THE WEEK THAT WAS

Surkh Chandni | ARY, Tuesdays 8.00pm

Just when we thought the miserable bit was over with Aida (Sohai Ali Abro) and Amaan (Osman Khalid Butt) getting married, Aida decides to run away from home, leaving Amaan miserable. She is doing this to spare him the social torture of living with an acid-attack victim.

Fortunately, she is rescued by a welfare activist who works for acid-attack victims. When Amaan comes looking for her at the shelter home, she hides from him. On a parallel track, Aida’s greedy sister-in-law Shumaila (Mansha Pasha) is having a raging affair with acid-attack perpetrator Junaid (Asad Siddiqui), while her husband Mukhtar (Hassan Ahmed) is away. Siphoning off money and gifts from Junaid as well as her husband, Shumaila is waiting for her husband to transfer her in-law’s house in her name but he refuses flatly, resolving to fix her greediness when he gets back. A fine attempt to highlight the trauma of acid-attack victims, but watch only if you are strong-hearted.

Kun Fayakun | Hum TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

Interesting ensemble cast here with the young and promising Alizey Shah (the director, Ilyas Kashmiri, seems to have a thing for her close-ups), Zarnish Khan and Imran Abbas. Throw in signature spiritual undertones by Qaisera Hayat (Alif Allah Aur Insaan, where again the emphasis was on faith and spirituality). Mashal (Alizey Shah) is an orphan whom everyone treats badly. She has been brought up by the family matriarch Appa Ji (Azra Mansoor), the pivotal spiritual character who has two obedient sons, but the daughters-in-law are from hell.

The story needs more substance than family feuds, intrigue, jealousy and a love triangle between the cousins who are Appa Ji’s grandchildren. Bismah (Zarnish Khan) loves Haashir (Imran Abbas), who loves her but only until he discovers what a mean piece of work she is, and Haashir starts seeing Mashal in a different light. Meanwhile, Arman (Taha Ghani) loves Mashal, who is so deprived in life that she is content with what she gets. Areesha (Areej Mohiyuddin) loves Arman too, but once she finds out that Arman wants to marry Mashal, there’s going to be trouble.

What To Watch Out For

Meray Mohsin | Geo TV, Wednesdays 8.00pm

The story takes an intriguing turn as Mohsin (Syed Jibran) secretly solemnises a nikaah with Soha (Rabab Hashim) while his mum (Saba Parvaiz) finalises his wedding date with cousin Sidra (Nazish Jahangir) in a watta-satta arrangement. But Mohsin knows nothing about this, just as the newly-married couple’s families know nothing about their wedding.

Soha’s father (Tanveer Jamal) rightly thinks that Mohsin is a coward who cannot even tell, let alone convince, his mum about marrying Soha. But Soha continues to be impervious to any advice from her father, and Mohsin continues to be cowardly. Since his job is now in Karachi, he leaves Soha behind in Lahore and sets off to live with his family. The real fun begins when his mum finds out about his wedding.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 18th, 2019