THE WEEK THAT WAS

Bismil | ARY, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm

Masooma’s (Hareem Farooq) middle class parents have worked hard to give their only daughter the best they could afford. But instead of enabling her to succeed, this has instilled a sense of entitlement and bitterness in her. When her father is disabled in an accident caused by the wealthy Moosa (Saad Qureshi), the latter takes responsibility and tries to compensate the family by giving Masooma a job and some money, but Masooma wants more. Despite his contrition, Moosa retains the arrogance of the rich and rejects any familiarity with an employee. Masooma angles herself a position with Reham (Savera Nadeem), Moosa’s kind but perfectionist mother, but her resentful heart is now set on a new conquest, TT (Naumaan Ijaz), Moosa’s father. For all her tears and, at times justified, bitter inner monologues, Masooma is the classic ‘chalaq larki [cunning woman]’ stereotype. Hareem plays her role well, but the copious amounts of make-up and bright lights distract from her performance. For Savera and Naumaan, these roles are nothing new, so they fit them like a glove. Saad plays his role as the spoiled rich boy very believably.

Jaan Nisar | Geo TV, Fri-Sun 8.00pm

After falling in love with a fraudster, Sarfaraz (Haroon Shahid), the rebellious Dua (Hiba Bukhari) is sold into a prostitution ring. Wealthy feudal Nosherwan (Danish Taimoor) has always loved Dua from afar and he saves her from a life of prostitution, and then he marries her. The twists in Dua’s life do not end here. She now has to contend with a jealous, murderous first wife and the revelation that her abuser, Sarfaraz, is married to her subservient, mouse of an older sister. Dua keeps quiet for her sister’s sake but, after 46 episodes, Sarfaraz reveals his own guilt to everyone and starts accusing Dua again. This two-twists-a-minute, masala-filled show has used every stereotype and cliché to reel in the masses. So far, it has succeeded, though not to the sensational level of Deewangi. A restrained, subdued Danish, and a more controlled performance from Hiba, has kept the show from becoming a cartoon. Haroon has also been a satisfyingly detestable villain.

Mann Jogi | Hum TV, Saturdays 8.00pm

Ibrahim (Bilal Abbas) and Aliya (Sabeen Farooq) have found some kind of rough shelter with Anita, the daughter of Aliya’s Christian neighbours. Aliya’s ex-husband, Chaudhry Shabbir (Gohar Rasheed), and his mother (Asma Abbas) are in hot pursuit, and almost succeed in catching them. Aliya’s father was martyred while protecting a group of Christians from a mindless mob, and the community feels it owes her a debt. Excellent writing from Zafar Mairaj avoids the usual clichés when characterising the Christian minority, and shows us growth in both the lead characters. Aliya sheds her nervous, malleable shell — the very thing had seemed so attractive to her domineering ex-husband. She becomes more like her father and embodies the role of an electrician’s daughter who knows how to fix fans and machines. Courageously, she takes the lead, refusing to dump Ibrahim and hide herself in a girl’s hostel. Ibrahim, the shy, trembling madrassa student, shoves Aliya’s weak brother out of the way and recognises his ‘wife’s’ skills beyond just a novelty. Bilal has little dialogue but still makes his role impactful through his body language and the mute emoting his role demands. Sabeena,

Gohar and Asma have most of the dialogues, and they make each scene work beautifully. There can be no doubt that this is powerful storytelling, but it is missing the audience it deserves.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Duniyapur | Green Entertainment, Coming soon

Duniyapur is a tale of revenge and justice starring Khushhal Khan and Ramsha Khan.

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 8th, 2024