THE TUBE

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Mann Mast Malang| Geo TV, Fri, Sat & Sun 8.00pm

Seventh Sky Productions and writer Nooran Makhdoom whip up another air-brushed fantasy about rich people for a very filmi story of love, hate and revenge.

Kabir Khan (Danish Taimoor) was a child when he shot his uncle (Usman Peerzada) to save his mother (Saba Hamid), but he has been in hiding on and off ever since. As an Alpha male, Kabir is not traumatised by any of this, and returns with even more swagger, resolving every family issue with benign violence and a clever one-liner. His cartoonishly villainous cousins yearn for revenge but all their schemes fall flat, till their youngest Rhea (Sahar Khan) steps in. Rhea and Kabir were betrothed as children and still cannot let go of that childhood attachment. Kabir may be a strong man but will Rhea’s love weaken him? Will she be the Sahiba of legend who leads Mirza to his death at her family’s hands?

Lavish sets, a strong but under-utilised star cast and two-dimensional character sketches give us a very Indianised show that is determined to entertain and avoid too much thinking. Despite his credentials as a good performer, Danish Taimoor seems to be stuck in the groove of playing a rogue male on a rampage, again and again… and yet again.

Dastak | ARY, Fri-Sat 8.00pm

Saife (Feroz Kadri) was coerced and blackmailed by his parents into marrying a ‘khandani’ traditional girl such as Kiran (Sohai Abro), instead of his manipulative girlfriend Faryal (Momina Iqbal). Saife chafes and rails against this forced relationship, emotionally abusing Kiran and even hurting her physically, at first.

As family pressure mounts, Saife is forced to be pragmatic and it seems as if he has accepted Kiran, especially when she bears him a son. Like every good person, Kiran bears the brunt of maintaining their fragile marriage, relying on the support of her in-laws. But Saife is an entitled younger son who cannot deny his feelings for long. He can never truly break off from Faryal. When Saife’s father dies, Kiran is faced with some bleak choices, as Saife finally finds the financial freedom he always wanted.

This is a depressingly accurate portrayal of the way so-called “family values” can suffocate and oppress in the name of public respectability, while degrading personal dignity. Sohai Abro plays Kiran with perfect restraint, despite the potential for a weepy characterisation. Feroz Kadri also fits as the restless villain, while Momina Iqbal’s Faryal carries darker psychological shades than just “the other woman.”

Qarz-i-Jaan | Hum TV, Sat-Sun 8.00pm

Director Saqib Khan’s ability to fully conceptualise a story elevates Rabia Razzaq’s script to a level that pleases the masses and brings high-quality drama.

Defying the trend towards Indian-style entertainers, this show relies on detailed portraits of each character and their motivations. Long dialogues and tedious conversations are chopped in half, allowing the audience to see several perspectives in the same time frame. Each interaction between the protagonists moves the story forward, or shows us the subtle movement of emotions and deepening awareness of past, present and possible futures.

Stung by rejection, Bakhtiar (Deepak Perwani) decides to force his niece Nashwa (Yumna Zaidi) to marry his son, Ammar (Nameer Khan). Meanwhile, an accident delays the wedding, allowing the feelings between Nashwa and her senior Burhan to deepen. Saqib Khan knows how to pull out the best from his talented cast, drawing out delicately balanced performances that hit harder than any grandstanding melodrama.