THE WEEK THAT WAS

Abdullahpur Ka Devdas | Zee Zindagi

The international success of the Bilal Abbas-starrer Ishq Murshid seems to have nudged Zee5 into breaking their hoarding habit, and release this jewel of a show. Set in Lahore but geared towards Hindi-speaking audiences, this serial is edited like a movie, with shorter impactful scenes and dialogues which actually move the plot forward but often erases the Punjabi setting.

Writer Shahid Dogar gives us three men, emotional, vulnerable and all in love with one woman, Gul Bano (Sarah Khan). The hero, Fakhir (Bilal Abbas), is a middle class dreamer and poet who has been floating through his simple but comfortable life as the titular Devdas, till he finds purpose with Gul Bano.

The orphaned Gul Bano is a prisoner of her father’s immense wealth, hostage to her uncle’s greed on the one side, and his son Shehroz’s (Ali Ansari) violent obsession with her. Gul Bano’s aunt (Savera Nadeem) is more subtle and wants Gul Bano to fulfill a childhood engagement to her proud, controlling politician son Bedaar Bakht (Saad Qureshi). There is another layer of mystery as Gul Bano is not sure who Devdas is, and Raza Talish plays Fakhir’s cousin, who uses Fakhir’s poetry as a prop to impress girls.

Jan-i-Jahan | ARY, Fridays 8.00pm

Twenty-two episodes down and the makers are still tantalising viewers with Shehram’s (Hamza Ali Abbasi) and Mahnoor’s (Ayeza Khan) declaration of their feelings for each other. When Mahnoor’s jilted ex-fiancé starts harassing her, Shehram goes into aggressive, protective mode, but he has still not understood the real enemies are his stepmother Kishwer (Savera Nadeem) and Tabrez (Harris Waheed).

Zeenat (Mariyam Nafees) takes a huge risk and warns Mahnoor about the depths of Kishwer’s appalling plots, but Mahnoor is still unsure if Shehram will believe her.

Director Qasim Ali Mureed does an outstanding job capturing the romance and motivations of each character, but the story needs to move forward. Author Rida Bilal gives us some interesting characters, such as Zeenat and Gul Mehr (Nawal Saeed) without using the tired old tropes of endlessly conniving side characters. The clashes between Kishwer and Mahnoor are a highlight of the show, illustrating two opposing perspectives on life: one controlled by envy and power, and another that seeks connection and understanding.

Fanaa | Green Entertainment, Mon-Tues 8.00pm

Aijazz Aslam plays Gul Hayat, a wealthy tribal chief who eloped with Sameena (Shaista Wahidi), the daughter of another clan, setting off a long-running feud. Hayat and Sameena still love each other but have no male heir, so Hayat marries again. After executing the second wife for infidelity, Hayat finds a new one (Sarah Bhatti).

Meanwhile Hayat’s brother (Asim Mehmood) is also angling to be chief, and the surviving son of his rival clan (Usman Zia) aims to take Hayat’s daughter as revenge. In a parallel track, Shehzad Shaikh and Nazish Jehangir play middle class wage-slaves, working endlessly to prop up their poor, demanding families.

This is not a new story and the stereotyping of the Northern areas as completely lawless has become a tiresome trope. Shaista Wahidi and Sarah Bhatti are in an unspoken competition for who uses the most lip fillers and botox, which distracts from their performances. Worse are the stale, self-defeating dialogues, about the fate of women always being suffering and loss. Director Najaf Bilgrami deserves credit for knitting these cliches into a well-made drama. Good performances from Usman Zia, Shehzad Shaikh and Nazish Jehangir are worth watching.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Gol Chakkar | Geo TV, Coming soon

Geo adds another light romantic comedy for Ramazan, written by the talented Amar Khan and starring Agha Ali and Nazish Jehangir.

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 10th, 2024