THE WEEK THAT WAS

Darr Khuda Se | Geo TV, Tuesdays 8.00pm

Since the story has deviated from its main theme of harassment of women at the workplace for the past few episodes, we are still waiting for the interesting star pair of Imran Abbas (the harasser, Shahwaiz) and Sana Javed (Afreen, the victim) to rise above the usual spiel — which revolve around the usual domestic shenanigans of cunning daughters-in-law, gullible sons and pressured in-laws.

After Afreen’s brother Azhar (Ali Ansari) gets married against the family’s wishes, the family is burdened with wedding expenses and Afreen has no choice but to go back to work. Sister Tamkeen’s (Kiran Haq) developing relationship with the vegetable vendor, played by Saleem Mairaj, continues to be the most interesting bit.

Gul-o-Gulzar | ARY, Thursdays 8.00pm

What we thought was a done-to-death story of two best friends — one wicked (Saboor Ali as Gul) and one gullible (Kinza Hashmi as Gulzar) — has surprisingly come up with some unprecedented twists. After the furore created by Gul running off with Adil (Omer Shahzad), Gulzar’s father thinks it is best to get his daughter married off, as people are linking her with Gul’s eloping.

A slightly reluctant Gulzar is almost ready to take the plunge when she actually takes a look at her hubby-to-be’s photos — to discover that he is nowhere near her ideal, and just average-looking. Doomed and in despair, Gulzar receives a call from Gul at her weakest moment, and Gul manages to convince her not to marry someone out of duress. The solution she provides to Gulzar is to run away from home and come to her.

What To Watch Out For (Or Not)

Khaas | Hum TV, Wednesdays 8.00pm

Danish Nawaz is doing a neat job of directing Sarwat Nazir’s story of an egotistic, abusive husband. He may not be violent and thrash the wife around, and he may buy her expensive gifts, but he also breaks her heart every time he opens his mouth.

Sanam Baloch’s portrayal of Saba, a girl being broken bit by bit in a marriage that’s a sham, but one that others envy, is laudable. For everybody else to see, Amaar (Ali Rehman) buys Saba a shiny new car, but when Saba confronts her husband about his affair with his ex-girlfriend Salma (Hira Tareen), he lashes out at her, accusing her of being psychotic and insisting that she accept things as they are.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 11th, 2019