HUM TV’s classic play Mushk, which began on a promising note ended in an emphatic manner, leaving the audience satisfied with the conclusion. In an era where dramas don’t end to the satisfaction of the viewers, Mushk was an exception since the writer Imran Ashraf and the director Aehsun Talish were on the same page. They seemed to have considered the resolution of every possible scenario before going ahead with the grand finale and bringing an end to everything that started nearly 26 weeks back, and kept the viewers engrossed in the play’s duration.

The Plot

With Chotay Malik (Hasan Ahmed) abducting Guddi (Urwa Hocane) so he could marry her, Adam (Imran Ashraf) rescues her after she tries to end her life, before her abductor could touch her. With Guddi recuperating in the hospital, Adam tries to take the law into his own hand and kill Chotay Malik, but the police intervene to arrest the murderer of Dr. Rana (Raja Haider). It was Qutubuddin who had the last laugh as he recorded the entire conversation in Dr. Rana’s clinic and handed the video to the police. The sudden death of Dada (Manzoor Qureshi) saved Mehek (Momal Sheikh) from the embarrassment of explaining who Shayan (Osama Tahir) was and that the baby she was carrying around was not Guddi’s but her own. And finally, Guddi returned to her home, all cases against her withdrawn, thanks to Adam and they happily lived ever after.

The Good – Love was in the air during the final episode

Dialogues were the key in the final episode where Urwa Hocane’s Guddi and Imran Ashraf’s Adam finally declared love for each other. It was romance without hugging each other or going overboard like in many of our plays, showing others that romance can exist without being cheap. Urwa Hocane looked like a princess from a fairytale and Imran Ashraf resembled Prince Charming who did no wrong; together they were a perfect couple and the viewers would like to see them again, in different avatars but with the same chemistry, they displayed in Mushk.

Imran Ashraf must be commended for resolving everything from Muqaddar Khan’s end, Shayan’s return to the same place where he was detained but this time with Mehek and Shameer, Guddi’s marriage to Adam, Chotay Malik ending behind bars for his crime and even Zuleikha’s whereabouts who was revealed to be in Karachi’s Darul Aman. Director Aehsun Talish’s swansong on HUM TV turned out to be an extravagant affair and one hopes he reunites with his team soon, so that the audience can experience something Mushky in the future as well.

The Bad – Some scenes could have been executed differently in the grand finale!

There were a couple of scenes that could either have been edited from the final episode or executed differently. There was no need for the Seher Khan – Raza Talish sequence that too at the start of the grand finale as no one was interested in the outcome. He abducted and sold her in the city to be an escort and she should have called the police instead of bombarding him with thunderous dialogues. Also, Dada’s death should have happened a few episodes earlier because in the grand finale it seemed like a job that had to be done.

The coincidence of Adam and Guddi having the same rare blood group (O negative) was also too much to handle and it would have been okay had the blood group been normal, and the suspense could have been put aside. It would have been the director kept suspense as to who witnessed the murder of Dr. Rana and in the final moments of the episode, Qutubuddin would have revealed to Chotay Malik who was behind bars that it was he who recorded the proceedings and sent it to the police, rather than his disclosure on the grounds of Chotay Malik’s property, in front of the whole family!

The Verdict – All’s well that ends well in the Mushk universe!

Many dramas in the past that began on a promising note couldn’t end the same way; Alpha Bravo Charlie is still remembered for Gulsher’s death that could have been avoided nearly two decades ago. Moving forward to the year 2020, well in Mere Paas Tum Ho, nobody in the audience agreed with Humayun Saeed’s death as they wanted Danish to live on forever; similarly, Danish Taimoor’s Sultan in Deewangi could have survived and become a better person after being shot; Faysal Qureshi’s Sardar Saif could have lived in Muqaddar too but no, the makers thought that the end they had was the best way to conclude the play.

They were wrong and thankfully, the makers of Mushk weren’t that delusional. They resolved everything in the best possible manner and that saved the day for the viewers who were expecting some loopholes, as always. What began as a mystery, suspense thriller ended on a romantic note with the most eligible bachelor in the playing getting hitched to the most beautiful single lady in the vicinity, and everyone was happy about it. Mushk might have ended but the viewers’ Ishq with it will stay for a long time.