THE WEEK THAT WAS

Bandish Season 2 | ARY, Fridays 8.00pm

This is supposedly a horror story but the shaking furniture and scary music are too predictable to be shocking. What makes it worth watching is a surprisingly good script, and nicely sketched-out characters. Financial losses and betrayal have torn families and neighbours apart, so when Humera (Sania Saeed) brings her family back to Karachi, old wounds and questions of payback open up.

The move back to their old house brings a streak of inexplicable bad luck, an engagement is broken and otherwise stable family members begin to see terrible things. Zainab Qayum as Farhana Chachi (aunt) does a fabulous job as the vengeful aunt who worms her way into the household. The fact that she is using black magic from a baba (magician), played by Salahuddin Tunio, seems incidental to her own subtle manipulations. The only one who suspects her is Sameer (Affan Waheed) but his opinion about her is overruled by his kind-hearted mother. This is an entertaining family drama, but not as scary as it wants to be.

Jhoom | Geo TV, Fridays 8.00pm

Producer Abdullah Kadwani has spared no effort in this lavish production designed to showcase his son Haroon Kadwani as a star, and to a certain extent he succeeds. Aryan (Haroon Kadwani) saves his lady friend from a gang of mindless goons on their way back from a road trip. While Aryan fights them Bollywood style, the leader of the yobs, Shary (Haris Waheed), pulls a gun and shoots her.

While the perpetrators escape, Aryan takes his wounded friend to the hospital where she is treated by Dr Maryam (Zara Noor). Despite some initial antagonism and their age gap, Dr Maryam and Aryan connect but their nascent relationship flounders when Shary turns out to be Maryam’s brother. What works is the filmi-style story and well-defined characters, all of which are aimed at capturing the mass commercial audience.

The other good news is that Haroon Kidwani has actually put some effort into his craft, making him more believable and bearable than in Ruposh, but he still has a long way to go. For a show built on angst, the leads have little chemistry, and the way the script turns up the intensity of their romance from zero to a hundred so quickly, makes it even less believable. Perhaps the biggest clanger is the clumsy and unending use of background music to cue emotional scenes, betraying the production team’s lack of trust in their actor’s ability to connect with the audience.

Pyari Mona | Hum TV, Thursdays 8.00pm

Despite her good nature, creativity and accomplishments, Mona’s (Sanam Jung) life seems always to be ruled by her weight. When her sister dies, Mona is emotionally blackmailed into marrying her unpleasant, image-obsessed brother-in-law Babar (Adeel Hussain), for the sake of her niece.

Babar begins an affair with a flighty supermodel named Zee (Mishal Khan). When their pictures go viral, Babar again blames Mona. Great performances and an authentic story make this show worth watching. Whatever difficulty Mona faces, she keeps moving forward and refuses to be a “mazloom aurat” (suffering woman); her resilience and sweet nature make her (and Sanam Jung’s portrayal) the biggest attraction of this show. Adeel Hussain has also given us a memorable performance with Babar, whose immature and self-centred personality has been a constant.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Neem | Hum TV, Coming soon

Intriguing teasers for the much-awaited serial from the writer of Sabaat shows Syed Jibran as an angry, delusional villain pushing his father over a cliff. Along with the dark we have light in the form of Mawra Hussain and Ameer Gilani as the romantic leads.

Published in Dawn, ICON, June 4th, 2023