THE WEEK THAT WAS

Mera Rab Waaris | Geo TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

fter pretty boy Haaris (Danish Taimoor) refused to marry Ayesha (Madiha Rizvi) because he judged her for being purdah-observing — and hence not his ‘type’ — the niqab-donning lass pined away in silence until she bumps into Haaris in total filmi fashion at the mall. The bump proves to be an earth-shattering experience for both! Totally mesmerised, Ayesha forgot all about her niqab which fell off for a good 60 seconds and left both ogling at each other. So now Haaris too is head-over-heels in love with her, and changes his mind about marrying her. She agrees to meet him at her home in purdah, insisting he has to accept her the way she is, and he declares he will do it for the rest of his life. Haaris’s mum and sisters dislike her, but the wedding is now on!

Anaa | Hum TV, Sundays 8.00pm

As if the story revolving round a feud between two nawab families isn’t complicated enough, with leads Daneen (Hania Aamir) and Areesh (Shahzad Sheikh) who love each other but are forced to marry other people under intense family pressure, Areesh’s wife Anya (Areeba Shahood Alvi) goes to meet Daneen. Despite the displeasure of the powerful matriarch phuphi sahib (Seemi Raheel), who had forbidden this side of the family to meet anyone from that side, Anya begs Daneen to promise to let Areesh believe that Daneen is happy in her ownmarriage, so that Areesh returns Anya’s love for him. An astounded Daneen agrees. But way more fun to watch is the Mills & Boon-type romance betweentwo cousins, Iza (played by the beautiful Naimal Khawar) and the arrogant and elusive Altamash (theatre and film actor Usman Mukhtar).

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

Cheekh | ARY, Saturdays 8.00pm

Fourteen episodes down and not one episode has faltered in pace and thrills. Mannat’s (Saba Qamar) stubborn determination to take a stand against her young brother-in-law Wajeeh (Bilal Abbas Khan), and to get him convicted for her best friend Nayab’s (Ushna Shah) brutal murder, has left only her husband Shayan (Emaad Irfani) by her side. But relentless pressure and manipulation by his siblings force Shayan to ask Mannat to finally leave the house. He himself takes her to her mum’s house, and it comes as a relief to Mannat and her mum and a blow to his family when Shayan declares it’s only an interim measure until he finds a separate house for himself and his wife. Mannat is over the moon to have her hubby on her side but Shayan has created a bitter and dangerous enemy in younger brother Wajeeh.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 14th, 2019