THE WEEK THAT WAS
Sirf Shabana | Hum TV, Mon-Tues 8.00pm
Despite a ‘mega’ episode, Hum TV’s new serial is off to a slow start, introducing us to an array of characters and an information overload.
Shabana (Sohai Ali Abro) does not have much, but she lives a happy life with good friends and a loving family in the small town of Haripur. She is old enough to make her aunt and uncle worry about her marriage prospects, but young enough not to care. She has seen her younger sister Shahana (Aira Khan) struggle with marriage, so she values her independence. Her biggest dream is to legally remove the name of her father from her, as he abandoned her when she was a child. Duraab Khalil plays her neighbour, as the sweet but all too simple Bilal Ahmed, aka “Bawla”, who aspires to be a great poet while running a little paan shop.
Written by Sanam Mehdi and directed by Aabis Raza, the drama centres on the importance of fathers. Bawla’s father is always putting him down for being inadequate. Shabana hates the father who left. The next person to come into this mix is the impulsive Kabir (Adeel Hussain), who has a fraught relationship with his demanding father, Tauqeer (Alyy Khan).
Doctor Bahu | ARY, Fri-Sat 8.00pm
This much-awaited serial is off to a good start in director Mehreen Jabbar’s capable hands, who builds up the characters and context of Sanam Mehdi Zaryab’s script with a smooth hand.
Shahnawaz (Shahzad Nawaz) is a domineering patriarch who wants all his children to be doctors and part of the hospital system he owns. While his wife, Dr Farheen (Saba Hamid), his equally controlling son, Dr Faizan (Adeel Hussain), and his daughter-in-law, Dr Mina (Hajra Yamin), obediently fall in line, their youngest son, Salman (Shuja Asad), is a rebel.
Tired of being considered a failure for not being a doctor, Salman lives a different life, runs a car showroom and develops software. He meets and bonds with surgeon Dr Sania (Kubra Khan), not knowing she is also his father’s choice. The story focuses on the way female doctors are, at times, forced to abandon their careers to become decorative showpieces or, in some cases, become workhorses for the controlling families they marry into. Will Dr Sania buck the trend and fulfil her potential as a surgeon, or will she surrender to quiet resentment like Dr Mina?
Leader | Hum TV, Sat-Sun 8.00pm
This is an exciting new story from the pen of Radain Shah, set in a turbulent world of student politics and highlighting class inequalities.
Agha Wasif (Faran Tahir) is a clever, manipulative politician and feudal lord who rules with an iron fist but acts like a saviour. His right-hand man is his nephew, Assistant Commissioner Asif (Sachal Afzal), who enforces his rule with violence. On the other side of the equation is Mansoor Ali Shah (Ali Raza), the rebellious son of a local farmer, student leader and all-round tough guy. In the middle of the mix is Agha’s naïve daughter, Rubab (Kinza Hashmi), who has strangely no idea what a terrible man her father is and, so far, her character is the least believable.
Director Asad Malik has woven a fast-paced, action-packed show out of this story and, despite its weak plot points, it has an inexplicable entertainment factor. The macho quotient for Ali Raza, Sachal Afzal and Faran Tahir is over the top, leaving the average viewer wondering when anybody gets any work or studying done in between posturing and fighting. Will Rubab’s burgeoning attraction to Mansoor be her undoing?
What To Watch Out For (Or Not)
Humrahi | Geo TV, Coming soon
Another day, another immediate hit for Danish Taimoor and Hiba Bukhari, as the first episode of their new serial Humrahi has already crossed eight million views.
Published in Dawn, ICON, April 5th, 2026