Drama serial Surkh Chandni is by far the most heart-wrenching drama airing on television these days. The story is progressing rapidly and there’s always a sense of foreboding that something dark is around the corner. Sohai Ali Abro and Osman Khalid Butt (playing Aida and Amaan respectively) have got us hooked to the play and we feel their pain and misery. Other than the lead duo, each and every actor has been given well-crafted characters that stay with you even after the episode is over. Be it Rashid Farooqui as a helpless father, Lubna Aslam as a feeble mother, or Hassan Ahmed as Aida’s selfish brother (Mukhtar), every role is pivotal to the storyline.
However, with eight episodes already on aired, Surkh Chandni has given us ample of reasons to ponder why such heinous crimes of acid attack remain unreported or unresolved in our society. Starting from a family’s indifference or selfish attitude, lack of empathy from law enforcing agencies, fake witnesses in court, to speculations about a woman’s character, the list of excuses goes on. Now that the secret is out that Jawad (Asad Siddiqui) was the culprit, the plot took the most expected turn. He was cleared of all charges in court as he made Shumaila (Mansha Pasha) produce fake evidence to prove Aida’s alleged affair. Quite convenient but it’s closer to reality indeed!
The story is moving forward at a very good pace, but there are a few recurrent themes that we think may be the bone of contention. We do not expect them to be settled anytime soon as these subplots are necessary for the development, but here’s a rundown of major plot lines that in real-life are lessons for us to learn.
Aida should marry Amaan
Amaan is a kind man who would never force Aida to marry him. He is giving her time to heal, both physically and psychologically. He is unemployed and still struggling with financial issues but we suppose it is high time they should get married. Living hand to mouth with Amaan would be far better for Aida than suffering alone in a house where her brother and sister-in-law consider her a burden, her parents hear incessant taunts about her existence, and she has been called names. It’s hard to fathom the trauma that Aida must have been going through, but her only escape is this marriage.
Jawad won’t let her live peacefully otherwise and she knows it well (after the last scene where he enters in the store room on the roof where she lives and blatantly disputed that she can never escape his wrath). Amaan has tried innumerable times and Aida should realize by now that he is the only person who is taking a stand for him.
Mukhtar should open his eyes
Aida’s brother, Mukhtar is completely oblivious to his wife’s wrong-doings. Shumaila has crossed all limits of deceit. She wears a new piece of gold jewellery every week and Mukhtar doesn’t bat an eye. She gifts her daughter a tablet and he ignores it, she comes home with bags loaded with expensive clothes and he isn’t bothered. A man who keeps telling his parents that his salary is the only source of income in the house didn’t for once doubt his wife. Every time he asks her where are the things coming from, she fabricates a story and he is convinced. This shows that Shumaila has poisoned his mind to the extent that he is single-mindedly adamant to blame his sister for everything.
If only he had asked his wife why she keeps visiting Jawad’s place and gave an evidence in court rather than disclosing it at home. He has blind trust on his wife and sooner or later will face the music.
Hiring a good legal help
Oddly enough courtroom drama has become a part and parcel of many recent television plays. We have seen a poorly-executed one in Cheekh, another highly-charged one in Inkaar and Surkh Chandni’s last episode also included one. However, a common element in at least two of them is taking legal help for granted. We assume Amaan wasn’t able to hire an able lawyer because of insufficient resources, but Aida’s lawyer (played by Hajra Khan) didn’t speak a word other than calling objections. She did not question Jawad or Shumaila or even Aida for that matter. Either the scene was chopped in editing or was written in a similar fashion, but its a recurrent theme in our courtroom dramas that lawyers are not competent enough to present a good case for their clients.
Have you seen the recent episodes of Surkh Chandni? Let us know what you think about the latest developments in the story.
