THE WEEK THAT WAS

Prem Gali | ARY, Mondays 8.00pm

Joya’s (Sohai Ali Abro) mother Shireen’s (Saba Parvez) condition of making Hamza (Farhan Saeed) her ghar-damaad creates a lot of trouble, and not only does Hamza’s family disagree but the entire neighbourhood is abuzz with gossip. Debates and discussions in all quarters lead to a mutual agreement between the families that Hamza’s family will become Shireen’s tenants, so that neither Joya goes away after the wedding, nor does Hamza have to live in Shireen’s house as a ghar-damaad. With a mysterious character (Javed Shaikh) lurking outside the wedding venue, Joya and Hamza finally get married. But now Hamza’s superstitious father Hatim (Waseem Abbas), following his pir’s instructions, imposes a strange restriction on Hamza — to stay away from his bride, or else she may die. This is a happy and entertaining serial, as nothing terrible happens in Prem Gali, and the quirky characters spin in and out of intriguing situations.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Mohabbatein Chahatein | Hum TV, Tuesdays 8.00pm

Following Danish Nawaz’s Sunn Yaara, this is the fourth serial casting Junaid Khan and Hira Mani as leads. Danish Nawaz and other directors aspired to recapture their Sunn Yaara chemistry again but somehow it never happened. Faraz (Junaid Khan) and Sneha’s (Hira Mani badly in need of a makeover) loving home and relationship irritates the manipulative Tara (Armeena Khan), who is Faraz’s friend Kamil’s (Tipu Sharif) wife. Tara has left her husband Kamil (Tipu Sharif) on the whimsical suspicion that he is cheating on her. She challenges Sneha that any man can cheat on his wife given the opportunity and, hence, has evil plans to hook Faraz. Armeena Khan in a negative role is fun to watch in this done-to-death storyline, where the femme fatale wrecks a home until the husband comes to his senses. Despite talented actors, sadly, channels and drama production companies have the same lame content to offer time and again.

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 22nd, 2020