THE WEEK THAT WAS

Main Ayesha Gul | Urdu1, Sat-Sun 8.00pm

A Turkish rom-com to brighten up Saturday nights with a completely fresh cast for those who have seen enough of Tuba Buyukustun, Beren Saat, Engin Akyurek and Hazel Kaya.

Here, Berk Oktay, Seren Sirince, Eda Ece and Pamir Pekin offer plenty in this 2015 serial originally titled İlişki Durumu: Karışık [Relationship Status: It’s Complicated], a story about how an ordinary girl who writes TV scripts is hoodwinked by friends who desperately need some money. She is thrown into a crazy situation with no less than a celebrity actor and they pretend to be a married couple. The comic sequence of events leading to a marriage contract is funny but plausible.

Rani | Geo TV, Tuesdays 9.00pm

Billed as Geo TV’s extravagant new serial with newcomer Kinza Hashmi in the title role, Rani is written by Anwaar Gillani and directed by Faisal Bukhari. The cast includes film biggies such as Babar Ali, Sangeeta Begum, Sahiba, Naghma Begum and Aurangzeb Leghari, which is probably why the whole ambience is very filmi!

The bold and beautiful Rani makes chaadars for the shrine and cycles around Meharabaad where her family serves a reputed shrine. Half-brothers Muraad Shah (Babar Ali) and Nadir Shah (Saleem Shaikh in a nasty, negative role) are waderas and spiritual inheritors of the shrine but inheritance issues stand between them. One of them falls for Rani, who loves the educated and enlightened young Bilal (Rajab Butt), and is ready to fight the orthodox village set-up for her. Watch it if you enjoy childhood romance, waderas, panchayats, peeri-mureedi and lots of Babar Ali and Saleem Sheikh glaring and snarling at each other.

What to watch out for

Dildariyan | Hum TV, Eid

Written by Faisal Sherazi and directed by Danish Nawaz, Eid telefilm Dildariyan on Hum TV promises a riot of comedy. The cast includes Yasir Hussain, Sonya Hussain, Faiza Saleem and Ali Gul Pir as well as Danish Nawaz. The story is about a policeman (Yasir Hussain) who accidentally shoots a don and is applauded by his department, while the don’s daughter (Faiza Saleem) sets out to avenge her father’s murder. Sonya Hussain plays the constable’s wife and both Yasir and she are doing Bihari accents for the first time, although it’s an old gig for comedy plays.

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 1st, 2017