THE WEEK THAT WAS

Bedardi Saiyaan | Geo TV, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm

Three families interconnected with marriage and malice and the usual saas-bahu circus, yet the serial basks in TRPs.

Aagha Ali shines as Shani, the jobless husband who lies, cheats and is a complete pain for his in-laws, but because of the curious mix of viciousness and charm that Aagha brings forth as Shani, you can’t hate him for all his vileness.

The graphically violent scenes with PG ratings could easily be done away with, however.

Nibah | ARY, Thursday 8.00pm

Radain Shah pens an intriguing story of a woman Saiqa (Savera Nadeem) who dies of cancer. One of her last wishes is for her husband (Asif Reza Mir) to remarry, and soon enough he does so because he can’t handle three kids by himself.

The preamble about the family preparing for Saiqa’s death was not very palatable or necessary. Enter Aamina Shaikh (Sofia), the sacrificial goat of her family who has been divorced after a nikah, and who unwillingly marries the widower to save her sister’s marriage proposal.

What lies ahead are a disturbed, cranky man and his stressed-out kids.

What to watch out for (or not)

Mah-e-Tamam | Hum TV, Mondays 8.00pm

Based on a novel by Amna Riaz, this is a bit of a variation on the love triangle — in this case, the man is torn between his newly wed wife Samahir and his sister Shifa.

Emaad Irfani plays Umair, the man with a clingy sister (Ramsha Khan) who is probably doing a role similar to the trouble-maker Hina of Woh Aik Pal. Wahaj Ali (Hari Hari Choorriyan), in what seems to be a meaningful role, is the sister’s love interest. Naveen Waqar plays the vampy bhabi who struggles to reset her husband’s priorities.

The first episode showed a cheesy (and most irritating) brother-sister relationship but Samahir (Naveen Waqar) couldn’t see the red flags about marrying Umair. A predictable plot, a tearful Naveen, a shrieking Ramsha and Seemi Pasha playing mother ad nauseum are a letdown.

Published in Dawn, ICON, February 4th, 2018