THE WEEK THAT WAS

Pyar Ke Sadqay | Hum TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

It’s Abdullah’s (Bilal Abbas) university crush Shanzay (Yashma Gill) versus his wife Mahjabeen (Yumna Zaidi), because he can’t think straight anymore. Shanzay has had a change of heart about Abdullah because of her horrid experience in marrying the toxic Essa (Danish Wakeel) and, in reponse, Abdullah is enamoured by her all over again, and giving the cold shoulder to his wife Mahjabeen. Abdullah’s stepfather Sarwar (Omair Rana) — who wants to break up Abdullah’s marriage — is making most of the situation. As if that isn’t enough, Mahjabeen’s idiocy might just cost her her marriage, especially after her totally politically incorrect comment to her mother-in-law Mansoora (Atiqa Odho) about being married to a younger man, in reference to Mansoora’s husband Sarwar!

Deewangi | Geo TV, Wednesdays 8.00pm

After some serious sleuthing, Sultan (Danish Taimoor) traces out his first love Nageen’s (Hiba Bukhari) whereabouts. He tries to improve her financial situation by providing a cushy job for her husband Haroon (Ali Abbas) in his newly-launched TV channel. Sultan also sends the clueless Nageen an expensive watch and an outfit that she had admired earlier in the mall. But Nageen thinks it’s her hubby who has sent her the mysterious parcel as a surprise. The hilarious bit comes when Haroon discovers the watch, and assuming that Nageen bought the watch for him as a surprise, dons the watch for his first day at work. Let’s assume it was a unisex watch because if it isn’t then Haroon is a weirdo who likes to wear ladies watches. Or did Sultan choose a man’s watch for Nageen?

What To Watch Out For

Ishqiya | ARY, Mondays 8.00pm

After the one incident when husband Azeem (Gohar Rasheed) had dropped by his wife Hamna’s (Ramsha Khan) parents’ house and not found her there — because Hamna was secretly meeting brother-in-law and ex-boyfriend Hamza (Feroze Khan) — Azeem is getting suspicious about Hamna. Also Alishba (Maha Hasan), who has a thing for Hamza, has begun to notice Hamza’s long stares at Hamna and the silent innuendo between them. Meanwhile, Hamza continues to harrass Hamna but Hamna’s sister and Hamza’s wife Roomi (Hania Aamir) is getting a tad possessive about her husband, and actually has a row with some girls over Hamza. This mish-mash of close relations makes an interesting Monday night watch as the main cast does full justice to their roles.

Published in Dawn, ICON, June 7th, 2020