THE WEEK THAT WAS

Aik Sitam Aur | ARY, Mon-Thurs 9.00pm

While both Hum TV and Geo TV are offering an array of star-spangled romcoms and ever-popular morality plays for the Ramazan season, ARY is banking on its old standby Jeeto Pakistan. ARY’s one concession to the trend might be the serial Aik Sitam Aur. From the teasers, this begins as a typical zulm ki dastaan (tale of oppression) but looks as if it will end up in the all-too-familiar hate-to-love story waters.

Shahroz (Usama Khan) is an angry young man who feels his wealthy father neglected him and his sick mother (Rubina Ashraf) to make money. His lack of trust in his father and obsession with taking care of his disabled mother leads him into a hasty relationship with a colleague. But will his career-oriented fianceé have the same priorities?

In a parallel track we see Ushna (Anmol Baloch), the ambitious class-topper whose happy life falls apart when her father dies of cancer, and her newly widowed mother is forced to fend for herself from their greedy relatives. So far this show has been a ride through four episodes of melodrama , with a lot of repetitive scenes and loud villains. So far Maria Wasti, Sajid Hassan and Rubina Ashraf are keeping this show afloat. Anmol Baloch is drowning in hair extensions and Usama Khan keeps repeating his dialogues.

Aye Musht-i-Khaak | Geo TV, Tuesdays 8.00pm

The clash of values between the manipulative atheist Mustajab (Feroze Khan) and Dua (Sana Javed) has reached a climax. After convincing the naïve and still very trusting Dua that he has changed and found a path to faith, Mustajab thinks he has succeeded in cheating fate, and the God he still does not believe in. This show has been a learning curve for viewers as much as it has been for Mustajab; and now we all know that after khula, a wife may remarry her ex-husband without the dreaded halala.

Just when Mustajab thinks he has won, the lovers are attacked by robbers who hurt Dua so badly, she may not survive. His arrogance shattered, will the newly humbled Mustajab’s prayers be answered?

What To Watch Out For

Chaudhry & Sons | Geo TV, Coming Soon

The first teasers for this special Ramazan serial are out, and they promise a lot of fun and romance. Imran Ashraf plays a typical Punjabi boy whose family hails from Hoshiarpur, fighting it out with Ayeza Khan, who is a girl from a Hyderabad (Deccan) background. This is the second collaboration between Saima Akram Chaudhry and director Syed Wajahat Hussain after last year’s Ishq Jalebi.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 3rd, 2022