Cast: Bilal Abbas, Madiha Imam, Mohammad, Mariam Saleem, Kinza Razzak, Beo Zafar, Furqan Qureshi, Kiran Haq

Director: Mahreen Jabbar

Rating: ****

Platform: ZEE5

What's your 'IDEAL' with whom you wanna spend your life? Of-course everyone has some desires and fantasies in mind about their better half. But what if you just don't find the exact person as you see in your dreams? Mahreen Jabbar's "Ek Jhoothi Love Story" is the series presented by ZEE5, based on such reveries. It's a sweeping tale of Salma (Madiha Imam) & Sohail (Bilal Abbas) in the journey for love and an ideal partner.

It's a Pakistani TV series of 18 episodes that begins with a girl, Salma, who is the youngest among her family that includes her two elder sisters, one elder brother, and parents. Mother (Beo Zafar) who just focuses on finding a perfect match for their children. The elder daughters Shabana (Kiran Haq) and Shazia (Mariam Saleem) face many concerns in wedlock due to their desire for a perfect match. Not only these two but their brother, Salahuddin (Furqan Qureshi), also comes into their category who likes his colleague, but due to his fake status, he never proposes to her. Then it turns to Salma, a girl with many dreams in eyes about a fairytale-like life and her prince charming. To live this dream, she takes the support of a fake account on Facebook, with the name of Natalia, who is the cousin of her friend and a well-off girl. And on the other side, Sohail, a boy who has a small shop of hardware, also had many dreams to do something big in life, but he couldn't because of his father's demise at an early age. He has a secret crush on that rich-brat, Natalia, to whom he usually sends friend requests, but she never responds.

One day, in this routine life, Sohail met his old friend Nofil, who does a job in America and has a great status that makes Sohail insecure and a bit jealous too. So, to at least talk to Natalia, Sohail also creates a fake account. Then what? Two individuals venture out to find their ideal match on an online platform, but their real-life gets intertwined in the quest.

The story penned by writer Umera Ahmed of Zindagi Gulzar Hai's fame and the storyline is superb and very beautifully shown on-screen. This TV-series is for those who love to watch love-stories but this one is quite different as it's a 'Jhoothi' that starts with a lot of lies, not only from one side but both whose dreams force them to make fake online profiles. But see destiny has some other plans for the couple. And to watch what will happen to their lies, you must have to watch the series.

The hard-work by the director, Mahreen Jabbar can be clearly seen in the drama series. All from the screenplay to editing, everything is perfect. Just a thing on which the makers could have done better is in cinematography that can give the perfect visions to the viewers.

The show also highlights how huge expectations to find the true love of your life are met with frustrations and surprises. But the series does not give any reason to lose hope. After creating fake online profiles, the protagonists can be whoever they want to be until their real-life gets caught in the predicament.

The series will never give you a part to feel bored, as it also includes a comical take on familial interference in marriage. Dialogues are praiseworthy, that can make you chuckle even in some serious situations, and all set as per the characters. Beo Raana plays the role of mother, who delivers quirky one-liners that will leave you in splits.

In terms of acting, all the actors in this love drama have nailed it. In the lead roles, Bilal Abbas and Madiha Imam portrayed their characters very well and defined. Either it's about showing anger, love, or any emotions, our both stars have done a fabulous job and justified their characters. Not only this on-screen couple but all the other performers will not disappoint you in any case.

Overall, it's a light-hearted family drama with compelling, quirky characters and a fascinating exploration of different kinds of relationships and the path they scrape along the way. It's a must-watch Pakistani TV-series that can make your weekend entertaining.