TV serial Suno Chanda, featuring Farhan Saeed and Iqra Aziz in lead roles, was one of the most entertaining programs to air on TV during Ramzan. Light hearted and fun, it played on the country’s favourite sport: family relations, with special attention to rishtas. The 30-episode serial ran every day through Ramzan, with a last episode on Chand Raat. Every episode got millions of views and became the talk of the town.
I binge watched Suno Chanda after Ramzan, on YouTube, to understand what the hype was all about and have to say it was worth it. The characters were diverse and comic and the play on family politics, especially in Pakistani families living together, was very apt. Â Some characters and situations were reminiscent of the famous ‘Aayegi Baraat’ series but that’s okay. So it’s good to know that Suno Chanda is getting a sequel and perhaps, like the ‘Aayegi Baraat’ series (which, by the way is also getting renewed), may even become a series.
Also read:Â https://www.somethinghaute.com/saima-chudhry-return-aayegi-baraat-series/
There are some things, however, that we as an audience, need to see change in the sequel…
Some characters need to tone it down
I know that exaggeration is a tool used in comedy but some restrain needs to be exercised as this is Pakistani TV and not Hollywood slapstick from the forties. While Farhan Saeed surprisingly managed to keep his character well-balanced, Iqra Aziz – who’s the more experienced actor – went completely overboard with her hysteria. There’s only so much of shrieking and manic fits of fury that one can take. While Adnan Shah Tipu delivered his character perfectly, Nadia Afgan as Shahana didn’t know where and when to stop. So yes, these characters need to tone it down and evolve a bit.
We need to see people marrying non-cousins too
I realise that every family in Pakistan has a proverbial rishta aunty and she begins her hunt within the family but this is the 21st century and the young, new and educated generation sees interfamily marriages as ‘not cool’ to say the least. It’s understandable that Arsal and Jiya’s grandfather pledged their one rishta but Suno Chanda tips the balance with its obsession with cousin marriages. Arsal is married to Jiya while his mother hooks him up to Kinza, his phupho’s daughter. Jiya and Sherry (another distant cousin) are seen as a match when Jiya and Arsal are on verge of break up. Billo was engaged to her cousin Jamshed (it never worked out) while Shahana was engaged to her cousin Jawad, which also never worked out and finally Billo hooks up with Jawad, better known as Joji, while Jalal jee, their cousin’s husband, is also hitting on her. To top it off, the family elders – Shah Jahan and Mumtaz begum – are also cousins with a past. It’s all too much inter-mingling and I would say, borderline regressive.
We need to see characters involved with and marrying outside of the family, please.
