THE WEEK THAT WAS

Ishqiya | ARY, Mondays 8.00pm

Power-packed episodes with the fallout of Rumi’s (Hania Amir) colleague Alishba (Maha Hasan) spilling the beans to her about Rumi’s husband Hamza (Feroz Khan) and her sister Hamna’s (Ramsha Khan) university affair in the past. Unrequited in her love for Hamza, Alishba takes her revenge from Rumi who is left shattered by the disclosure, and leaves her in-laws’ place to go live with her mother. Director Badar Mehmood and his lead actors were superb in the electric scenes where Rumi confronts Hamna and Hamza about hiding the truth from her. When Hamna goes for a second round of talks with Rumi, both Ramsha Khan and Hania Amir deliver fabulously. Rumi understands her sister’s position, and decides to expose Hamza to her in-laws, about how he had blackmailed Hamna and had used Rumi as a tool of revenge.

Jalan | ARY, Wednesdays 8.00pm

In what world does a woman go to sleep in her newly-married sister’s bedroom, only to be woken up by her brother-in-law who mistakenly thinks he is waking up his wife? Well, in the same world where, if the newly-married wife isn’t feeling well, the husband will still take his sister-in-law out to dinner as per the dinner plan for the trio! Neesha (Minal Khan) is one dangerous sister, who has steadily manipulated her bro-in-law Asfand (Emmad Irfani) so that he actually admits to her that maybe he should have married someone more compatible, meaning her. On the one hand, Neesha says negative things to her sister Meenu (Areeba Habib) about Asfand while, on the other, she is quietly cultivating a relationship with her sister’s husband, with loads of innuendos and teeny-weeny secrets. After orchestrating a misunderstanding between Asfand and Meenu, Neesha helps Meenu pack her bags to go home. This leaves Asfand all alone for Neesha to go ahead with her plans. Bold, bordering on sick, yet quite watchable.

What To Watch Out For

Mehrposh | Geo TV, Fridays 8.00pm

Finally, the boy-next-door Shahjehan (Danish Taimoor) realises that his feelings for Mehru (Ayeza Khan) are more than just respect and sympathy. When Mehru’s best friend Shefali’s (Faiza Khan) mother (Rehana Kaleem) doesn’t let Mehru participate in a bridal ceremony because of the superstition that Mehru, being a divorcee, will bring bad luck, Shahjehan quickly rises to the occasion and saves Mehru from embarrassment, by declaring that he would be marrying her very soon. There are three solid reasons not to miss this Mazhar Moin directorial venture which, after being a tear-jerking divorce-and-death mix, has taken a refreshingly romantic turn. Real-life star couple Danish Taimoor and Ayeza Khan are in a heart-tickling romance, and there’s plenty of chemistry here. Danish Taimoor sans moustache has a new makeover and Ayeza, who is usually stone-faced pretty in most plays, has a range of emotions to play in her role as Mehru. Special kudos to the writer Misbah Nausheen for depicting a minority character Shefali as Mehru’s bestie.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 9th, 2020