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THE WEEK THAT WAS
Main Manto Nahin Hoon | ARY, Concluded
The finale of Khalilur Rehman Qamar’s yarn about feuding families ended on a satisfyingly shocking note. While the powerful feuding families, Punjab Police, an ageing lover and a naïve ex-fiancé watched helplessly, Ifrah’s (Hajrah Yamin) middle-class father (Mohammad Ahmed) shot the evil Farhad (Azaan Sami Khan).
While this show did not lack for stars or performances, the key premise of love and connection between Manto (Humayun Saeed) and Mehmal (Sajal Aly) was not convincing. The lack of chemistry between the leads was further amplified by the strange one-sided relationship between Manto and Ms Maria (Sanam Saeed).
This story could have shattered the popular primetime myth of violent, angry young men as heartthrobs and shown a young woman rejecting the violence and bloodlust around her and opting for the peace offered by a good, kind older man. Instead, we were presented with a brash, unthinking young heroine who not only accepted but revelled in belonging to a gangster family. The winner of this serial was Azaan Sami Khan, who cemented his acting abilities by playing a negative role with the ease of a male lead.
Jama Taqseem | Hum TV, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm
Writer Sarwat Nazir is an expert at capturing the dysfunction and dilemmas of middle-class life while allowing her characters nuance and even room to grow.
While Qais (Talha Chahour) battles with guilt and the pain of separation from his parents, Layla (Mawra Hocane) is growing closer to her parents, as her mother’s retirement allows them to spend more time together. Layla may be content, but she sees her partner’s turmoil and decides to try and mend fences with Qais’ parents. Meanwhile, Majeed (Saad Azhar) and Hameed’s (Hassan Ahmad) family finally goes through the hard learning curve of life without the protection of their parents. We see how traditional family structures can, at times, stunt maturity and mental growth but, undeniably, provide security and stability.
Director Ali Hasan keeps the narrative going at a sharp pace, avoiding lingering pity fests and restricting the melodrama and negativity for impact, rather than ratings. As would be expected in a family-based serial, the female leads, Madiha Rizvi and Mawra Hocane, take centre stage with strong performances. This is an incredibly popular show that invites the audience to read between the lines, and the authenticity of each track forces the audience to think past many comfortable assumptions.
Pamaal | Green Entertainment, Mon-Tues 8.00pm
Despite playing an array of diverse characters and achieving great success in light comedy, Saba Qamar is on our screens in two shows as a victim.
Malika (Saba Qamar) may have been raised in a happy, loving environment, but she has always felt the gnawing absence of her late father. As a result, she falls in love and marries a man she barely knows, on a romantic whim. At first glance, Raza (Usman Mukhtar) seems like a caring husband whose possessiveness seems like a sign of his love for Malika. On the advice of her mother, and blindly in love, Malika is patient and extremely compliant, but as Raza becomes more and more unreasonable, she finds him suffocating.
Usman Mukhtar plays his role flawlessly, but it is time he chose to play someone other than an abusive husband. Writer Zanjabeel Asim’s slow unfolding of Raza’s domineering ways and Malika’s own insecurities are exposing the way many in the audience feel — they think such controlling and even cruel behaviour is just something to work around in married life.
What To Watch Out For (Or Not)
Khwaabon Mein Mili | Hum TV, Coming soon
Aashir Wajahat, Aena Khan and Adnan Raza Mir star in a Gen-Z love triangle that promises fun, love and heartbreak.
Published in Dawn, ICON, November 9th, 2025
