THE WEEK THAT WAS

Dobara | Hum TV, Wednesdays 8.00pm

This could have been an out-of-the-box story, with a younger hero and an older-but-still-young widow as the heroine but, in the end, it too fell back on the old standby of marry in haste, repent at leisure.

Those hoping for Mehru (Hadiqa Kiani) to build up her own personality and skills after a long relationship with a much older, domineering man were disappointed that her next step was another marriage. The cushion of wealth allows the luxury of behaving like a rebellious teenager at times, and she was still so immature that she needed Mahir (Bilal Abbas) to step forward and tell her outraged family that they had actually tied the knot.

Bilal Abbas has had a passive role in the show so far, but it looks as if his opportunist character, Mahir, is about to take centre stage. At the moment, most of the energy from this show comes from Hadiqa Kiani, who has taken another step forward as a performer after her well-received debut in Raqeeb Se last year. Great performances, from Sakina Sammo as the dour, manipulating Phuppo and Javed Shaikh as the “wannabe” hero, have made this serial very watchable. Hopefully, director Danish Nawaz will up the pace now that the story is moving into a more serious phase, and we ask ourselves the question: will Mahir be the villain?

Aye Musht-i-Khaak | Geo TV, Mon-Tue 8.00pm

This serial has become the butt of memes and jokes on social media because of the Indian-style soap opera treatment that has become standard for many of Geo TV’s mass entertainers. Feroze Khan plays wealthy Canadian-Pakistani playboy Bobby, who, for some inexplicable reason, decides a duppata-clad Islamic Studies major is the only girl for him. His victim, Dua (Sana Javed), is seriously religious but has yet to discover Bobby’s lack of spiritual connection, despite him showing ample proof of it at every opportunity.

The basic premise, of how couples can ignore basic requirements of common goals and value systems when deciding on marriage, could have been achieved much better without the clumsy melodrama.

What To Watch Out For

Ibn-i-Hawa | Hum TV, Coming Soon

Teasers for this drama show us a young man who hates women, played by Shehzad Shaikh. The focus of his aggressions is played by Hira Mani. Everyday misogyny and the traditions that shape it in traditional culture are illustrated in just the first two teasers. Whether this show gets past the outrage of (out-of-context) social justice warriors on Twitter and Instagram remains to be seen.

Published in Dawn, ICON, January 30th, 2022