THE WEEK THAT WAS

Fairy Tale | Hum TV, Daily 7.00pm

For once the entire team — from writer Sarah Majeed to director Ali Hassan and the fresh young cast — are all on the same page, making Fairy Tale one of the best series on air.

Umeed (Sehar Khan) is a lively young girl who lives in her own fantasy but is determined to make it big in the real world. Her tendency to day dream, jump to conclusions and jump in where angels fear to tread lands her in constant trouble with the obsessively punctual, way-too-serious Farjad (Hamza Sohail). Despite being polar opposites, their cat-and-mouse-like fights and accidental encounters mark them out as a couple-in-the-making, whether they realise it or not.

Fans of Jane Austen’s Emma will recognise the trope at once, but full credit to producer Momina Duraid and her team for using it so effectively. The chemistry between Hamza Sohail and Sehar Khan is phenomenal, and has caught fire on social media. Aena Khan, Amna Yousafzai and Saman Ansari have been a joy to watch, and even newcomer Adnan Raza Mir’s terrible Urdu can be forgiven because his silent emoting does the job. Ali Safina and Saleem Sheikh are the fantastic icing on the cake, as the antagonists that give the story some spice, making this an all-round entertaining show.

Tere Aanay Se | Geo TV, Daily 9.00pm

While this show misses some of the cute factor that other serials have going on, underneath all the loud jokes and quips, there is a good story that the cast has brought out well.

Despite having nothing to recommend him, lazy Maheer (Muneeb Butt) thinks a lot of himself and enjoys life in Lahore on the dollars his father sends from America. Ambitious and intelligent Rania (Komal Meer) is also missing her father, who disappeared with a rich new wife in the big city, abandoning his family. Maheer looks down on Rania for coming from a village, but when his new stepmother from America, Sweety (Faiza Hassan), degrades him in the same way, he gets a taste of his own medicine.

Will Maheer learn to be a better person and earn Rania’s love? This is a pleasant, entertaining show but has failed to build any chemistry between the leads or a connection with the audience to root for them. Muneeb Butt and Komal Meer do well with this light-hearted story, bolstered by a strong supporting cast, including Zainab Qayyum, Shamim Hilaly, Mehmood Aslam and Salman Shahid.

Hook | ARY, Wednesdays 8.00pm

Politician Jaffar Elahi (Faysal Quraishi) forces Haya (Kinza Hashmi) into marriage as revenge for rejecting his brother Shaheer, then abandons her as punishment. Their marriage is leaked to the media and, as a public figure, Jaffar has to declare his relationship with a valima.

Jaffar’s much older first wife is naturally suspicious of her husband’s new wife and spares no effort in torturing her. Writer Shagufta Bhatti has written confusing characters with such confusing motivations that it is hard to understand the plot at times. Despite being tortured and harassed by the violent Jaffar, Haya turns up at his house to live with him. Then there is Jaffar’s cousin, who wants revenge from Haya too but keeps pushing the couple together, giving the story a sickening and unnecessary romantic edge.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Tere Ishq Ke Naam | ARY, Coming soon

Rutba (Hiba Bukhari) loves Altamush (Usama Khan) but her family wants her to marry Khursheed (Zaviyar Naumaan). Rutba abandons everyone to marry Altamush but he is the wrong choice. How will Rutba move on and will Khursheed come back into her life?

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 7th, 2023