THE WEEK THAT WAS

Gul-o-Gulzar | ARY, Thursdays 9.00pm

A done-to-death storyline about deception between two besties Gul and Gulzar. Kinza Hashmi plays the beautiful but naive Gulzar. But Saboor Ali’s smooth performance, as the ordinary-looking, materialistic and treacherous Gul, is what makes the serial an interesting watch. Predictably enough, Gul, has decided to steal Gulzar’s rich admirer Adil (Omar Shahzad), who waits for Gulzar at the college gate every day.

By appointing herself as the messenger between the two, Gul convinces Adil that Gulzar isn’t worth running after, while she cleverly manipulates the situation to her advantage. She keeps the gold earrings Adil sends for Gulzar, and agrees to send a picture of Gulzar wearing those earrings to Adil. Gulzar, of course, is clueless about how she is being deceived by her best friend.

Aangan | Hum TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

For all its hype and the channel’s decision not to upload episodes on YouTube because they billed it as ideal content for Netflix, Ehtashamuddin’s Aangan remained lacklustre till the end with a forgettable storyline, despite the meticulous Partition ambience.

The only redeeming turn in the last episode was when Jamil (Ahad Raza Mir) proposes to Chammi (Sajal Aly). Aliya’s (Mawra Hocane) declaration to marry Safdar (Ahsan Khan), followed by a quick rebuttal of her own decision, baffled the audiences and she ends up living with her mum. Disappointing, given that the serial was based on the legendary Khadija Mastoor novel.

What To Watch Out For

Shahrukh ki Saaliyan | Geo TV, Sundays 7.00pm

At last, a comedy serial that makes you laugh without irritating canned laughter or audio effects. In fact, the OST by Bilal Saeed, with leads Ahsan Khan and Ramsha Khan dancing away, is also rather catchy. Dr Muhammad Younis Butt’s story revolves round Shahrukh (Ahsan Khan), who is looking for accommodation and finds a place only after pretending to the landlord that he is married.

From there begins a comedy of errors where Shahrukh’s best friend Glucose (Raza Zaidi) masquerades as his burqa-clad wife while Shahrukh doesn’t know that his rented accommodation is also home to Anoushay (Ramsha Khan), the girl he likes at work. With a distinct Mazhar Moin touch to it, SKS is a no-brainer, fun watch if you want a few laughs and to be entertained.

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 7th, 2019