Introduction

Ishq Jalebi is another “cousin-marriage” trope bases family drama penned by Saima Akram Chaudhary. With a huge ensemble cast consisting of stars, it was definitely something I wanted to watch this Ramzan Special drama. However, my schedule allowed me to watch only one. I, therefore, picked Chupke Chupke because I wanted to see Arslan Naseer’s acting chops.

Now that Eid is over and I am not watching any drama, I thought why not give this a try. Directed by the voice-over man Wajahat Hussain and produced by Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi under 7th Sky Entertainment, people were crazy about Ishq Jalebi. And, I know Saima Akram Chaudhari is a great story teller with unmatched way of weaving comedy in the narrative.

Alright, without much further ado, let’s meet the cast and characters.

Cast & Characters (The Boota Family)

Qavi Khan as Muhammad Boota

The patriarch of the family. 

Boota has a catering business and wanted his sons to continue his legacy. But his sons… We will get to them in a bit.

Rafaqat, Sadaqat, Iffat and late Ishrat’s father

Basim and Bela’s grandfather

Munazzah Arif as Nudrat

Boota’s late daughter, Bela’s mother

Saife Hassan as Bela’s father

Bela’s late father. I wish he had a longer part. I love his presence on screen.

Madiha Imam as Bela aka “Balushahi”

Her parents have passed away and she lives with Boota since. She aspires to become an event planner, but her current target to become the love of Basim’s life.

Hina Khawaja Bayat as Iffat

Boota’s daughter and Basim’s mother, Aashiq Hussain’s wife. Ashique Hussain is also her cousin, her phupho’s son.

Noor ul Hassan as Aashiq Hussain Advocate

Basim’s father. He is a lawyer and has lost all his 999 cases before joining father-in-law’s business

Wahaj Ali as Basim aka Petha

Bela’s husband… the apple of everyone’s eyes

Mehmood Aslam as Rafaqat aka Riffi

Boota’s older son, Sadaqat, Iffat and Ishrat’s brother. He left his father as he is not interested in being a part continuing Boota’s catering legacy and he has built his own independent life abroad in America, having laundry business

Shaista Jabeen as Aniqa aka Nikki

Rafaqat’s wife, Sajjo’s sister, Aashiq’s cousin

Maryam Noor as Isha aka Barfi

Rafaqat and Aniqa’a daughter. She wants to marry Basim but Basim is already taken, sistah!

Kashif Mehmood as Sadaqat

Boota’s younger son, Rafaqat , Iffat and Ishrat’s brother. He left his father as he is least interested in being a part continuing Boota’s catering legacy and he has built his own independent life abroad in Canada, having restaurant “Sialkoti Tarka”

Irsa Ghazal as Sajeela aka Sajjo

Sadaqat’s wife and Aashiq’s cousin. Wicky’s mother

Usama Khan as Waqar aka Wicky aka Laddu

Sadaqat and Sajeela’s son. He has a thing for Bela, but Bela likes Basim instead.

Mariyam Nafees as Hina

 

Parveen Akbar as Bazgha

Boota’s cousin, a herbal specialist

Syed Atif as Rocket

Basim’s friend. He is so funny. I have seen his bits on Nashpati Prime. Very talented man!

Asim Mehmood as Gulfaam aka Gullu

Bazgha’s grandson. He likes Isha and I think the two would end up together.

Salman Faisal as Hassaan

Bela’s ex-fiance

 

Synopsis

Muhammad Boota owns a decades old family catering business – Babbu and Boota Bakery aka BnB. He wants to make both of his sons, Rafaqat and Sadaqat a part of his business. His wishes remain unfulfilled as both his sons move out of Pakistani and settle abroad with their families. Disheartened by his sons’ ill treatment, Boota gives away his family business in the care of his only son in law, Ashiq Hussain and grandson, Basim.

Basim, like his uncles, he dreams of moving abroad. He whines about his life and the inconveniences.

Bela, on the other hand, is grateful for the life she leads. She has been living with her grandfather after her parents passed away. Being a sensible and hardworking girl, Bela disregards the attitude of her cousin, Basim and the two of them are always arguing with each other.

Soon, it is time to distribute the family’s assets and divide the business. Rafaqat and Sadaqat visit Pakistan with their families but then… COVID happens. They cannot travel back to the USA and Canada, and are forced to live in Pakistan. We have all been there – trapped due to the COVID-19 situation. Have we not? Heck, I was stuck in Pune for eight months before I could visit my family. 

I digress. So, everybody is under one roof. And, thus begins as an unusual family reunion. The reunion slowly escalates into a series of realizations, family bonding and a chance of young love.

Amongst this family dramedy, will Basim and Bela realize their true love for each other? What happens to the family business? Does Ashiq get it all? 

Parting Thoughts

This family tree is as crazy as it gets. Everybody is related and is married within family. It is so difficult to keep track of all the characters and the many relationships they have with each other. I had to sit with a notebook and draw a diagram to understand them better.

Alright, with that background, let’s dive into the episode wise written review. Shall we?

Shabana Mukhtar