THE WEEK THAT WAS

Dushman | PTV, Mondays 8.00pm

The blood feud between Rajkot and Malikgar rages on. After Mai Lali (Saman Ansari) murdered Waris (Hassan Niazi), Mai’s daughter and Waris’s pregnant wife, Sassi (Sabeeka Imam), seeks shelter with the Maliks. Enraged by her brother’s death, Sohni (Feroza Mohammad) seeks out the last remaining male in both lines, Mai Lali’s son Zain (Hadi Bin Arshad), and sets a trap.

Good direction keeps the action moving but, despite the well-developed characters, the story is going round in circles. Sohni’s revenge is falling into the ultimately ineffectual style of Bond villains; as in reems of threatening monologues and complicated plans when a simple bullet to the head would work. One shot from Malkani (Nadia Afghan) should have finished the matter but Sohni saves her target, even donating Zain her blood. Is Sohni softening towards the enemy?

This is an unusual, intriguing show with the women leading the action rather than sitting at home and wringing their hands. Good performances from Nadia Afghan, Saman Ansari, Feroza Mohammad and Hadi Bin Arshad have kept interest in the serial alive despite the lack of plot movement.

Wehshi | Hum TV, Mondays 9.00pm

After losing his father, Asif (Khushhal Khan) withdraws behind a wall of anger and resentment, because of the barrage of emotional abuse and neglect he suffers at the hands of his stepfather Majid (Babar Ali) and weak mother Munira (Nadia Khan). Khushhal Khan is fantastic as Asif, flawlessly veering between deep pain and rage. He is a lost cause till Sobia (Komal Mir) enters his life, teaching him to trust and open up to love.

This is a wonderful, endearing story with good performances from Nadia Khan, Babar Ali and the versatile Komal Mir. The only flaw, so far, has been the sudden jump from friendship to love between the leads in an otherwise well-written script. Majid is not a bad man but, like many people, his kindness is strictly reserved for his own blood; seeing the inadequacies of his own son, Amir, he cannot bear to see Asif succeed.

Subhan Awan also makes a mark as the self-satisfied Amir, whose moral compass has long been skewed in his own favour because of his father and stepmother’s favouritism. Beautiful, kind and intelligent, Sobia is everyone’s desire, but will her relationship with Asif make or finally break him? Dramas exploring the long-term effects of childhood trauma and loss are a welcome new trend, reminding us all of the importance of treating all children with respect and kindness.

Taqdeer | ARY, Mon-Thurs 9.00pm

Start with one pale, near-translucent, unbelievably naïve young heroine, mix one part resentful, equally translucent, chalaak [cunning] bhabi and add foolish, reactionary parents and brothers for flavour. Next, add one part charismatic but self-centred “hero” and his terrible, dysfunctional family, and you have the recipe used to make a commercially viable potboiler such as this drama.

Asad’s (Sami Khan) family is a mess, his mother and sister-in-law spend their time bickering and will not take care of the day-to-day business of running the household. When Asad marries Rumi (Alizeh Shah), the burden falls on the inexperienced young girl. This formulaic soap opera is sure to make ratings because it has all the ingredients fans of melodrama love.

What To Watch Out For (Or Not)

Farq | Geo TV, Coming soon

Veteran actor Faysal Quraishi stars in an upcoming drama about differences in class and age. A wealthy businessman, Quraishi’s character is a lonely widower who wants companionship, and someone to take care of his sprawling mansion. How does he end up marrying the ambitious young daughter (Sehar Khan) of his driver? Who is taking advantage of whom?

Published in Dawn, ICON, October 23rd, 2022