It seems as if Pakistan’s drama industry is getting way too inspired by Indian soap operas. The recent example, in fact victim, is ARY Digital’s ongoing disaster ‘Baby Baji Ki Bahuwain’. It’s a prime example of how to ruin a successful franchise. God knows what the makers were thinking? Seventy episodes down, ‘Baby Baji Ki Bahuwain’ does nothing to entertain viewers; all it does is make us cringe. Let’s analyze the factors that went wrong.
The Pointless Plot
We don’t get the point of ditching the original writer Mansoor Ahmed Khan and bringing in a new writer Saqib Ali Rana for the sequel. What was the latter thinking when he wrote an apology of a script? And most importantly who approved it? The drama started on a sensible note when Azra (Javeria Saud) realized her mistakes, apologized, and returned home. After that nothing substantial happened, many episodes were wasted on the mediocre household politics and the bahus serving Nashta and Khana.
The new additions to the franchise, Phuppo (Asma Abbas) and Sairah (Madiha Iftikhar), came across as completely pointless. Even the back story as to why Phuppo is so cunning wasn’t convincing at all. The mother-daughter duo had no solid reason throughout to hurt the family to such an extent. Jamal’s (Saud) reasoning for transferring the property and business to Phuppo was lame to the core. His untimely death and Phuppo taking over everything looks like a joke. Director Tehseen Khan appeared to be heavily influenced by the success of the first season, relying on it extensively to drive the sequel.
Clueless Characters
Azra who emerged as a triumph in season 1 was hamming this time. She didn’t get the lines to make an impact, therefore she tried hard and made funny faces to impress. But sadly failed. Asma (Sunita Marshall) and Naseer (Hassan Ahmed) equation got better, but their track didn’t offer anything new. Farhat (Tuba Anwar) and Wasif (Junaid Jamshed Niazi) track was lukewarm, with the only addition of traces of infidelity. Ditto for Waleed (Fazal Hussain) whose character did nothing much than talking with her fiancé Saman (this time played by Rimha Ahmed). The actors performed well but nothing works courtesy a lacklustre script. Qureshi (Afzal Khan) character was interesting in the beginning but after a point, it got on our nerves.
Forgettable Cameos
To save the sinking ship, the makers added popular cameos to make it work. But it didn’t help. HSY as himself didn’t add much value. A designer of such big stature making a video accusing Asma Boutique of plagiarism is fine, but then entertaining the over-the-top Azra, who barges into his office, lacked logic. Ditto for Ken Doll (Adnan Zafar) who did deliver an important message of saying no to domestic violence but the overall act was OTT. Zhalay Sarhadi was just about okay.
Missing The OG Baby Baji
The initial teasers featured Baby Baji (Samina Ahmed) which confirmed her presence in the new season. Going by teasers and some initial episodes, Baby Baji only made an appearance in Azra’s dream for the better, but that happened on just a few occasions. Had this track been given more screen time with Baby Baji guiding Azra to keep the family united, the dynamics would have been different. Also ‘Baby Baji’ had a stark difference between the good and bad, Azra’s evil acts were toned down by Baby Baji. In season 2, all we see is heavy doses of negativity.
Hoping Towards A Respectable Finale?
In a nut shell, watching ‘Baby Baji Ki Bahuwain’ feels as if the director just shot it without a story and simply edited it. The chaotic narrative left viewers scratching their heads. No wonder ‘Baby Baji Ki Bahuwain’ is one of the weakest enterprise to come out of ARY Digital. Hoping the makers redeem the finale to make some sense at least.
