Sodaager (Sumaira Hameed)- Fiction Review by Shoby

Sodaager (Sumaira Hameed)- Fiction Review by Shahbaz Ali Naqvi

Young Allie: Why didn't you write me? Why? It wasn't over for me, I waited for you for seven years. But now it's too late.

Young Noah: I wrote you 365 letters. I wrote you everyday for a year.

Young Allie: You wrote me?

Young Noah: Yes... it wasn't over, it still isn't over

The Notebook (2004)

Love stories... There is a very common recipe to follow in order to pen the good ones. Take three or four pivotal characters as your primary ingredient... Place them in a bowl full of hot waters of uninvited events... Use someone as bad as he could to spell the centuries old sentence like Main Yeh Shaadi Nahi Honey Du Ga... And after some hoo-la-la join the protagonists and show them like they were made actually meant to be made for each other... Happy Endings, what you call.

First thing first, I personally LOVE the love-stories for the warmth they bring forth but at the same time, I sort of HATE them for being so regular & cheesy in nature. But when it comes to a Sumaira Hameed's signature romance, it is mandatory for one to get excited, as this time around, you expect at least two things... Story surfacing in a very unusual ambiance and loads & loads of heavy duty dialogues. So lets see, what she has it for us in the form of her latest latest offering Sodaager.

Gul Sher, a rug seller by profession falls in love with Zartaash in the valley that is said to be the paradise (if it really exists in this very world, it is here)... Yes, Kashmir, The Beauty. Remember how Raj fell in love with Sakina when he saw her for the very first time in Sir Sanjay Leela Bhansali's epic Saanwariya. The sad gloomy frightened look with an extra topping of teary eyes were more than enough for him to give away the only thing he was having till yet. Same goes for Gul Sher. Us ke kuch qeemti khazaney ji sandooqon se chura liye gaey they, woh un per ro rahi thi... Us ki aik ikloti qeemti cheez jo ab us ke seeney mein bhi mojood nahi rahi thi, woh us oer bhi khush ho raha tha...

Luck plays like no one else. You get something out of nothing just in case the luck is in your favor. And the fortune was obviously favoring Gul Sher with all the heart and he made use of his damn selling skills to woo Zartaash and no points in guessing that he emerged 110% successful. Nonetheless, it is assumed to be quite easy to attract someone by just comforting him/her in the time of need. But as expected the twist comes in the story, when Zartasha realizes that Gul Sher has taken the benefit out of her sensitive moments. So they both decide to part ways. Whats happens next is the story to be read in digest.

Yes, I agree that Sumaira has this time taken a very orthodox route to tell a simplistic romance of a young couple but I still like the way how she executed all this. The small expressions, she always use in her written material make the thing look special, no matter how ordinary is the subject matter. Some of the one-liners here are again to die for. Usey yaqeen ho gaya tha ke usey issi kaam ke liye peda kiya gaya hai... Ab tak jo us ne qaleen bechney ka kaam kiya tha, woh sab sirf khasarey ka sauda tha...

I said it once while reviewing Us Darr Ka Jogi and I am here to say it again that there are very few artists who can make you desire to fall in love and Sumaira Hameed is definitely one of them. See how sensitively she knits the threads of emotions by using delicate fabrics of words. Woh chahta tha ke us ke ansoo us ke romaal ki dastaras mein aa jaey... Phir woh us aik romaal ko sambhal ker rakh le or sari zindagi us romaal ke saharey guzaar de...

One thing that was beautifully projected by Sumaira Hameed in Sodaager was the psychological scheme of things that run along side with the sub-conscious part of humans. We desire to have something and once we get it, its like we regret why we have got it at the first place, due to various reasons. Secondly, the complex psychology of female creed. They are not considered to be wise in making life changing decisions. They are more emotional than practical and once they have made up their mind, they stand firm to their decision without thinking if it goes fair with them or not but eventually they have to regret upon what they have picked. Both of these things were apparently presented by Sumaira through the deeds of Gul Sher & Zartaash respectively. Both of them had to undergo a severe form of regret at the heart of the script.

Jis ke hona bhi ik azziyat ho

Us ke hijraan ka gham manaey kiyo

(Main Bekhayali Mein Sang Tere- Shahbaz Ali Naqvi)

The overall treatment to the story is graceful and the writer tried to curtail the jurisdiction of the emotions to the boundaries of the script, so no needless exaggeration was observed and this is perhaps the best thing of Sodaager. However, I have serious doubts against the ending. By going with what Sumaira Hameed is famous for, this time, unfortunately, the ending part didn't go well with my thinking. I feel happy endings are cliches and they should be avoided at all costs and Sumaira really avoids them mostly but this time, she came up with an ordinary break-up turning into make-up scenario. The probability of giving shock to her regular readers surely have been declined this time.

Well, a refreshing breather among all this was the beauty of paradise on Earth (i.e. Valley of Kashmir), which was constantly reminding me of Fitoor.

Pashmina dhaagon ke sang...

Koi aaj...Bbuney khawab...

Aisey kaisey...

Waadi mein goonjey kai...

Naey saaz... Yeh rabaab...

Aisey kaisey...

:-)

PS: Don't forget to give us your feedback in the below box