THE WEEK THAT WAS

Muamma | Hum TV, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm

Much of the mystery around Jehan Ara/Jiji’s (Saba Qamar) past has been dispelled, revealing a deeply traumatised woman whose suffering resulted in turning her into a perpetrator after being a victim.

A new couple enters the story. Jiji is captivated by the young husband Shah Jehan (Shahzad Sheikh), because Shah Jehan is also the name of the man she loves (Usman Mukhtar), who betrayed her. Unlike the men she usually meets, he hardly notices her and is not enamoured by her cooking or anything else. His eyes and attention are firmly fixed on his wife, Ayeza (Sidra Niazi). Saba Qamar proves again what a skilful performer she is, showing us how Jiji’s ego swells to engulf her instincts of self-preservation, because her vanity is smarted by what she perceives as rejection. Shahzad Sheikh looks miserable perpetually, but his character’s complete indifference is portrayed effectively. Judging from the next episode’s teaser, it seems that he is aware of Jiji’s tricks and traps, which are disguised as innocent offers of food.

This is a great story of shadows and games. And now, the guessing begins: has Shah Jehan been sent by one of Jiji’s previous victims, or is he that final good man she cannot break or tempt?

Ghulam Bashah Sundri | Green TV, Mon-Tues 8.00pm

After a slew of serials rom­anticising and softening the image of feudal landowners, writer Zanjabeel Asim’s script pulls off the band-aid, digging into their mentality and privilege. Unfortunately, what could have been a hard, raw look at hubris and cruelty has been turned into mass entertainment-style masala drama by director Amin Iqbal.

Zaviyar Ijaz delivers a surprisingly strong performance as Bashah, whose privilege and ingrained selfishness prevent him from following the virtues he aspires to. Decadent and lazy, he is pleasant and thinks of justice while life goes his way, but his true nature is not far from the surface. Born of terrible cruelty, Bashah’s “secret” elder brother, Ghulam (Imran Ashraf), is strong, kind, and a capable doctor, but his personality has been so stunted that he cannot think beyond serving the family that hurts him.

Ghulam is obsessively protective of Bashah, but will he give up his love for Sundri (Hina Afridi) to maintain this bond? Zanjabeel Asim loves to write about helpless, innocent girls, and Hina Afridi leans into the cliché with charm, drawing smiles rather than irritation.

Rahguzar | Green TV, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm

Roshni (Hira Mani) is a self-sacrificing eldest daughter who works to take care of her stepfamily and is weak and easily intimidated. Her new boss, Waqar (Mohib Mirza), finds her irritating and prefers confident women such as Roshni’s sister, Aima (Mariam Kiani), whom he meets at a party. Waqar ditches Aima when he realises she is a gold digger but, instead of learning from his mistake, he becomes even harsher and deeply bitter.

Despite his obviously mean digs and dislike, the unknowing and foolish Roshni agrees to marry Waqar, who is trying to humiliate Aima, and who finds this unbearable. Eventually, her schemes succeed in poisoning Waqar against Roshni.

This is a festival of misery in which the more unethical a protagonist is, the more they prosper, while the decent characters are so egregiously stupid that most sane viewers begin to side with the villains. As we all know, Hira Mani cries beautifully but, beyond that, this show doesn’t offer much and is a hard watch. Another strong performance is that of Mohib Mirza as a red flag, whose eventual turnaround no one is rooting for.

What To Watch Out For (Or Not)

Rang De | Geo TV, Coming soon

An unintriguing new story from Geo TV about a young woman (Sabeena Farooq) who wants her long-widowed mother (Sunita Marshall) to marry before her own wedding.

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 29th, 2026