Heeramandi — Episode 4 “Alamzeb – The Innocent Pawn” Recap & Review

Alamzeb – The Innocent Pawn

Episode 4 of Heeramandi starts with Fardeen getting drunk in her palace, still reeling over the embarrassing turn of events from the night before. Ustaadji tells her that Wali Mohammed is waiting for her outside. Fareedan greets the nawab and tells him that Mr Choudhary was like a father to her.

Wali Mohammed tells Fareedan that he will be a loyal guest in her court going forward and apologises for missing her initiation ceremony. He tells her that it is Bibbojaan’s last dance, and he needs to bid her farewell. Bibbojaan watches Fardeen in Wali Mohammed’s arms from her window and gets upset. Fardeed lies to Mr Choudhary and sends him off to Benaras to see his wife.

At the same time, Mallikajaan finds Saima, Alamzeb’s friend and a servant at the court singing. Seeing Saima as a threat to Alamzeb, she decides to sell her off to a nobleman. Saima goes to meet Iqbal, her lover and bids him farewell. Iqbal promises to stop Saima from being sold off. The next day, Saima meets Mallikajaan and asks her to take mercy on her. She promises to pay the huge sum of 10,000 rupees with her lover – Iqbal’s help. Mallikajaan gives Saima 15 days to pay the sum in exchange for her freedom.

Meanwhile, Iqbal gambles and wins some of the cash. Saima takes the money to her mother who hands it over to Mallikajaan. Mallikajaan asks Saima to get Iqbal to pay the rest of the amount within the stipulated time if she does not want to be sold off. At the same time, Waheeda watches Nawab Feroze, the nobleman she dotes on flirt with her daughter – Shama.

Waheeda tries to kill herself but Bibbojaan stops her. Bibbojaan tells Mallikajaan about the issue and Waheeda asks her to choose between her or Shama. Mallikajaan tells Waheeda that the noblemen are her priority and states that Nawab Feroze would now be Shama’s client. Waheeda tries to end her life but Bibbojaan stops her.

That night, Bibbojaan meets Hamid and the other freedom fighters. She tells Hamid that she would not be able to give him any monetary support as she has retired as a courtesan. Bibbojaan adds that she could not provide any intel as she no longer had any relations with the Nawabs but promises to support the freedom struggle in any way she could.

The next day, the bookshop owner introduces Tajdar to Hamid and reveals that he wants to join Hamid’s freedom struggle. Hamid mocks Tajdar for being a nobleman and wearing foreign fabrics while living a life of luxury. He asks Tajdar to become one with his people before joining the freedom struggle. He goes out giving pamphlets in markets, asking people to boycott foreign goods.

In the market, Tajdar meets Alamzeb and the two chat for a bit. Alamzeb rushes to tell Fareedan about her meeting and tells her that she was not able to confess her feelings for him. Fareedan asks Alamzeb to write a letter for Tajdar that she will deliver for her. Alamzeb writes the letter to Tajdar and is about to hand it over to Fareedan when Bibbojaan stops her.

Bibbojaan tells Alamzeb that Fareedan wants to ruin their mother’s life and asks her to be wary of their cousin. Bibbojaan offers to deliver the letter to Tajdar the next day. Meanwhile, Cartwright looks for the court documents against Mallikajaan but is not able to find them anywhere. His superior – Mr Anderson asks Cartwright to stop meddling in the issues of the courtesans and look for the freedom fighters.

Mr Anderson hands over the sketches of freedom fighters including Bibbojaan and Cartwright to keep an eye on them. The next day, Bibbojaan goes to the library to hand over the letter to Tajdar. She suspects someone following her and gets scared. Meanwhile, Fareedan introduces Waheeda to Cartwright as a witness of Rehaana’s murder.

However, Waheeda refuses to state Cartwright. At the same time, Tajdar’s father – Mr Baloch tells Daadijaan that he is going to host a party for Mr Anderson and Cartwright. Mr Baloch tells Tajdar and Daadijaan that the whites were angered by the freedom fight and decided to have a party for the British cops. Mr Baloch is shocked to find out that Tajdar was one of the freedom fighters.

At the same time, Bibbojaan tells Hamid that she is going to take part in the celebration for Mr Anderson and Cartwright. That night, Tajdar holds a poetry slam for his freedom fighters at the same location as the celebration for Mr Anderson and Cartwright. Mr Baloch scolds Tajdar for trying to sabotage their family who had good relations with the British army.

On the other hand, Bibbojan manages to sneak into the men’s room and entices Mr Henderson. Meanwhile, upon Mallikajaan’s orders, the cops arrest Iqbal for gambling. Iqbal manages to escape the cops and runs to meet Saima. The cops nab Iqbal in front of Saima’s eyes. Alamzeb tries to reason with Mallikajaan and asks her to help free Saima and Iqbal.

Mallikajaan agrees to stop Saima from being sold off and promises to free Iqbal from prison in exchange for her initiation. Alamzeb agrees to make a debut as a courtesan. That night, Cartwright tells Iqbal that Mallikajaan was behind his arrest. He asks Iqbal to bear false witness against Mallikajaan and lie that she was betraying the British army. Iqbal refuses to betray his boss and gets beaten up by Cartwright.

Bibbojaan returns with Tajdar’s letter addressed to Alamzeb but is shocked to learn that she is going to make her debut as a courtesan. Alamzeb agrees to meet Tajdar one last time before she becomes a courtesan. She goes to meet Tajdar but he is called for an urgent meeting with Hamid and the freedom fighters. Alam leaves a letter behind at the spot for Tajdar to leave and goes back to the Shahi Mahal.

At the palace, Alamzeb gets ready for her initiation. At the same time, Saima is determined to stop Alamzeb from sacrificing her life for her friend. She meets Wajid – the man who had paid 10,000 rupees to purchase her. Fareedan sends over a fake letter from Tajdar and tries to sabotage Alamzeb’s initiation.

However, Mallikajaan gifts Alamzeb her ghungroos (anklets with bells worn by courtesans) to prepare for her initiation ceremony. Alamzeb is in the waiting room when she gets the letter Fareedan sent for her. Siama shows up in Alamzeb’s room and asks her to flee with Tajdar. She tells Alamzeb that she had already slept with Wajid as per Mallikajaan’s request and claims that Alamzeb did not have to follow through with the deal.

Bibbojaan shows up to take Alamzeb to the court but finds her outfit lying there with no sign of Alamzeb. Meanwhile, Fareedan convinces Alamzeb to flee to meet Tajdar. Bibbojaan tells Mallikajaan that Alamzeb was not in her room. An embarrassed Mallikajaan tells her guests that Alamzeb is not keeping well and cancels the ceremony as the episode comes to an end.

The Episode Review

This episode beautifully portrays Fareedan’s revenge. We started with a heartbroken Fareedan who was shattered for having no guests at her initiation ceremony. However, it ends with Mallikajaan’s embarrassment for having a court full of guests but no lead performer with Alamzeb fleeing. 

While most of the events of this episode seem important to the plot, I am not sure why Bibbojaan introduced herself to Mr Henderson. If she was so worried about being followed for being a freedom fighter, wouldn’t it be wiser to keep her identity a secret from the British cops? I wonder what the reason for this was and I am curious to find out what will happen when Alamzeb finds out that Tajdar was not waiting for her.