THE WEEK THAT WAS

Raqeeb Se | Hum TV, Wednesdays 8.00pm

Maqsood (Noman Ijaz), the lead character of Bee Gul’s unconventional love story, is a lucky man. His wife Hajra (Sania Saeed) has no objection to his old flame Sakina (Hadiqa Kiani) and her daughter Ameera (Iqra Aziz) living with them. So the three women dote on this middle-aged stud muffin, and take care of him. But now with the young and saucy Ameera encroaching upon Hajra’s space, things might just get a little complex, and finally ruffle up Hajra. What is her story and why is Hajra so maddeningly complacent about the whole situation? Only an actor of Sania Saeed’s calibre could be so comfortable in the role of a woman with uncanny restraint.

Fitoor | Geo TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

The older, rich man Haider’s (Faysal Quraishi) old flame Mehmal (Kiran Haq), at the height of her manipulative behaviour, feigns a sprained ankle and goes to the hospital holding on to Haider’s arm, on the very day that Haider’s much younger and gorgeous wife Dilnasheen (Hiba Bokhari) decides to surprise him with a fancy meal and a brand new bold ‘come hither’ attitude. On the way to the hospital, Mehmal shamelessly begs Haider to marry her. They return home late and Mehmal wants to eat in her room with Haider, while Dilnasheen sits gracing the table with some fancy fish and chicken giving her company. Haider, being a total wimp, has completely lost any recollection of the existence of Dilnasheen. Sadly, Dilnasheen does not react but a loud showdown would have been a lot of fun.

What To Watch Out For

Dunk | ARY, Wednesdays 8.00pm

Between ‘thought scenes’, loud background music and Star Plus-type slo-mo effects, there is a story struggling to move forward. God only knows what is going on in Amal’s (Sana Javed) manipulative head, as she orchestrates her ex-fiance, and now brother-in-law Haider (Bilal Abbas), and her best friend Minaal’s (Azekah Daniel), wedding. Amal also spreads lies around that Haider had backed out of marrying Amal at the last minute because he had feelings for Minaal. It’s also a mystery as to why university friends Haider and Minaal go ahead with the wedding. Post-marriage, while Amal gets busy spitting snide remarks to Haider and Minaal, Haider decides to reopen the sexual harassment case where Amal accused Professor Humayun (Noman Ijaz) and it led to his suicide. Haider’s move might bring justice to the dead professor’s family, who are being ostracised and humiliated in their daily lives, but it will also expose Amal’s vile face to everyone.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 11th, 2021