'Dhoop Ki Deewar' finale review: Good message buried under melodrama
ZEE5 Original Dhoop Ki Deewar has concluded, with its last four episodes airing recently. Makers had planned their tale of Indo-Pak drama to go with a blast ahead of Independence Day in both the countries. Director Haseeb Hasan and writer Umera Ahmed stay true to their message of the futility of war, but the ending becomes dramatic and execution feels rushed. Here's our review.
Religion, nation, ideology come in between Sara, Vishal's love
As seen last week, Vishal (Ahad Raza Mir) decides to join the Army in order to protect his family. Meanwhile, Sara (Sajal Aly) finds a pursuer in Junaid, a Pakistani soldier. Even though our lead characters have come to love each other, they never confess it outright, for they are both aware of an insurmountable invisible wall of religion, nation, and ideologies.
Attempts at speeding up make the experience unnecessarily hurried
The fast pace adopted in the recent episodes takes flight. But by doing so, they solely focus on the leads, forgetting side conflicts and unresolved issues. The last three episodes feel unnecessarily hurried, as if someone had suddenly reminded Hasan that they had to wrap up by episode-18. However, poignant moments remain abundant--like asking if we should be "spectators of war/warriors for peace."
Characters deliberately create conflict, poor CGI affects your emotional investment
The best part of this tale was that it remained real involving the day-to-day struggles of soldiers' kin. However, this charm gets lost this week. Characters seem to be deliberately trying to create conflict; the final altercation between Vishal and Junaid is comically presented. Lastly, the ending scene between Sara and Vishal's mother should be emotional, but the poor CGI draws all your attention.
We were expecting more from Sara's character, gets 3.5/5
Sara, who has impressed us with her convictions, disappoints. She agrees to marry while studying medicine just out of spite. Thus, doing exactly what she was opposed to all this time. Still, the ending message will make you think: "How many more sacrifices and how much more grief do we need to suffer before we break through this #DHOOPKIDEEWAR and let the peace in?"
