THE WEEK THAT WAS

Thora Sa Haq | ARY, Wednesdays 8.00pm

Ayeza Khan (Sehr), Imran Abbas (Zaamin) and the promising newcomer Mashal Khan (Hareem) are wasted talent in this drama serial, as the story takes one lame turn after another in what is being dubbed as one of the worst plays of the season.

In the middle of Zaamin’s nikaah ceremony, he tells his bride Hareem about his previous secret marriage to cousin Sehr, present at the ceremony along with a hundred other people. A shocked Hareem goes ahead with the wedding, but later makes a huge fuss about the betrayal. Instead of consoling Hareem, Zaamin decides to spend the rainy wedding night with Sehr in her room, only to be spied on by (yet another) cousin Rafay (Shan Baig), who later accuses Sehr of having a loose character.

Outraged about the secret marriage, Hareem’s mum Rabia (Saba Faisal) grabs yet another opportunity to verbally abuse Sehr while Hareem and the rest of the family pressurise Zaamin to divorce Sehr, who has already packed her bags, and is ready to be divorced and disappear forever from their lives. But Zaamin has no plans to divorce her. What a circus!

What To Watch Out For

Emergency Pyar | Urdu1, Thurs-Fri 9.00pm

Originally titled Acil Aşk Aranıyor (2015) in Turkish, this is a light rom-com about a young doctor Naina (Duygu Yetis) who moves to Istanbul to work in a hospital. She later discovers that the gorgeous doctor Sinan (Serhat Teoman), whom she will be working with, also lives in the same building as her. As the story progresses around their daily shenanigans at work and in the neighbourhood, their relationship matures.

Despite Naina’s clumsy, quirky nature, Sinan is always around her. There is also another equally intriguing romance between Dr Ayla (Rojda Demirer) and Dr Basil (Tamer Tirasoglu). More credible and rich supporting characters, each with their own absorbing stories within the main framework of a hospital, easily hook us as the doctors save lives on a daily basis. As with all Turkish plays, there is plenty of eye candy, a gripping story and slick production.

Published in Dawn, ICON, January 19th, 2020