THE WEEK THAT WAS

Fitoor | Geo TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

Haider (Faysal Quraishi) is an oldish, heartbroken but very wealthy bachelor who lives in a mansion with palm trees and a pool. His heart was broken by cousin Mehmal (Kiran Haq), who waits for her unloving husband (Tipu Sharif) clad in a red carpet gown, as he walks in talking on his mobile to a female friend, who reminds him that it’s his wife’s birthday. Instead of flowers and greetings, he only reminds her that theirs is an arranged marriage, so Mehmal decides to go visit her aunt to get some value out of her red carpet finery. There she meets a moping Haider, and realises that she chose a rich, mean man over true love. Haider’s mum drags him to a wedding and there, at first sight, he falls in love with Dilnasheen (Hiba Bokhari), who already has a thing going with her bestie’s brother Hamza (Wahaj Ali). Siraj-ul-Haq directs Zanjabeel Asim Shah’s story and the serial has an interesting cast line-up. If you are prepared to ignore a few direction flaws here and there, the story just might get intriguing.

Qarar | Hum TV, Sundays 8.00pm

Maya (Sanam Jung) sends cousin Fariha (Rabab Hashim) to sort out things between Maya and Maya’s feudal husband Salman (Ali Safina). Fariha turns out to be a great mediator but her husband Amaar (Muneeb Butt), who was previously in love with Maya, can now see Maya’s true manipulative self, and hence is becoming less indifferent towards his wife Fariha. Not only does he disapprove of Maya using Fariha as a mediator, he actually calls Maya to tell her off. This wasn’t the only eye-opener for Maya, because she returns to Salman’s house to find out that Salman’s first wife, Zebunissa, has arrived from the village to live in the same house as Maya. This is driving Maya crazy because Salman has no plans of divorcing either of his wives. If you have nothing better to do, watch for Sanam Jung’s hilarious overacting. Almost a dozen episodes down, we are still awaiting Mikaal Zulfiqar’s entry.

What To Watch Out For

Shajar-i-Mamnu | Urdu1, Mon-Fri 9.00pm

Despite being taken aback that hubby-to-be Halit (Talal Bulut) wants her to sign a pre-nuptial agreement, Yildiz (Eda Ece) goes ahead with it and the wedding takes place. Yildiz takes Halit’s wedding gift of a tiara too seriously and wears it to breakfast the next day, reveling in the feeling of being a wealthy wife. She even takes Halit’s cunning daughter Zehra’s (Safak Pekdemir) mean remarks in her stride. But there is plenty ahead that she has to tackle, because Halit’s ex-wife Aliya (Şevval Sam) is all out to make Yildiz’s life miserable. Lots of gloss, eye-candy, romance and a relentlessly intriguing storyline make even five consecutive days a week feel too little for this serial.

Published in Dawn, ICON, January 24th, 2021