THE WEEK THAT WAS

Jaan-i-Jahan | ARY, Fri-Sat 8.00pm

This much-anticipated reunion of the famous Pyaray Afzal couple, Hamza Ali Abbasi and Ayeza Khan, hits the ground running with strong characterisations, good lighting and cinematography that gives it a filmi look. Ayeza as the brave, strong-willed Mahnoor and Hamza as the emotionally needy but principled Shahram fit their roles perfectly.

Much of the load of the first two episodes is carried by the charismatic Asif Raza Mir as the family patriarch, Pir Shah Murad, then by Savera Nadeem as his scheming second wife Kishwar. For Kishwar, life has been a competition with Shah Murad’s dead wife, whose memory and son Shahram have always overshadowed her and her two profligate sons. Maryam Nafees plays Zeenat, Kishwar’s unknowing puppet, who is being used to trap Shahram.

In the first two episodes, both Mahnoor and Shahram come across as unbearably preachy and sanctimonious, but they become more human and likeable as they struggle with grief and financial difficulties.

Ayeza Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi provide the chemistry, but it is Rida Bilal who writes the gradually building emotional connection between them in this classic romance. So far, director Qasim Ali Mureed has avoided dragging out scenes or tracks and, if he can keep this pace, we may enjoy another entertaining serial

Serial Killer | Green Entertainment, Sundays 9.00pm

Popular writer Umera Ahmed tries her hand at a murder mystery in this story about a dead girl found in a suitcase. Saba Qamar as S.P. Sarah Sikander is the main attraction for this show, a Fulbright scholar who returns to Pakistan and is faced with a lazy, incompetent team of detectives, and a murder to solve.

Running parallel to the case are freelance journalists who are willing to put in the legwork to get information the police overlooks, but have no scruples in making up stuff to make their “breaking news” more sensational. Faiza Gillani plays a splashy, beauty parlour owner Barbra, and who wears the kind of impossible stilettos that connect a woman to the crime.

When the dead girl is identified as Amna, a social media influencer and beautician who worked at Barbra’s salon, suspicion falls on the little salon and the rickshaw driver who is the daily ride. This show is a slow start, but the plot has more twists to come, which will ramp up the intensity and the suspense

Ishq Murshid | Hum TV, Sundays 8.00pm

A little humour and a lot of old-fashioned unrequited romance, laced with a strong dose of incisive political commentary, make Ishq Murshid a surprisingly great show.

Shibra (Durre Fishan) is like her father, disgusted with the political corruption and the lack of ethics ruining the country. Enter Shahmir (Bilal Abbas), the hereditary chairman of the ruling party and political fixer-in-chief for his father, Chief Minister Daud (Omair Rana). Shamir stoops to conquer, playing the sweet country boy Fazal Baksh to worm his way into Shibra’s family and hopefully her heart.

Bilal Abbas, under Farooq Rind’s direction, seems to be a reliable treat for audiences and most of this show hums along on the young actor’s charm and ability to switch personas in a second. Will Fazal Baksh win Shibra over, and will she ever forgive Shahmir this grand deception? Excellent performances from Durre Fishan and Omair Rana do justice to Abdul Khaliq Khan’s clever script.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Akharra | Green Entertainment, Coming soon

Feroze Khan plays the working class Dil Sher who falls in love with a rich girl played by Sonya Hussyn, and strives to make a name for himself in the wrestling ring.

Published in Dawn, ICON, January 7th, 2024