I haven't read the novel and am taking the drama on its own merit. Here's my take on the action so far.
Pasha: excellent acting. He is not your typical 'gaun ka ghunda' but a 'trust fund brat' and he plays the role very well.
Mahnoor: excellent acting. Some people say she is not pretty enough, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and she is certainly pretty enough to catch Pasha's fancy and play the role convincingly. Also, after her kidnapping, she has been abandoned by her family and the betrayal has left her numb. She is beyond feeling anything at this point. Her emotions alternate between desolation and defiance. I like her understated style of acting much better than the overly melodramatic acting of 'Bari Amma' or 'Ustani Ayesha'.
Riba: good acting. She is not a tomboy as some have suggested but a pampered kid sister. Her 'shaukh' bubbly personality is portrayed very well. However, I found it hard to believe that her family would marry her to Moon. This may happen in poor villages but I can't imagine that a well-to-do upper middle class family would marry off their only 'ladli' daughter to a man twice her age whom she has met exactly twice, and before she can complete her studies.
Marvi: good acting. Leaving aside the mystery of the missing nine month pregnancy, her character is a bit confusing. I understand she does not want to name Moon as her attacker because she actually has feelings for him (even before the rape) and also that she framed Sunny as a way to get back at the begum, but what exactly does she want (besides the baby)? Clearly she doesn't want justice because she is letting Moon get away with rape.
Moon: horrible acting. The man has no expressions. Even Keanu Reeves can act better than that. His character is so lifeless. He doesn't do anything except get up, go to work and sleep. (and occasionally rape.)
Mazahir: mediocre acting. It seems the director is trying to portray him as a villain and we can certainly see and understand Manhoor's feelings towards him go from infatuation to disappointment and finally to anger. But I think it is mostly because of the story line, not because of his acting.
Sunny: decent acting. I actually found him believable as a bored, spoilt rich kid who turns to drugs.
Bari Amma, Ustani Ayesha, Manhoor's Mom, Pasha's Mom: overly melodramatic acting. I feel like I am watching some bad Indian movie.
By the way, am I the only one who wants to whack this idiot 'Bari Amma' character on the side of the head and put her out of commission? The way she showed a double standard towards Manhoor's v/s Moon's kidnapping was terrible.
Finally, I find it interesting that so many of the women posters here want Manhoor to be with Pasha. She was forced to marry him against her will. Pasha kidnapped her and blackmailed her by threatening to kill her relatives if she committed suicide. She was also desperate and desolate after her family abandoned her. I hardly think such a marriage can be viewed as legitimate.
However, as I mentioned above, the story line is building Mazahir up as a villain, or at least a wimpy loser, and we can see Manhoor's developing anger towards him. I can see the ending where Mazahir finally gets off his fat ass to confront Pasha and to kill him. But by that time it is too late and Manhoor actually weeps for Pasha. Tum ne mera shohar mar dala...
True that but the girls here want them to be together because they find him hot and it would be a waste of time to watch him die, or get left by her in the end, and from what i understood people have taken it more romantically then it wrong ethically, if you see above...its more like he loves her so much that he had to do what he did feeling going on rather then oh my he should be punished for what he did to her..either way its fine...