THE WEEK THAT WAS

Mushk | Hum TV, Mondays 8.00pm

Distressed and desperate to get her baby back, Mehek (Moomal Sheikh) tells cousin Adam (Imran Ahsraf) her real story, and how she met Guddi (Urwa Hocane) in an over-dramatic, heavy-worded monologue. All this while Guddi waited for the train to arrive at the God-forsaken Mir Adam Railway Station. Mehek’s arrival in Pakistan from abroad with a baby, and then meeting a random woman called Guddi at a railway station, is too far-fetched. Guddi was running away from the police and Mehek helps her by letting her disguise herself, and then hires Guddi’s services to pretend it’s Guddi’s own baby and not Mehek’s! And Mehek’s family buys it. Guddi is, of course, doing all this for the survival of her family. Reminds one of an ’80s film plot. The cast is exciting, but as the story unfolds, it doesn’t seem plausible in the present day.

Bandhay Ek Dor Se | Geo TV, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm

The sly Roshni (Hina Altaf) is manipulating Umar (Ahsan Khan) to break up his marriage with her bestie Maheen (Ushna Shah). Umar cannot see beyond himself and feels no compunction in venting to his wife Maheen from time to time, and telling her to help him meet Roshni. And what’s more, she agrees. But after the first time, Maheen tells Umar straight off that she will not do this anymore. The reason she gives is not because it breaks her heart, but because everyone in the joint family gets upset when she makes impromptu plans for Umar to meet Roshni under the cover of Maheen going to her mother’s place! When Roshni joins them on a movie outing, finally someone spots them together. This might trigger a family probe and create discomfort for Umar, who needs to be whacked hard so that he comes to his senses. Ahsan Khan’s make-up person needs to work harder because, in this stressed role, he does look a lot older than the two young women in this love triangle.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Sabaat | Hum TV, Sundays 8.00pm

Miraal’s (Sarah Khan) plan to destroy her brother Hasan’s (Ameer Gilani) marriage with Anaya (Mawra Hocane) is becoming successful, with her confidante and Hasan’s bestie Atif (Abbas Ashraf Awan) fuelling the break-up process. Atif gets a friend to lie to an unemployed, frustrated and suspicious Hasan about Anaya’s over-efficiency in office, by subtly maligning her character. Then Atif gets lucky as Anaya feels woozy in the office and her boss helps her down the stairs and drops her home, with Atif shooting videos to show Hasan to endorse his earlier evil endeavours. Miraal is pleased with the development, but Hasan is convinced that Anaya is having an affair with her boss so he is livid at her. Anaya is pregnant and wants to break the news to Hasan. A tad predictable, but watchable if you are stuck with the telly on Sunday night.

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 20th, 2020