THE WEEK THAT WAS

Baaghi | Urdu1, Thursday 8pm

Pitch-perfect in her electric performance as Fauzia Batool [aka Qandeel Baloch], Baaghi belongs to Saba Qamar. She brings out the fiery-fiesty spirit of her character. The first episode kicks off with an all-round introduction of characters played by a fabulous supporting cast that includes Nadia Afgan, Sarmad Khoosat and Ali Kazmi. The biopic is a huge challenge for Shazia Khan and Umera Ahmed, and the director Farooq Rind. We all know the story and we all know the end, and without getting too wired up about fact or fiction Baaghi makes an intriguing watch. Considering the target audience, the serial would reach out farther if aired on PTV than on a cable channel.

Ghairat | ARY Digital, Monday 8pm

The much publicised new serial written by Edison Masih is about how families suffer when a near and dear one is killed for the sake of honour. Syed Jibran (Khuda Mera Bhi Hai) plays the dastardly brother who kills his sister (Sundas Tariq) for having a love interest but pretends to be possessed. The repercussions will be suffered by Saba, his sister played by the talented Iqra Aziz. Watch it only if you can stand emotional and physical abuse of women, although our TV audiences have become curiously voyeuristic and desensitised to women being randomly pushed, shoved and slapped in our drama productions.

What to watch out for

Dhund | TVOne, Saturday 9pm

Dead people walking and talking! On Saturday nights, Mohammed Ahmed will tell you a story to make your hair curl. Which is probably why Maria Wasti sports a cascade of curls as she plays the medium who gets visions and talks to ghosts in Dhund. The ghost of her grandfather (played by Mohammed Ahmed) is in and out of her room along with other dead people. It is a spine-chilling mystery series with a new story in every episode running parallel to the medium’s own hunt for her missing husband and son. She knows they are not dead because the dead, she can talk to! Kudos to the writer Mohammed Ahmed and director Faiz for exploring a different genre, also because horror with visual effects is easy, but this kind of psychological creepy is harder to pull off.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 6th, 2017