THE WEEK THAT WAS
Shaidai | Geo TV, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm
Aeliya (Nawal Saeed) is not happy. Turned down by a powerful businessman, Ali Khan (Feroze Khan), she can only think of revenge and hurting the people he loves. This might have been a chilling portrait of evil, but it falls flat because of Nawal Saeed’s obsession with glamour, fake eyelashes and a glassy stare.
This take on the Indian movie Ghajini (itself inspired by the Australian film Memento)is attracting viewers because of the lead pair’s chemistry and the popular trope of a rich guy humbling himself for love. Ali Khan has fallen for Miral (Sahar Hashmi), who might just be his long-lost cousin. What made Aamir Khan’s Ghajini so captivating was the way it used tropes and shattered them but, so far, Shaidai’s writer, Saqlain Abbas, seems to revel in them. Luckily for him, the masses love the leads and the amusing romance, no matter how unbelievable the situations get.
Sahar Hashmi is an enthusiastic performer who jumps headfirst into her roles and never feels contrived. Feroze Khan is also in his element as a tough guy playing the softie to win the girl. Credit goes to director Ali Faizan for the lighter moments, but he loses points for not drawing a better performance from Nawal Saeed.
Rahguzar | Green Entertainment, Wed-Thurs 8.00pm
Time to check in on the world of Roshni (Hira Mani), Aima (Mariam Kiani) and Waqar (Mohib Mirza) — the triangle from hell. Writer Nadia Ahmed’s heroine is intelligent enough to work in an office, yet her actions display the mental capacity of a worm. If anything terrible is about to happen, Roshni will make sure she gets the worst end of it, only because she wants to “help”.
She marries a man who despises her, supports a family that wants nothing but the worst for her, and refuses any rational action of self-preservation. The quintessential naive girl, Roshni is manipulated by everyone, especially her evil younger half-sister, Aima. Hira Mani sleepwalks her way through this role, and if there were an award for crying while looking pretty with heavy make-up, she would win!
Even the supposedly intelligent and worldly-wise brother and sister Waqar and Fehmina (Zhalay Sarhady) are blind victims of manipulation. The next tier of victims are the villains, who are also exploited by a next-level set of antagonists. The only highlight is Mariam Kiani, who shows us cold-blooded ruthlessness that is very believable.
Winter Love | Hum TV, Fri-Sat 8.00pm
Hayat (Khushhal Khan) and Mushk (Mawra Hocane) grow close to the point of commitment, but a misunderstanding tears them apart.
Their respective families had been pushing suitable candidates, such as the wealthy, controlling Fatir (Shahbaz Shigri) and Soha (Nawal Pervaiz Malik), whom Hayat has never liked. He does the right thing by telling Soha he cannot marry her upfront, but Mushk is too angry to listen to any explanations from him after seeing Hayat and Soha together. The lead couple have little to no chemistry, and Mushk’s behaviour makes her look like an irrational woman — a bad fit for the easy-going Hayat.
Writer Sarah Majeed has tried hard to introduce a lot of Urdu literature to the Gen-Z audience, but Khushhal Khan’s delivery has turned it into a damp squib. Director Danish Nawaz seems to be sleepwalking through this serial and has failed to give it the fun pace or the excitement of first love. It is still slowly building ratings, however, partly because of the humour brought in by Hayat’s parents: a poet (Asif Raza Mir) and his superstitious mother (Asma Abbas).
What To Watch Out For (Or Not)
Laaj | Green Entertainment, Coming soon
Aiza Awan and Sachal Afzal are cast as two art students in love, who are faced with a clever, manipulative villain played by Syed Jibran.
Published in Dawn, ICON, May 24th, 2026