THE WEEK THAT WAS

Hina Ki Khushboo | Geo TV, Wed-Thurs 10.00pm

The serial had an elaborate kick-off with a doomed wedding spilling over a few episodes. Two sisters, Farah and Hina (Farah Ali and Sharmeen Khan) are married off into the same family. The curiously weird younger groom abandons the wife in the early hours of the wedding night, leaving her with a secret that the tearful bride promises to keep.

Written and directed by husband-wife duo Shabnam and Sami Sani, this is a no-brainer saas-bahu affair with the proverbial badass phuppo, taaveez, jadoo-tona (in connivance with the housemaid) and bad acting where Sharmeen Khan speaks in ostensible deep sadness while staring into space as though she has impaired vision. The serial delivers nothing that is expected from a Babar Javed production.

Shadi Mubarak Ho | ARY, Thursday 8.00pm

The much-awaited last episode was somewhat predictable but certainly enjoyable for which the writer Yasir Hussain and director Wajahat Rauf deserve applause. Let’s hope this opens the door for some fresh, contemporary and educated humour.

Yasir Hussain’s script provided some gut-busting moments especially the banter between Gul-e-Rana and Asad Siddiqui. Particularly wacky was the scene with the wedding photography while the title song and dance was beautifully choreographed.

What to watch out for

Daldal | Hum TV, Thursday 8.00pm

While his wife Hira (Armeena Khan) suffers a nasty mother-in-law and loneliness back home, illegal abroad Shuja (Zahid Ahmad) goes through unprecedented hardships to find a glimmer of hope in the shape of Preet (Kubra Khan), who he ends up marrying for convenience.

After playing the roothi maghroor haseena in several plays, Kubra Khan in her cameo appearance finally breaks the stereotype and amazes viewers with her versatility and grip as Preet, the ballsy London-based Punjabi kurri who is a young and wealthy widow and promises UK nationality for Shuja. This is where he sinks deeper into the swamp. Director Siraj-ul-Haque shrewdly tackles scenes involving alcohol.

Published in Dawn, ICON, January 7th, 2018