THE WEEK THAT WAS

Pinjra | ARY, Concluded

Abaan (Ahmed Usman) is a creative child who can never meet the high academic standards his controlling father Javed (Omair Rana) demands. When Abaan is accused of the murder of another student, the son of wealthy politician Bakht Khan (Sharique Mehmood), Abaan is cleared of all charges and the story explores the hard work of healing required for all the families to move on.

At the heart of this story was a plea for healthy positive parenting, and the responsibility of all adults towards the younger generation in their care. Bakht Khan’s grieving wife gives a damning indictment of the way her husband taught their son to be a cruel, violent bully, which ultimately led to his tragic death. The well-written script from the late Asma Nabeel was supported by some excellent performances from Omair Rana, Hadiqa Kiani and Furqan Qureshi. Even more impressive were the authentic, measured portrayals from young stars Ashir Wajahat, Ahmed Usman, Aina Asif, Emaan Khan and Zuhaab Khan. Despite all that, this show was a tough sell to the masses because of the difficult subject, and might have done better with some editing and pruning of episodes.

Mehmet the Conqueror | Geo TV, Fridays 3.00pm

After the soaring popularity of Ertugrul Ghazi and Kurulus Osman, the craze for Turkish historicals is back with an action adventure series about Fateh Sultan Mehmet. This show features lavish sets and costumes authentic to the period, but where it does fall short is the lead, Kenan Imirzagoglu, who looks much older than the brash young prince was supposed to be at the time.

The stage is set, the old King Sultan Murad has died and Mehmet is in a race against time and the competing forces that would steal the Ottoman throne from him. Mehmet’s obsession is to conquer the ancient capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, as foretold in a saying attributed to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Many have tried and all have failed at a terrible cost in lives and treasure. Will the wazir, Khalil Pasha, thwart the young man’s hopes, or will he be able to fulfill the prophecy?

Mere Bunn Jao | Hum TV, Wednesdays 8.00pm

Azmiya (Kinza Hashmi) and Fardeen (Azfar Rehman) should be the perfect couple but, as the wedding date draws near, Azmiya begins to have serious doubts about Fardeen’s behaviour. The situation comes to a head when Fardeen sneaks into Azmiya’s room on their mehndi night and, after an argument, divorces the girl before the rukhsati. While the frantic families try to bring about a reconciliation, Azmiya is so afraid of Fardeen’s controlling behaviour that she runs away to her childhood friend Zaki’s (Zahid Ahmed) home.

Fardeen is outraged and decides to take revenge by exposing some private videos he had persuaded Azmiya to make. While the weaponisation of private videos can affect men or women, author Samira Fazal addresses the way family and societal pressures on women to be compliant and people-pleasers can make them particularly susceptible. Azfar Rehman makes a great villain and Zahid Ahmed a sweet saviour. Hira Tareen’s character Nadiya is assertive and brave despite having a lot less in life, and draws an interesting contrast to Azmiya’s weaker personality.

What To Watch Out For (or not)

Bandish 2 | ARY, Coming soon

Good news for horror fans , as the teasers for Bandish 2 are released. Saniya Saeed, Affan Waheed, Amna Ilyas and Areej Mohiuddin are shown as a family haunted by evil spirits, but with a more sharp contemporary flair than is usual for such stories..

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 16th, 2023