Surkh Chandi kicked off with a promising start last week and the next two episodes aired on Tuesday night kept us on our toes with emotionally charged content. It crushed our heart to watch Sohai wail in pain and agony when Asad’s character Jawad threw acid at her. The scene was traumatizing and kudos to the makeup and prosthetics department for such imagery.
Osman Khalid Butt has raised the bar undoubtedly as a viewer can feel distress in his demeanour; Amaan is shivering in misery and struggling with the idea of Aida’s suffering. Meanwhile, Jawad is scheming another plan to lure Shumaila (Mansha Pasha) in the trap as she is the sole witness of the heinous crime he has committed. He has realized Shumaila’s greedy nature and we saw him offering her gold, latest mobile phone and pick and drop services for keeping her mouth shut. The point to ponder is that Shumaila is a mother to a daughter and Jawad has even threatened her, yet she is oblivious to the grave repercussions of her actions.
The director has taken creative liberty and kept Aida’s burns conservative and controlled; half of her face, neck and a few body parts have been burnt (according to the doctor). She was hesitant to face her family and Amaan at first, but she eventually poured her heart out in front of her mother. Though she kept Amaan at a distance on purpose, she couldn’t seem to trust anyone else but him and hence asked for Amaan when she mustered up courage to see her face in the mirror.
Read: Sohai Ali Abro & Osman Khalid Butt hold their ground in ‘Surkh Chandni’
The looming question in Aida’s head is that why did it happen to her? No one seems to be bothered about it; it can either be because of the family’s financial crunch in wake of Aida’s surgeries, a lack of empathy or the general perception to ‘let go’ in our society. However, Sohai has made up her mind to find the culprit behind the wicked act. We also got to know what had happened to Jawad’s first wife as he and his mother have committed crimes earlier as well.
Huma Nawab, who is playing Osman’s mother, is a character that we want to see more frequently on-screen. It’s commendable how our dramas have started to go beyond the cruel mother-in-law persona. Huma is playing a mother who urges her son to stand by the love of his life through thick and thin. She told her son to be prepared for the psychological trauma that Aida will face as he has to reaffirm her self-esteem through love. She says, “Wo (Aida) apne aap ko dunya ki nazroun se dekhe ghy aur dunya ki nazrein uspe kia kia teer chalaein ghy jo uski izzat-e-nafs ko majrooh ker denghy… beta un sab sawaloun key jawab tumhari nazar key pyar mein honey chahiyen.”
The pace of the drama is good so far with each episode revealing some new twist. We are anticipating that Aida will say no to her marriage, probably as a result of Jawad threatening Amaan’s life. This turn of events will prove to be problematic as then Aida has to suffer at the hands of her sister-in-law and brother yet again.
Watch the episode here:
