THE WEEK THAT WAS

Main Khayal Hoon Kisi Aur Ka | Hum TV, Saturdays 8.00pm

So as not to upset the pushy parents-in-law, newly wed wife Dania (Hareem Farooq) and husband Armaan (Alamdar Husain), and Dania’s ex-boyfriend Zaryab (Ali Rehman Khan), keep mum about the honeymoon fiasco where Dania ends up in and then escapes from a brothel, only to be recovered from a railway station by Zaryab and then hospitalised. Dania and Armaan continue to be at odds with each other.

The moment of truth arrives when Armaan tells Zaryab that he knew about their affair before Dania got married to him. Zaryab denies everything and, coerced by family, reluctantly gets engaged to the British-accented Sonia who can’t seem to put two and two together even with Dania’s smug expressions and Zaryab’s double-entendre lines. Armaan declares that he is going back abroad, leaving Zaryab to sort out things between him and the two girls. This flummoxed love ‘rectangle’ might just only make sense to ardent Hareem Farooq and Ali Rehman Khan fans.

Mere Khudaya | ARY, Saturdays 8.00pm

With her suicide attempt, Mehak (Saboor Aly) finally manages to convince her conservative family that the fellow she was spotted with was actually her friend Aleena’s boyfriend Shehzad (Malik Rizwan), not hers. Ties between both college friends and their families are severed. In turn, Aleena (Zubab Rana) cunningly convinces her family that it was Mehak’s boyfriend, not hers and continues to play the blame game, cutting classes at college to meet Shehzad on the sly.

What Aleena doesn’t know is that the college van driver Sajid (Shahood Alvi), with an inglorious past as a rape convict, has embarked on a juicy plan to blackmail her. He discreetly records her phone calls in the van and takes pictures of her bike rides and meetings with Shehzad. Suspense and thrill builds up as he starts sending recordings and pictures to Aleena, who is scared as hell but assumes it’s Mehak trying to get even. Shehzad Photoshops their pictures to stick Mehak’s head in and sends them to Mehak’s father. The plan backfires and Mehak’s father speaks to Aleena’s ferocious brother Kashif (Paras Masroor) who demands an explanation from the already scared-as-hell Aleena. Fireworks in the next episode.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

Tumhari Zofeen | TVOne, Thursdays-Fridays 9.00pm

Life couldn’t have been more perfect for newly-married Zofeen (Deeba Naz) and Izer (Azfar Rehman) who laugh and joke, sing (Deeba Naz is a promising singer) and dance until Izer’s poor health is diagnosed. He has blood cancer. While Zofeen is in Lahore for best friend Nazia’s wedding, Izer is hospitalised but doesn’t tell Zofeen until the wedding is over. Izer tells childhood buddy Raaim to look after Zofeen who returns to find out the bad news, and bravely handles the situation when Izer finally passes away.

Never knew Haseena Moin could build up to such a heart-breaking scene with Zofeen holding his hand and crying out from her gut as he dies. For a change here we have educated, contemporary characters in plausible situations sans in-laws and miserable women. All the actors, including the new entrant Deeba Naz, are impeccable in their respective roles.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 26th, 2018