THE WEEK THAT WAS

Ilzaam-i-Ishq | Hum TV, Sundays 9.00pm

Life is simple and sweet for Haya (Maria Malik). She has her heart set on Hamza (Raeed Alam), and not only does he reciprocate her feelings but his mother happily proposes their marriage.

Despite their conservative, middle-class background, Haya’s father makes a point of asking his daughter’s full consent. In a parallel track, Hadi (Humayun Ashraf) and his family are feuding with their cousins over a valuable plot of land he is determined to get back. Then he finds out that his foolish younger sister, Hooriya, has been trapped by his cousin, Haris (Kashif Hussain), in a twisted plan of revenge. Haya’s father manages the store Haris works at. Haris’ wandering eyes are immediately attracted to the beautiful, poised Haya, who never even notices his presence. Haris looks like the villain of the story and may be the reason why Hadi is seen in the teasers dragging Haya from her wedding ceremony to Hamza.

This looks like a story of revenge and mistaken identity, which is in the style of Urdu romance novels. Humayun Ashraf seems to be the male lead with all the star presence in this show, while Raeed Alam is a very two-dimensional stereotype of a badly written love interest.

Parwarish | ARY, Mon-Tues 8.00pm

Jehangir (Naumaan Ijaz) is supposedly living the good life in the US when he decides to resettle his family back in Karachi. His wife Mahnoor (Savera Nadeem) and children Wali (Samar Jafri) and Amal are confused, but accept the situation as a temporary madness that Jehangir will outgrow.

Jehangir’s younger brother Suleiman (Saad Zameer) has lived in the family home, survived the difficult conditions in Pakistan and taken good care of his parents. Now, his family life is feeling the ripple effects of Jehangir’s decision. Writer Kiran Siddiqui has taken on the cultural and economic divide between overseas Pakistanis and those that stayed behind with some hard truth-telling and a little love. The writing has depth and director Meesam Naqvi has put it all together with a crisp but light hand that appeals to a broad audience.

If the makers can avoid basic stereotypes, this looks like the next big hit to combine quality and entertainment. Jehangir’s reasons for returning are his children but he soon finds out that, despite the intense cultural pressures to conform, Pakistani children also have their own issues. So far, the break-out star is Nazr-ul-Hasan, as the mischievous, wise-cracking Shaheer.

Dayan | Geo TV, Mon-Tues 8.00pm

A gothic tale, Dayan is a story of evil, weak men empowered by a patriarchal society and women that just live to suffer or perpetuate those same cruelties by becoming the oppressors.

A glance at the headlines will prove that the brutality and abuse meted out to Nihal (Mehwish Hayat) by the feudals she is trapped by are not exaggerated, but director Siraj-ul-Haq’s usual theatrical presentation and melodrama serves to anaesthetise the viewer from reality. Zawar Khan (Ahsan Khan) needs an heir but his much-adored wife Shabab (Hira Salman) is infertile, so she forces Nihal to marry her husband and produce a child for her.

Zawar is educated and wealthy but apparently has not heard of IVF or IUI, so he spends his time cringing at the thought or punishing the unfortunate young woman. Ahsan Khan and Mehwish Hayat are wasted in this story which would have been better with zero glamour and more raw authenticity.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Dastakhat | Hum TV, Coming soon

This is a story about changing relationships and the strange turns of fate, starring Amar Khan as an older girl forced to marry her younger cousin, played by Ammar Ali.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 20th, 2025