Barzakh

It's difficult to tell what makes Barzakh so beautiful-is it the enchanting mountain scenery, the sorrow that fills the Mahtab Mahal, or the love that still drives a demented man after 60 years? Perhaps it is all of these and so much more.

Barzakh denotes the separation of the known from the unknown, living from eternity, sorrow from joy. The themes of human vulnerabilities, grief, and sexism are blended with the mystical ambiance of the hills. The characters are crafted skillfully, and you can see different sides of the same person. The vile and eccentric Jaffar accepts he does not know how to love yet builds a Mahal in memory of his eternal lover. His love brings him back to his roots, but he is always distant from his folks. Love, or the lack of it, and sometimes fear of it, becomes the cause of all actions.

The series drags at points (in the middle episodes), and maybe it could have been shorter, but it demands patience from its viewers. When every scene is poetic, and every word is purposeful, you must absorb them to truly understand the emotions on the screen and feel the same inside you. The show leaves some things deliberately unexplained and you must draw your own explanations on the blank canvas.