THE WEEK THAT WAS
Mitti De Baway | Green Entertainment, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm
Green TV’s magnum opus, is a critical and commercial success, based on real protagonists making staggeringly bad decisions which, somehow, seem plausible for each character.
After his caste background is revealed, Bala (Wahaj Ali) loses everything that had once earned him a “respectable” middle class status. The murder and mayhem that follow also lose him the love and respect of his wife Zarina (Amar Khan). He becomes a successful dacoit, looting other thieves to salve his conscience. Bala is a free spirit and, after hearing the rightfully bitter Zarina’s taunts, finds himself falling for the young widow of the man who went to jail for him, Qamarun Nissa (Hina Afridi), whom he secretly marries. The equally opportunistic Billo (Mahira Khan) takes the audacious step of marrying the much older Pir Murshid (Javed Rizvi) and then murdering him in order to gain control of both his wealth and power.
Director Syed Wajahat Hussain corrals an array of characters and treks remote locations to give us a masterpiece that reminds us of a Punjab not quite faded away from our memories. Strong performances and a dedication to storytelling over glamour make this show stand above all the productions currently on air.
Rutba | ARY Digital, Mon-Tues 8.00pm
Full credit to both director Haseeb Hasan and the actors for laying out the shadows around what at first seem like standard positive characters, and quietly subverting the expectations of the audience.
ASP Hadi (Talha Chahour) may seem a stalwart conservative, but his eyes and thoughts follow the mysterious Sheeli (Mehwish Hayat) from her gym to a qawwali mehfil [gathering], without a thought for his pregnant wife Mahnoor (Hiba Bukhari). For all their loving banter, a gap is forming between Hadi and Mahnoor. Chahour skillfully allows the negativity a slow, subtle entry that leaves his trusting wife doubting her own instincts.
In contrast the obvious villain, Meer, is played a tad too flamboyantly by the usually good actor Zahid Ahmed. A connoisseur of the fine arts, an extravagantly hospitable host, but a violent, abusive husband behind closed doors, Meer is an entertaining cliché. The real mystery is Mehwish Hayat’s Sheeli. Is she playing a double-game? According to the script, in chess the king is helpless without the queen, but who is the queen in this story, Sheeli or Mahnoor?
Hurmat | Hum TV, Mon-Tues 8.00pm
Within the space of nine to 10 episodes, Hurmat (Dananeer Mubeen) has escaped her father’s suffocating control, enrolled in university and found love with an assistant commissioner, Tabish (Shahveer Jafry), no less. Even her super-strict father agrees, but then the doubts begin. Like any newly uncaged bird, Hurmat is still learning to fly and unsure of all her decisions, except that she will never allow anyone to dominate her again.
Learning about her fiancé’s backstory of trauma scares Hurmat and she backs out of the engagement with Tabish. Then comes the twist when Hurmat finally gets to confront her father Akram (Ali Tahir), and he dies suddenly. Is it a heart attack or is Hurmat’s disturbing dream that she murdered him in a fit of rage, true?
Writer Kashif Anwar’s previous works also incorporate elements of control, suppression and mental instability. Dananeer Mubeen comes into her own as Hurmat, giving a solid performance as a young girl determined to find freedom at whatever cost. Uzma Hasan and Ali Tahir are good in the supporting cast. However, it is hard to imagine a young girl of Dananeer’s stature having the strength to strangle a fully grown-up man like Akram.
What To Watch Out For (Or Not)
Qaul Qarar | Express Entertainment, Sat-Sun 8.00pm
A twist of fate forces a young girl into marriage with the man who was in love with her elder sister. Starring Arsalan Naseer and Mahnoor Sheikh.
Published in Dawn, ICON, November 8th, 2026
