THE WEEK THAT WAS

Ishq Tamasha | Hum TV, Sundays 8.00pm

ushna (Kinza Hashmi) is in love with Arham (Faizan Khwaja) whom she has never met. She has seen his elder brother Mehrab (Junaid Khan) and assumes he is the one she talks to on the phone. When the real Arham proposes to her, Rushna insults him and throws him out. When Arham tries to kill himself, Mehrab resolves to bring Rushna to him ... by kidnapping her. However, as Mehrab has never seen Rushna, he kidnaps Rushna’s cousin Mirha (Aiman Khan). Yes, the plot is as whacked out as this. While nikah preparations are underway, Mirha cries bucket-fulls.

The script by Misbah Noreen around this tragedy of errors seems a bit unlikely in this day of selfies and cameras, and if one does kidnap someone, surely one would not pick up a random girl who answers the door.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

Nibah | ARY, Thursdays 9.00pm

Emotionally blackmailed by his youngest daughter Fanny (Angel), Shaheer (Asif Reza Mir) promises her that he will bring estranged step-mum Sofia (Aamina Shaikh) back home.

On a rainy night he ends up at Sofia’s door to plead his case. Sofia returns but remains resolute to stand by the truth against his unjust accusation of having had an affair with her ex, Majid. When Shaheer is away for the night, Sofia’s wicked step-children Mubashir and Saira go to a party where things take a nasty turn. Having read some text messages on Mubashir’s cell phone, Sofia arrives at the party to find Mubashir lying stoned downstairs while his best friend is behaving inappropriately with his sister Saira upstairs. It’s an unexpected but welcome surprise for Saira, game up for Mubashir and a much-needed break for Sofia to restore her position with Shaheer.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 29th, 2018