Iqra Aziz and Farhan Saeed are back with the most loved comedy series of last year, Suno Chanda. Four episodes of the second season have been aired so far and although the drama has yet again garnered love and appreciation — the first episode is trending at number one spot on YouTube with over 3.7 million views — some fans are disappointed.
Here’s a breakdown of what we have loved so far and what makes no sense to us whatsoever!
The Good
What triumphs all is that some of our most favourite characters are back. Jiya, Arsal, Shahana, Nazakat Ali, Joji and Jalal (played by Iqra Aziz, Farhan Saeed, Nadia Afgan, Sohail Sameer, Ali Safina and Adnan Shah Tipu respectively) are very much part of the second season. Writer Saima Akram Choudhry has introduced new characters — Pari and Mithoo (played by Arjumand Raheem and Raza Talish) — who are nice additions.
Although Arjumand Raheem doesn’t ‘look’ convincing as a Punjabi who hails from a village in Gujrat, unlike Nadia Afgan or Ali Safina, her dialogue delivery as Pari is spot on. For a moment one can’t seem to fathom that she is the same woman whose voice-overs we hear on almost all Pakistani TV commercials. Raza Talish as Mithoo is impressive; one can instantly fall in love over his naivety.
We eagerly want to see more of Ali Safina’s Joji as his comic timing, demeanour and dialogues are a complete package. Last but definitely not the least, Iqra and Farhan’s cute romantic moments are to watch out for. It won’t be wrong to say that the director has used every trick of the filmi trade to show us that Jiya and Arsal are head over heels in love with each other (minus their childishness and ego issues). It’s commendable how both the actors have performed their roles as if they are living and breathing Jiya and Arsal; evident from the free-flow of their chemistry. And bonus points to Arsal for always having Jiya’s back!
The Bad
Unfortunately, the second season suffers from serious continuity issues. Fans (as seen on Twitter) have pointed out numerous mistakes on social media and that shows poor production value. Firstly, the timeline isn’t convincing. The first season ended on the wedding night and the second has picked up from the very next day. The family is planning a Valima for almost four episodes, but it doesn’t quite seem to happen as yet. We are not sure if a single day has passed or not! Confused much?
A framed wedding picture on their bedroom wall on the first day after the wedding isn’t the only blunder. Jiya and Arsal’s clothes and hair keep changing incoherently.
What’s just not working this time is the high-pitched banter between Jiya and Arsal as a newly-married couple. The over-the-top performances of the lead go haywire sometimes when Jiya starts shouting at the top of her voice or they call each other names. We understand that the writer is trying to depict their immaturity and it is a comic play, but it seems like both of them are involved in a rat race with each other as to who will be more mean.
And The Ugly
As much as we love Suno Chanda and its characters, some of the plot points are just blah. Episode 4 has a sequence where the characters are seen flying kites and to celebrate, Joji asks Arsal to fire gunshots (fake ones of course). The writer took a spin on it and showed policemen embarrassing themselves when they come to investigate and arrest Arsal and Co. as the gun was fake. However, making a mockery of such a serious crime appears in bad taste.
We also witnessed how Jiya stood firm that she will go to London for further studies and even warned Arsal that she will end the marriage. In the promo of Episode 5, we have seen that now Arsal has made it clear that if she leaves, she has to end the relationship and their feelings for good. That’s just nonsensical as in the first season, Arsal was trying to convince Jiya to not end the nikah so that he could support her to get permission to travel abroad for studies. Either this is incoherent script-writing or Arsal was manipulating her in the beginning.
All said and done, we love the pair, their chemistry and silly banters so much that we wouldn’t want to see them fight ‘for real’. We also await for more guests as Joji’s mother is coming and we can spot three new faces in the title of the drama.
Twenty-six more episodes to go!
