THE WEEK THAT WAS

Chaal | Geo TV, Mondays 7.00pm

This show has a multi-layered plot, interc­onnected by betrayals and deceit over generations. Rubab (Zubab Rana) is a spoiled princess and has given her heart to a not-so-charming trickster Farrukh (Hammad Farooqi), who sees her as a way to get rich quick.

Despite her best efforts to ruin not only her own life but that of her brother Rahil (Arez Ahmed), fate protects her and she escapes the fraudulent lover. Fortunately, she finds a kind, patient man who loves her despite her arrogant ways, in her husband Sikander (Ali Ansari), and understands that the husband her father chose is the better man for her. Meanwhile, her behaviour and her mother’s jealousy have caused her brother Rahil and bhabhi Alina (Bakhtawar Khan) a lot of pain and confusion.

This is a standard soap opera that has little character or plot development but just seems to grow in all directions rather like a piece of ginger. The actors in the older generation’s love triangle: Farhan Aly Agha, Mizna Waqas and Zeba Ali are more believable, and more interesting to watch. While the younger lot seems superficially written, the seniors play their roles effortlessly, leaving one wishing they had been the main focus.

Tark-i-Wafa | ARY, Saturdays 7.00pm

A successful brother and a gaggle of possessive, dependent sisters is often a premise in serials because it is a common cultural motif. From humble beginnings, Sibtain (Mohib Mirza) built up his civil engineering firm into a wealthy, successful business.

While Sibtain has grown, his sisters have not; their personalities are stunted and their concerns petty because of a lack of parental guidance, and their brother’s inability to set limits. With only basic education and nothing except marriage to look forward to, his three sisters spend their time in vicious bickering, or plans to harvest more money from their brother. Then, pretty, young engineer and designer Maryam (Hina Chaudhry) enters Sibtain’s life. On the plus side, Maryam and Sibtain’s romance is shown building up in a natural, unforced style, with no silly flourishes.

Writer Rabia Razzaque has built up a good plot with an old premise, and both main leads have made the effort to make their characters credible. However, a big minus is the complete lack of positivity among the sisters which, even for a soap opera, is hard to believe.

Aik Chubhan Si | Hum TV, Mondays 8.00pm

This might be yet another chalaak larrki or cunning girl plot, but writer Rukhsana Nigar has put some effort into her writing and characterisations.

When we first meet Maheen (Hira Khan), she is a lazy, immature young girl who is lost in her own fantasy world. She loses her father in a blazing fire due to negligence, rather than intent. What tips her over the edge to a bad person is her greed and the way she covets her cousin Naila’s (Sonya Hussyn) lifestyle and her loving husband Haroon (Sami Khan). The intriguing part of this story is the way Naila’s blind empathy enables the worst side of Maheen’s character.

Sonya Hussyn and Sami Khan always make a fantastic pairing, and their interactions as husband and wife are seamlessly natural. Hira Khan deserves credit for playing Maheen with restraint and not making her into a cartoonish villain. Both Maheen’s fiancé Moiz (Fahad Shaikh) and Haroon can see past her façade of victimhood but, despite her growing comprehension, Naila remains on the fence. Meanwhile, Maheen plots to stay in Naila’s luxurious life.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Kaisi Hai Yeh Ruswai | Express Entertainment, Coming soon

Express Entertainment pres­ents another intri­guing, limited episode thriller starring Farhan Saeed and Hania Aamir.

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 21st, 2024