THE WEEK THAT WAS

O Rangreza | Hum TV, Fridays 8.00 pm

Written by Saji Gul who’s dishing out an astounding variety of stories (Iltija, Sannata, Mohabbat Hogayee Aakhir), O Rangreza is about how an arrogant poet (Nauman Ijaz) — unhappily married to plain Jane Irsa Ghazal — meets his nemesis in his doting daughter (Sajal Ali) when she observes his disinterest in her mother and tries to become like her beloved father’s love interest, a glamourous actress. The plan backfires and the father-daughter relationship goes haywire.

The storyline might be a little off-beat (if not off) but the elaborate sets create a beautiful ambience and set the tone for Sajal’s first venture after her Bollywood sojourn. The title role could be an interesting challenge for Bilal Abbas Khan as the male lead although Sajal has done the chalaak larki role a million times. Nauman Ijaz dazzles as the poet and Irsa Ghazal in a 360-degree turn from vampy roles to the degraded wife is simply fantastic to watch.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

Daldal | Hum TV

Directed by Siraj-ul-Haq, Hum TV’s upcoming serial Daldal highlights human trafficking. After a weepy role in Rasm-i-Dunya, Armeena Khan appears as a burqa-clad, middle-class girl in Daldal with Zahid Khan who (once again) plays a dodgy character called Shuja while Muneeb Butt plays his goody-two-shoes brother Kamran.

The middle-class setting portrayed in the serial may lend a new perspective to the performances of these actors who are repeatedly being cast in stereotyped roles.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 13th, 2017