THE WEEK THAT WAS

Visaal | ARY, Saturdays 9.00pm

Hashim Nadeem’s compelling story at its twisted best. Now that hubby Akram (Zahid Ahmed) has sussed his wife Naheed’s (Saboor Ali) deep dark secret, he weaves a cunning web to blackmail Naheed by threatening to tell everyone about her direct involvement in destroying her best friend Pari’s (Hania Amir) reputation. He forces Naheed to create a situation where Pari would have no choice but to agree to accept Akram’s proposal.

When the proposal comes to light, Naheed’s parents and Pari are shell-shocked. We had lost all hope for Pari and were bracing for doom and gloom but now the writer decides to let us breathe again with another cogent move in the story. Naheed’s father Mufti Ghufran (Firdaus Jamal) discovers an untidy detail from Akram’s past that could possibly destroy Akram’s ‘perfect plan’.

What To Watch Out For

Tum Se He Taaluq Hai | Geo TV, Mondays 8.00pm

Sadan (Syed Jibran) is a rich, arrogant, cheating husband who doesn’t give two hoots about his wife Alina (Tooba Siddiqui) and little daughters. He is having an affair with the materialistic, middle-class Rama (Faryal Mahmood) who supports her mother and stepfather (Nida Mumtaz and Shabbir Jan, respectively) and is delighted to have struck the jackpot with this rich, good-looking man. Alina’s mum-in-law Siddiqa Begum (Shamim Hilali) overhears a phone conversation and finds out about her son Sadan’s carrying-on. Before she passes away, she leaves all her wealth to her daughter-in-law.

Accusing Alina of forging the will, Sadan throws her out of the house sans daughters but later resolves not to let Alina get any of the wealth or property left to her. The little girls and the house are at Rama’s disposal and the last thing on her mind is her step-children. Particularly interesting is the bold portrayal of Sadan and Reema’s hotel meetings and sleepovers.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 12th, 2018