THE WEEK THAT WAS

Ye Dil Mera | Hum TV, Wednesdays 8.00pm

Noor-ul-Ain (Sajal Aly) and father Mir Agha (Adnan Siddiqui) simply dote on each other in an affluent setting. Apart from this next-level cheesy relationship, the story centres round Noor-ul-Ain’s psychological issues and her crush on Amanullah (Ahad Raza Mir), a mysterious young Steve Jobs or Zuckerberg-type whiz kid who astounds older business tycoons, including Mir Agha, with his business acumen.

Amanullah owns and runs this awesome oil refinery business where freshmen are dying to do internships. After a ridiculously unprofessional interview where Amanullah looks overly intense, an overdressed Noor-ul-Ain gets the internship where she is made to do odd tasks that she finds demeaning. Throw in Mohammed Ahmed as Noor-ul-Ain’s psychiatrist, Paras Masroor as her bodyguard and Natasha Hussain as her aunt, and at least the cast line-up is intriguing for a serial that is trying hard to be a thriller.

What To Watch Out For

Hamari Kahani | Urdu1, Mon-Wed 9.00pm

Originally titled Bizim Hikaye, this refreshing 2019 adaptation of British black comedy series Shameless totally revives our love affair with Turkish dramas. In the lead are Hazal Kaya (the ever-popular Nihal of Ishq-e-Mamnoon) as Fiza and Burak Deniz (Murat of Pyar Lafzon Mein Kahan) as Basit. Fiza’s mum has left home and, as the elder sister of five younger siblings, she struggles to meet the challenges of working at a fast-food joint and looking after home as well as her alcoholic father Fakhri (Reha Özcan).

Fiza meets Basit, who belongs to a car-stealing gang, in a dramatic scene where he recovers her purse from a bag snatcher. They fall in love and he is the most caring boyfriend ever. Despite the trying situation of a family with little income, there is no misery or tears, and the treatment of the story is realistic, lively and entertaining, with about two dozen rich characters and situations you can relate to. The only thing that is slightly bothersome is the dubbed Hindi dialogue.

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 24th, 2019