Habs Episode 12: Case of The Brown Envelope

Once again, it’s Tuesday, and more of Ayesha and Basit’s peculiar but quite endearing chemistry has blessed our screens and eyes. Though things seem to be going well between them, Basit’s unwelcome conceit returns them to their premarital state.

Habs, a drama that stars Feroze Khan and Ushna Shah and airs on Ary Digital every Tuesday, has garnered a lot of love and admiration for its universally relatable plot. Although the plot isn’t particularly original, the two actors’ superb performance, superb directing, and superb execution make it interesting. The protagonist of Habs is a young man from a shattered family—his mother abandoned him when he was a little boy—despite being extremely wealthy. As a result, Basit (Feroze Khan) now despises marriage and women. Ayesha, played by Ushna Shah, is a young woman with exceptional academic skills who hails from a middle-class family. Despite being awarded a scholarship, she has been obliged to work instead of pursuing her education. Ayesha starts off as Basit’s personal assistant, and since Basit must marry in order to inherit all of his fortune and business, the two end up getting married. Basit is constrained by his father’s will. To please her mother and get away from her family’s never-ending obligations, Ayesha marries Basit.

The tale is advancing steadily in episode 12, and although it seemed that Ayesha and Basit were coming to terms with each other as better halves, there is a problem with a brown envelope that contains something significant that Basit gave to Ayesha at the reception. She claims that her mother (Saba Faisal) stole the brown package from her on stage when Basit inquires about it. Even though it’s almost midnight, a vengeful Basit goes to Ayesha’s place to get the envelope.

Upon answering the door, Bano (Dania Anwer) is taken aback to meet Basit at such an odd hour. When Basit asks about the envelope, Ayesha’s mother responds that since they had salami from their friends, she was going to give the envelopes back to them. She is asked to retain the other envelopes, and Basit tells her to give him the brown envelope instead because it has a very important document inside. Qudsia Begum declines at first, but eventually gives in to his persistence and takes the salami packets.

The following morning, Bano (Dania Anwer) chooses to return every envelope that Basit sent since she thought her tone was patronising. Bano takes all the envelopes to give back to Basit in spite of her mother’s objections. As Bano was preparing to leave, Zoya (Jannice Tesa) removes all of the money from the envelopes and replaces them in her bag with the empty contents. It is clear that this makes matters worse for them rather than better.

However, Ayesha is furious since Basit has given her a kind of paycheck, telling her that she will receive this each month in order to complete her obligations without having to work. She is insulted by this and feels completely devalued.

Irsa Ghazal plays Basit’s mother, who explains to Ayesha why he acts the way he does and begs her not to leave him alone, as she did. She also tells Ayesha that she is now in charge of Basit’s duties and the house, and that she should take care of the house and his needs as if they were her own. Despite his often icy manner, angry young Basit seems to have been won over by Ayesha’s tender care. Ayesha makes an effort to understand everything she can about Basit’s daily routine and prepares meals for him. Ayesha responds immediately when he asks her to send him the files of a client she was managing. As Ayesha transfers data to Basit’s laptop, Basit senses that she is missing work.

The episode appeared more like a filler or connecting episode to set the stage for something significant to occur in the upcoming episodes than it did any real progress. Ushna Shah gave a very amazing performance, especially when she got shouted at for misplacing the envelope. You get the feeling that these are actual people’s lives when you witness Ushna Shah and Feroze Khan in the roles of Basit and Ayesha. This is probably because many people can relate to the plot, but it’s also because both actors do a fantastic job portraying their different roles.

Unluckily, it looks like something significant will be revealed in the upcoming episode, and things between our not-so-in-love birds will probably get worse. Have you seen the show from this week yet? How do you feel about Ayesha and Basit? Is it too early to say whether you think they’re finally getting along?