Pakistani tv shows are abundant on tv channels (and now on YouTube!). You’re probably wondering which to watch and whether if they’re worth your time and investment. I’ve listed out a bunch of shows that you can watch if you have time. They have their problems of course but they’re addictive nonetheless. Here are the top ten Pakistani tv shows of 2020 (fair warning I’ve only seen like five of them – but have included more because of their popularity).
1 – Ye Dil mera
Starring Sajal Ali, Ahad Raza Mir, Adnan Siddiqui and Paras Masroor, this tv show is written by Farhat Ishtiaq and directed by Ahson Talish. The show’s direction may be inconsistent and there may be tons of plotholes but it’s an enjoyable watch nonetheless because the main storyline is quite intriguing.
Sajal Ali plays Aina, a young woman who keeps having recurring nightmares. Her father pretends to be a nice, doting, regular globe-trotting business-dad but he’s actually an evil person. Aina meets Amaan (Ahad Raza Mir) and they fall in love. They get married but little does Aina know that Amaan too has a deep, dark, twisted past that is connected with Mir Farooq Zaman’s dirty business.
The show is almost at its end with 33 episodes. It airs on Wednesdays 8 pm on Hum TV
2 – PYAR KE SADQAY
Starring Bilal Abbas, Yumna Zaidi, Yashma Gill, Omair Rana, Atiqa Odho, Srrha Asghar and Sharmeen Ali, this tv show is written by Zanjabeel Asim Shah and directed by Farooq Rind. Bilal Abbas plays Abdullah a young man who is bullied and emotionally abused by his father, Sarwar (Omair Rana). His mother, Mansoora (Atiqa Odho), had married Sarwar when her husband passed away.
Abdullah’s sister Washma (Srrha Asghar) does not like Sarwar at all and lives with her father’s sister (Sharmeen Ali). Mahjabeen is the daughter of a Munshi Ji in Mansoora’s office that Sarwar runs. Sarwar likes Mahjabeen but in a twist of fate Mahjabeen and Abdullah end up getting married.
Sarwar plots and plots and has full plans of ruining Abdullah and Mahjabeen’s marriage. There’s enough potential to do that since Abdullah has been in love with Shanzay (Yashma Gill) who initially rebuffed Abdullah’s love but due to her own circumstances wants Abdullah again.
The show has 20 episodes so far and it airs on Hum TV on Thursdays
3 – KASHF
Kashf is a tv show about a young woman who keeps seeing dreams that end up coming true. Starring Hira Mani, Junaid Khan, Hajra Khan, Waseem Abbas and Saleem Mairaj, the tv show is written by Imran Nazir and directed by Danish Nawaz. Hira Mani plays Kashf, a girl from a lower middle class family who is engaged to her cousin Wajdaan (Junaid Khan).
Her father (Waseem Abbas) wants to exploit her ‘gift’ and gets her to sit on an astaana so that she can make money for the family. Kashf’s mother is clearly upset at all of this but is unable to do it since nor she nor her daughters are very educated and can’t leave the house. Hajra Khan plays Kashf’s aunt who was previously married to the shady dude who wants Kashf to sit on the astaana (Saleem Mairaj).
Kashf has 8 episodes so far and it airs on Hum TV on Tuesdays at 8 pm.
4 – SABAAT
Sabaat is a tv show written by Kashif Anwar and directed by Shehzad Kashmiri. It stars Mawra Hocane, Ameer Gilani, Sarah Khan, Azra Mansoor, Usman Mukhtar, Muhammad Ahmed, Seemi Raheel and Laila Zuberi in key roles. Set in a beautiful wintery Islamabad, Sabaat tells the story of what happens when two different people from two different classes fall in love.
Each of them have their personal and sociocultural baggage. Mawra Hocane plays Anaya, a girl who isn’t ‘as rich’ as Hasan (Ameer Gilani) therefore Hasan’s parents don’t want her as a daughter-in-law. Hasan’s sister (Sarah Khan) hates Anaya and hallucinates about her dead grandmother (Azra Mansoor) and is extremely insecure about aging and losing her youth and beauty.
Sabaat has 9 episodes so far and it airs on Sundays at 8 pm on Hum TV
5 – DUSHMAN E JAAN
Written by Sarwat Nazir and directed by Amin Iqbal, this is another story of the clash of the classes. Mohib Mirza, Tuba Siddiqui, Madiha Imam, Saba Hameed, Irfan Khoosat star in this emotionally intense drama. Mohib Mirza plays Hatim, a spoilt businessman who treats everyone terribly. Enter Ramsha (Tooba Siddiqui) who teaches him and his business-oriented mother (Saba Hameed) the true meaning of relationships and love and life and parenting and being a great offspring.
Cliches aside, this is some good viewing, especially since Ramsha’s character is not that black and white either. She has her moral ambiguities and as the OST/teasers promise, there is some big plot twist coming our way.
Dushman e Jaan has 5 episodes so far and it airs from Mondays to Thursdays everyday at 9 pm on ARY Digital.
6 – JHOOTI
Jhooti stars Iqra Aziz as – well, the jhooti girl. She plays a manipulative young woman who is constantly exploiting her family. Iqra plays Nirma and Nirma gets married to Nasir (Ahmed Ali Butt), a man who runs a grocery store in her neighbourhood. She is thoroughly unhappy with this man because all she wants is money and luxury. She leaves Nasir and marries Ali (Yasir Hussain) a conman who is fleecing Nirma. The tv show is written by Ali Moeen and directed by Syed Ramish Rizvi.
Jhooti airs on Saturdays at 9.30 PM on ARY Digital and has 20 episodes so far.
7 – DIL RUBA
Dil Ruba stars Hania Aamir, Mohib Mirza, Shahroz Sabzwari, Nabeel Zuberi, Asad Siddiqui. It is the story of a young woman named Sanam who has many suitors. However, she’s often vain and does not treat people well. She ends up being blackmailed by one of her ‘admirers’ and after her husband dies in a car accident, she is forced to look at life from a different perspective. The tv show is written by Qaisera Hayat and directed by Hasan Ali.
Dil Ruba airs on Saturdays at 8 pm on Hum TV and it has 11 episodes so far
8 – ISHQIYA
Ramsha Khan plays Hamna and Hania Aamir plays Roomi. Both these girls have different personalities. Feroze Khan plays Hamza who loved Hamna but ends up marrying Roomi. Gohar Rasheed plays Azeem, Hamna’s husband who knows about Hamna’s past but still supports her. The tv show is written by Mohsin Ali Shah and directed by Badar Mehmood.
Ishqiya airs on Mondays at 8 pm on ARY Digital. It has 18 episodes so far.
9 – TARAP
Tarap stars Hiba Bukhari, Syed Jibran and Babar Ali in lead roles. Directed by Misbah Ahmed and written by Nadeem Siddique, the tv show stars Hiba Bukhari as a young woman who is an aspiring writer. Adil (Syed Jibran) is a strict police officer who treats everyone terribly. He’s also super mean towards his wife and Zunaira (Hiba Bukhari) is his sister. Zunaira falls in love with a young man named Faris and Adil doesn’t want Zunaira to marry Faris. Laiq (Babar Ali) is chasing Zunaira despite having a loving wife (Nausheen Shah) and a daughter.
Tarap airs on Sundays at 8 pm on Hum TV. It has 14 episodes so far.
10 – RAAZ E ULFAT
Yumna Zaidi, Shehzad Sheikh and Komal Aziz Khan star in this tv show that is, again, a clash of the classes. Yumna plays Mushk a girl who has very strict parents. Komal Aziz Khan plays Sehba/Sahiba a young woman who is very rich and likes living the ‘fast’ life. Written by Maha Malik and directed by Siraj ul Haq, the show is quite a favorite among people who like these sort of storylines.
The show airs on Tuesdays on Geo Television Network and has 10 episodes so far.