THE WEEK THAT WAS

Mere Humnasheen | Geo TV, Fri-Sat 8.00pm

Orphaned at a young age, Khajista (Hiba Bukhari) is no stranger to difficulty. But even she struggles against the rivalries, prejudices and games played by her fellow students in medical school. Khajista’s engagement to the uneducated Darakhzai (Ahsan Khan) was a pledge of loyalty her conservative family demanded before she left for college.

Clumsy, angry and out of his depth with an intelligent woman such as Khajista, Darakhzai is still sincere and even tries to build her the dream clinic she aims for on his much-cherished lands.

Dr Hadi’s (Shehzad Shaikh) interest in Khajista creates a lot of friction in her life, as Hadi’s ex-fiancée (Moomal Khalid) and brother plot and scheme to destroy the young woman’s career. A great story and strong performances from Ahsan Khan, Syed Jibran, Hiba Bukhari and Momina Iqbal lend depth and connection to their roles in this well-written serial. Moomal Khalid sticks out as a ridiculously cartoonish villain, who stares with bulging eyes to prove negativity instead of relying on actual expressions. Will Khajista achieve her goals or will she be ruined by jealous medical students planning to entrap her with planted drugs?

Pehchaan | Hum TV, Thurs-Fri 9.00pm

While Sharmeen (Hiba Bukhari) stubbornly resists telling her family why a supposedly happily married woman like her would demand a divorce, the audience is let in on some of the secrets. Flashbacks show how her husband has neglected and betrayed her emotionally.

Adnan (Syed Jibran) was in love with Kuki (Eshal Fayyaz) but her parents refused him. Kuki and Adnan planned and schemed to be together but fate eventually defeated them and Adnan settled into being a good father and a distant, but nominally appreciative, husband. Adnan may have provided for Sharmeen, but she feels manipulated and unvalued, forced into a relationship with a man who was never with her.

Her rebellion feels like the unplanned, raw rebellion of the teenager she was when she married Adnan. She closes up, returns his money, demands a divorce and starts a new job despite a lack of qualification or experience in a country she left 12 years ago. Fabulous, emotive performances from Hiba Bukhari and Nadia Khan are the bedrock of this show, while Syed Jibran and the rest of the cast keep it restrained but match the energy.

Fraud | ARY, Saturdays 8.00pm

Repetition, unnecessary sidetracks and wafer-thin coincidences are all signs of a story that has been stretched to fit into the 30-plus episodes demanded by channels. After becoming the victim of wedding scammers, Maya (Saba Qamar) is trying to heal. The main obstacle to her recovery is her father Nisar Saheb (Mahmood Aslam), whose domineering attitude has not been tempered by any of his recent mistakes. On the plus side, Maya is shown trying to find herself beyond the conventional “marriage or nothing” thinking, and looking to start a career.

After Maya, audiences are treated to another close-up of an elaborate scheme from the gang headed by Maya’s ex-husband, Tabraiz (Ahsan Khan). The parallel track of single father Shaan (Mikaal Zulfikar) follows a similar circular theme: first his stepmother fools him, then a clever woman insinuates herself into his life in what looks like a new deception. Despite good performances, the story remains essentially static and is fast losing its entertainment value.

What To Watch Out For (Or Not)

Daraar | Geo TV, Coming soon

Another take on the sister rivalry formula: Syed Jibran is the wealthy man who marries the good girl (Amar Khan) to maintain a public image while carrying on an affair with the bad girl (Momal Shaikh).

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 21st, 2022