THE WEEK THAT WAS

Prem Gali | ARY, Mondays 8.00pm

After one episode too many about Joya (Sohai Ali Abro) and Hamza’s (Farhan Saeed) guilt trip about running away from their smothering families to live separately, writer Faiza Iftikhar subtly changes the focus to Joya’s divorced parents Shireen (Saba Parvez) and Manzoor (Javed Sheikh). Joya knows her husband Hamza’s generous boss Manzoor is her real father, while Hamza and Manzoor are clueless about her knowledge. When Manzoor comes to tea at their place, Joya lashes out at him about parents not thinking of what their child will go through with their divorce. Manzoor surprises Shireen by appearing at her shop to tell her how well she has brought up their daughter Joya. But just as things seem to be settling down for Joya, Hamza, Manzoor and Shireen, Hamza’s Dada jee (Qavi) stirs things up by feigning a heart attack. Or is it for real? A light start to the week, but the drama has lost its initial punch.

Fitoor | Geo TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

With rich, older man Haider’s (Faysal Quraishi) wedding prep undereway, his ex-crush and cousin Mehmal (Kiran Haq) frequently hangs around with meaningless expressions. Dilnasheen (Hiba Bokhari), the reluctant bride-to-be, is being pressurised to marry Haider to the extent that her brother (Kamran Jeelani) pulls out a gun, threatening to kill himself if his sister disagrees anymore. Since lover boy Hamza’s (Wahaj Ali) parents are not helping him in marrying girlfriend Dilnasheen, he too pulls out a gun and shoots at Haider, who is gracing the wedding stage with Dilnasheen. Other than guns creating excitement and drama, the story so far has nothing new or interesting. For an ensemble drama with Siraj-ul-Haq at the helm, Zanjabeel Asim Shah writing and a star cast, one has way higher expectations.

What To Watch Out For

Raqeeb Se | Hum TV, Wednesdays 8.00pm

Maqsood (Noman Ejaz) returns from the village with his decision made to finally rile up his wife Hajira (Saniya Saeed), who had so far been overly affectionate and accepting of Maqsood’s old flame Sakina (Hadiqa Kiani), who has turned up at their door out of the blue from the village. After his futile reconciliatory talks with Sakina’s husband Rafiq (Saqib Sameer), Maqsood now wants Sakina to take a divorce from Rafiq. When Maqsood’s daughter Insha (Faryal Mehmood), who is hurting about the whole situation, confronts him about the repercussions of Sakina’s divorce, Maqsood appears to be well aware that Sakina will now become a permanent fixture in their lives. Hadiqa Kiani owns her role but we can’t wait to see Sania Saeed in action as her role sheds its first layer.

Published in Dawn, ICON, February 28th, 2021