THE WEEK THAT WAS

Ishqiya | ARY, Monday 8.00pm

Unable to deal with Hamza’s (Feroze Khan) harassment any more, Hamna (Ramsha Khan) tells husband Azeem (Gohar Rasheed) that her sister Roomi’s husband Hamza is her past that stands between the two of them. Of course, it comes as a big shock to Azeem, but he can now put two and two together, as to why Hamza acted and said things in a certain way, and why his wife Hamna is always so uptight. This was an intense scene, with Gohar Rasheed and Ramsha Khan performing at par. Hamza also doesn’t take long to notice the change in Azeem’s attitude towards him, and senses something is wrong. The only person not in the twisty loop now is Roomi (Hania Aamir), who is presently preoccupied with her father Siddiqui’s (Shabbir Jan) illness. Only when she finds out the inside story will the serial offer the right kind of juice. But before that we have to endure Siddiqui’s death and funeral. The story needs to be tightened up for more impact by getting rid of dialogue pauses and too many ‘thinking scenes’, which are only good for loo breaks!

Sabaat | Hum TV, Sundays 8.00pm

After gracing the title for almost a dozen episodes, Usman Mukhtar finally makes an appearance as Miraal’s (Sarah Khan) psychiatrist Dr Haaris, just when we had begun to think that his photo was being used as a promo prop after his success as Taimur in Ana. Miraal, the basket case who talks to her dead grandmother and who set fire to her brother Hasan’s (Ameer Gilani) bridal boudoir — because she is perturbed that he has married Anaya (Mawra Hocane), an ordinary girl of his choice — has at last arrived at the right place. She should have arrived here in episode one. Now, it will be interesting to see how Dr Haaris drives some sense into Miraal’s fiery head, while her brother and bhabhi start their newly-married life.

What To Watch Out For

The Lockdown Chef | LTN Family, Daily 10.00pm

Young and stylish Chef Furqan Latif brings some relevant Covid-19 safety advice and a refreshing variety of non-traditional recipes from pad thai to quesadillas, and from churros to stuffed dates with pistachio and cream. His bilingual ease in front of the camera, his knowledge and culinary flair, and of course his tattoo-ed persona makes him a much-needed and a welcome new entrant to the stuck-in-a-time-warp culinary content on TV. The show’s content and production is simple yet slick, making it hard to believe that this is not an import.

Published in Dawn, ICON, June 28th, 2020