After the success of Suno Chanda series, and the phenomenal response Chupke Chupke is receiving these days, it wouldn’t be wrong to award playwright Saima Akram Chaudhry the title of Queen of Ramazan Dramas. That’s not it, she has given something for everyone this year; her other Ramazan special series Ishq Jalebi on Geo is also quite a hit.
In a conversation with Aamna Isani of Something Haute, the writer talks about Suno Chanda 3, and her inspirations behind the characters in Chupke Chupke and Ishq Jalebi.
Saima shared that she never expected Chupke Chupke to be such a massive hit because she always receives queries about the third season of Suno Chanda, and everyone wanted to see Jiya and Arsal so she wasn’t sure if the viewers will accept a new drama. “I’ve written Chupke Chupke and Ishq Jalebi trapped inside a pressure cooker,” she laughingly said.
“While writing Suno Chanda, I intentionally wanted that cast must not be the same. Those who are in both the plays like Tara Mehmood, Farhan Ally Agha and Ali Safina, I tried hard to distinguish their characters from the previous ones. I also wanted to cater to all age groups and make a lighthearted family drama. I was told not to add Punjabi and even the two dadis were not a part of the script initially, so that it doesn’t sound like Suno Chanda,” she shared, adding, “I wrote the first four episodes of Chupke Chupke four times and didn’t like it.”
Aamna Isani with Saima Akram Chaudhry
Saima loves giving catch phrases to her characters like Shahana in Suno Chanda used to say nawa katta khul gaya ha. Here in Chupke Chupke, many characters have punch lines that they frequently use like Meenu’s ashkay bhai ashkay, Miskeen’s ghar da peer, chul da watta, and many more.
Moving on to Ishq Jalebi, Saima shares that despite trying hard that her stories or characters do not overlaps, there are a few instances where Chupke Chupke and Ishq Jalebi have similarities.
“Qavi Khan’s character in Ishq Jalebi is a tribute to my father-in-law, who had five sons settled in different cities of Pakistan. I literally cried while writing it and Qavi sahab also said that he can relate to the script because both his sons are also settled in Canada. I strongly wanted to write a script on this subject where we emphasize that parents don’t need our money; they need our time, care and tending,” she said.
Watch the full interview here to know who is the inspiration behind Meenu’s character, and what will she she write next: Chupke Chupke 2 or Suno Chanda 3:
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