THE WEEK THAT WAS

Jaisay Aap Ki Marzi | ARY, Tues-Wed 8.00pm

Alizey (Durre Fishan) is a successful, career-oriented, interior designer who finds herself married to Sherry (Mikaal Zulfikar), a covert narcissist. Sherry aims to control and dominate Alizey, but he is clever at hiding his tracks, pretending to be the perfect son-in-law and husband in front of everyone.

His easiest mark is Alizey’s weak, comfort-loving mother, well played by Huma Hameed. Writer Naila Jafri gives us a nuanced script where both protagonists make mistakes, but subtly highlights Sherry’s pattern of manipulation and punishment, followed by acts of love that keep his victim hanging on.

Kiran Malik does an excellent job playing Sherry’s more straightforward sister, who does little to hide her attitude and is part of Sherry’s games. Durre Fishan holds her own as an educated woman who can now see through her husband’s ploys, but is handicapped by circumstance. Alizey is not the traditional suffering heroine, she has financial resources and is not cowed by cultural convention. Her overt confidence that she can handle everything, even a man like Sherry, becomes her undoing.

Gumn | Green Entertainment, Mondays 8.00pm

This is a gift for those looking for intelligent, adult content; a dark thriller that weaves many characters and timelines into a tale of mystery.

Maya Malik (Tooba Siddiqui) has just won a high-profile sexual harassment case for her powerful law firm. Rayyan (Feroz Kadri) is a sweet, family-oriented young man struggling to finish medical school because of financial difficulties. Rayyan once helped Maya step back from a ledge, but their next meeting is years later, on the side of the road, when he runs into her car. What happened during that time, and what is Rayyan running from? Rayyan loses his memory but not his enemies. Will he survive?

Good writing and good direction build up the suspense for an addictive show that forces its viewers to join the dots, rather than spoonfeeding them answers. Siddiqui seems to have captured the market on sensible, balanced women with a career since her stint in Dushman-i-Jaan and Jurm, so she fits Maya like a glove. Furqan Qureshi, as the somewhat shadowy law partner Shahid, and a guest appearance by Sarmad Khoosat as another lawyer, add to the intrigue. The surprise is Feroz Kadri, who can often be found in mind-numbing Hum TV soaps, but now shows us he is right at home in this more nuanced role.

Jhok Sarkar | Hum TV, Sundays 8.00pm

Hashim Nadeem writes good male-oriented serials, but this show has not reached its full potential. ASP Arsalan (Farhan Saeed) is still somewhere in rural South Punjab fighting off the bad guys — local landlord Peeral (Asif Raza Mir) and his son Meeral (Usman Zia).

Farhan Saeed carries his action hero role with confidence, but the stereotypical story and characters have not brought us anything new. For an action-thriller there is precious little thrill or momentum, and the story follows a predictable route that revisits a dozen other such serials. The feudals are just evil advantage-takers, while everyone else is either corrupt or a victim. What this show does get right is the nexus of corruption and cronyism between the centre and the landowning class which suppresses merit and innovation. Farhan Saeed and Hiba Bukhari are popular stars that bring in the views.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Zulm | Hum TV, Coming soon

Malik Ajwaal (Faysal Quraishi) is a powerful man who kidnaps and assaults a young girl (Sahar Hashmi). In the fight for justice, the victim enlists the help of a dedicated lawyer, played by Shehzad Sheikh.

Published in Dawn, ICON, October 29th, 2023