THE WEEK THAT WAS

Sanwal Yaar Piya | Geo TV, Mon-Tues 8.00pm

Popular writer Hashim Nadeem renews his obsession with unrequited love with a story set in the bustling city of Karachi.

Sanwal (Ahmed Ali Akbar) is sad; between breaking bones for his land developer boss Seth Daud (Yasir Hussain), he gets facials and mourns his lost love. Piya (Durre Fishan) does not understand why her father, Aslam (Ali Tahir), keeps them moving, but vows their move to Sanwal’s neighborhood will be the last. Aslam was a terrible gambler who let his wife die and even gambled away his daughter to a gangster called Moosa, who has now become Seth Daud.

According to the teasers, Feroze Khan will make his entry as Seth Daud’s son and Piya’s love interest. This facile plot of coincidences and the odd campy persona of Ahmed Ali Akbar are jarring. Worse still is the lack of nuance or effort put in the pivotal redemption of Aslam. Credit to director Danish Nawaz for breaking up Aslam’s track and adding some tension, but suspense requires good editing too, which Yasir Nawaz as director seemed to possess. So far, this show has been cliché central but perhaps with Feroze Khan’s entry, the masses will prop up the good-to-average ratings.

Sher | ARY, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm

This popular serial, from the pen of Zanjabeel Asim, hits a critical juncture as the diverse set of tracks weaving through it are reeled in for closure.

Sher (Danish Taimoor) has fallen in love with the psychiatrist Fajr (Sarah Khan), who helped him escape from a mental asylum and his uncle’s evil plotting. Despite her independence and education, Fajr has the wisdom or understanding of a child, and cannot commit to Sher because it would estrange her further from her weak-minded father. Sher is now a busy man, he has a major business to run, he has to convince Fajr and her father to reconcile, and he is plotting revenge on his uncle and cousins.

Danish Taimoor is the star attraction that pulls in the masses — he wears the mantle of alpha male hero and family man with complete confidence. The side track of sexual harassment is reaching boiling point, reminding everyone that marrying into the family is not always a guaranteed win. Writer Asim also provides the poisonous spinster Taj Bibi (Arjumand Rahim) a late romance with a widowed doctor.

Ek Jhooti Kahani | Hum TV, Fridays 8.00pm

Despite a star line-up, this show is finding it hard to get a grip on the audiences.

Bushra (Zara Noor Abbas) comes from a family of performing artists who have toned down their natural abilities in order to make themselves more palatable to conservative families. Bucking this trend, Bushra wants to go to theatre school but lacks the funds, till she meets Irfan (Mohib Mirza). Irfan wants a pretend bhabi (sister-in-law) for his unruly sisters, so he can marry them off.

Although the premise is fun, the slow pace and the lack of any kindness, or indeed any good quality, in the sisters make this serial hard to watch. The sisters are mean-spirited, illiterate and messy and Irfan spends a lot of time excusing them, which makes the script more suited to misery-based, serious melodrama than a romantic comedy. Zara Noor and Mohib Mirza show a lot of potential in their scenes and interactions and it may be the only reason to watch it.

What To Watch Out For (Or Not)

Case No. 9 | Geo TV, Coming soon

Is wealthy businessman Kamran (Faysal Quraishi) a rapist or is his friend Sehar (Saba Qamar) a clever liar, willing to do anything for revenge? This tense thriller is written by news anchor Shahzeb Khanzada and directed by Syed Wajahat Hussain.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2025