THE WEEK THAT WAS

Deewangi | Geo TV, Wednesdays 8.00pm

Divorced by Haroon (Ali Abbas) and thrown out by her mean mother-in-law, Nageen (Hiba Bukhari) is once again homeless. But instead of pacing the streets, she is on the beach. Of course, she is clueless that ex-husband Haroon is critically injured and fighting for his life in the hospital because of Sultan Durrani’s (Danish Taimoor) men beating him up and setting it up as a road accident scene. Sultan also manages to get rid of Ramsha (Faiza Ali) who had evidence of his crimes, by arranging her murder and setting up a suicide scenario. While on the beach, Nageen calls Sultan and proposes to him. The teaser for the forthcoming last episode shows Haroon galavanting around while Sultan Durrani is pointing the gun at Nageen dressed as a bride. Watch it for laughs as this deewangi finally comes to an end!

Saraab | Hum TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

Thursday at 8.00pm is the mental disease drama time slot for Hum TV. After the success of Ishq Zah-e-Naseeb (IZN) that somewhat dealt with multiple personality disorder, we now have a new serial tackling schizophrenia. Directed by Mohsin Talat and written by Edison Idrees Masih, the leads are Sami Khan and Sonya Hussayn who were previously together in IZN. Let’s hope the writer has done substantial research on the condition, and the treatment of the story is not a mish-mash of flashbacks as already seen in IZN and Yeh Dil Mera, the other mental disease serial by the same channel. Already there seems to be a bit of a confusion in what Hoorain (Sonya Hussyn) is imagining, and what is really happening with her!

What To Watch Out For

Prem Gali | ARY Digital, Mondays 8.00pm

A rom-com directed by Qasim Ali Mureed (Aangan) and written by Faiza Iftikhar (Ranjha Ranjha Kardi), the serial has kicked off with a bang. It boasts full-blooded, robust characters and a rich cast that includes Anoushey Abbasi, Farah Shah, Saba Parvez, Waseem Abbas, Qavi and Shamim Hilali, with Farhan Saeed and Sohai Ali Abro as the leads. The story is about a busy neighbourhood where, among others, lives an all-female family of divorcees who are most perturbed when a new family of three bachelors moves into one of the houses in their street. Shireen (Saba Parvez) owns a general store and wastes no time in beating up men, while Haseena (Farah Shah) is a rishta aunty. The youngest bachelor Hamza (Farhan Saeed), of course, has fallen for Joya (Sohai Ali Abro), the only non-divorcee in the divorcees’ family. With a beautiful OST by Farhan Saeed, this play is pacey, lively and just what we need to see instead of the run-of-the-mill saas-bahu sagas.

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 30th, 2020