’t mess with me, said one, while the other wouldn’t dare mess with anyone, let alone Mehmal daughter of Siraj Amritsari.
The cake plate drop, a reach for Mehmal’s hand, a shove, a push, a resounding slap – lots happened and in a brief moment, audiences were left with a moment that stayed – manto is afraid of Mehmal’s family, not in love with her, hence his courtesy towards her. Farhad is a sinister psychopath. Mehmal likes Manto – question mark? We’re not sure but he sure seems to be preying on her mind. So much so that she sent her father’s guards to protect him.
Onwards to Suraiya and Mehmal’s conversation. As Mehmal relates the birthday party fiasco, word for word, it was interesting to watch Suraiya’s expressions, from surprise, to question mark, to a slight smile as she heard of the slap and then, an apt conclusion, pinning down Farhad’s identity. Later, when Suraiya relates the scene to Siraj, it was of course, because she wanted revenge and hoped this would be it.
Bin Yamin’s reaction was equally powerful, strong, and had that “no compromise on this” attitude. Babar Ali made the scene even more intriguing with his moving performance. We also saw more of Fatima Amjed’s character in that moment – the sister who knows her brother better than their father does, and who is very protective of him. Fatima Amjed had a visible screen presence in that scene, adding real emotional weight to the moment and then meeting Mehmal later.
But Siraj was not to be forced into a rash action and takes Mian Sahab’s advice seriously, saving face by responding that Mehmal’s slap equaled the score. But did it? Or did Siraj just avoid more bloodshed? At least for the time being.
Is it just us or are we all waiting for Mikaal’s identity reveal.
If the drama would refrain from bringing in student-teacher relationships hinting at romance, the story could be so much less problematic. Mehmal’s college principal referring to his wife as an ex-teacher of his, and now, a possible romantic interest between Manto and Mehmal – teacher-student is questionable. While it is fait to say that students are often fascinated by or have a crush on a teacher, they must both first extricate themselves from this relationship if they were to enter into a relationship, i.e. Mehmal should graduate first or Manto should not be teaching her for either of them to contemplate a romantic relationship. So far, Manto doesn’t seem to be inclined towards Mehmal romantically, and Mehmal’s sentiments towards him are unclear.
And we’ll leave it at that till future episodes prove us otherwise.
Ifra just got a nasty awakening as Farhad proceeded to play with her emotions in the most twisted manner as twisted people do. By comparing her easy availability to Mehmal’s aloofness, Ifra possibly realizes she’s always going to be second to Mehmal. Farhad chooses to push her aside, then flips again, then promises to marry her too, and then, gets a ‘face-full’ of water, the response to which we’ll have to wait and watch in episode next. But it was a gripping scene with powerful performances from both Hajra Yamin and Azaan Sami Khan.
Manto’s ghosts from the post aka his father’s friend’s visit in the middle of the night revealed there’s more to his backstory than meets the eye. Interestingly, this was the one time we saw Manto raging mad and not the calm, composed man we are used to seeing.
What happens next is anybody’s guess. Will Mikaal’s proposal be accepted? How will Farhad react to this news. And what of Manto, how does he play into all of this? Does Mehmal feel anything for Manto at all?
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The cast includes Humayun Saeed, Sajal Aly, Azan Sami Khan, Sanam Saeed, Asif Raza Mir, Saba Hamid, Saba Faisal, Saima Noor, Babar Ali, Usman Peerzada, Musaddiq Malek, and others. Main Manto Nahi Hoon is written by Khalil ur Rehman Qamar, directed by Nadeem Baig, and produced under the Six Sigma Plus and Next Level Entertainment banners. It airs on ARY Digital on Friday and Saturday evening
