THE WEEK THAT WAS

Ghar Jamai | ARY, Saturdays 7.30pm

Rana Rizwan, the director of Bulbulay brings to us a sitcom with sharp lines and crisp humour. No torture of daughters-in-law here, as the jobless Iqtidar aka Akki (Shehroze Sabzwari) is happy to serve as a live-in son-in-law as long as he can marry Warda (Namrah Shahid), who has a high-paid corporate job. Akki’s mum-in-law (Shagufta Naz) draws up a smart pre-nuptial contract, according to which Akki has to cook, serve and clean round the clock.

The servants are sacked and Akki, donning a chef’s hat and an apron, replaces them to attend to the domestic chores around the house and the quirky family, comprising the annoying brother-in-law (Zuhab Khan) and demanding mum-in-law.

Tawaan | Hum TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

After accidently eavesdropping on a conversation between Zaman (Asad Siddiqui) and Anam (Hira Hussain), reality finally dawns on a distraught Maryam (Momal Shahid) that all along she has been victimised by the two-timing Zaman and not Shehroze (Emmad Irfani). Shehroze may have kidnapped and tortured her in order to get back at Zaman for killing his fiancé Mano (Hina Altaf), but Maryam realises that Zaman has done way more damage to her.

She finds out that Zaman ruined her reputation by telling everyone about her kidnapping and he was also the one to make the anonymous call to ruin her nikah that her mum (Fazila Kaiser) had arranged. Mariam sets about straightening things out by first getting Shehroze out of jail, for which predicament her father (Farhan Ali Agha) and Zaman are responsible, and then gobsmacks him by proposing to him.

What To Watch Out For

Baba Jani | Geo TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

Rarely do you see a reasonable man in a lead role. It is endearing to see how Asfand (Faysal Qureshi) makes step-daughter Nimra (Madiha Imam) and wife Sadia (Savera Nadeem) comfortable around him. Sadia, supported by husband Asfand, has so far been intelligently thwarting off the manipulative moves of Asfand’s wicked sisters (Jinan Husain as Naila and Saba Parvaiz as Najeeba). When Nimra’s birthday falls on the day of Asfand’s mum’s death anniversary, the mean sisters try their best to spoil Sadia and Nimra’s small birthday celebration but Asfand stands by them, ignoring his sisters much to their dismay.

Now that the third sister Nabila (Adla Khan) has arrived to stay till she has her baby, the sisters’ front gets fortified in finding fault with everything to do with Sadia and Nimra. It will be a test of time to see whether Asfand is led astray or stays put as the angelic husband and stepfather that he has been till now.

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 11th, 2018