The teasers for the much awaited Surkh Chandni are out and they look intense. The Sohai Ali Abro-Osman Khalid Butt starrer drama which also has Asad Siddiqui, Mansha Pasha, and Hasan Ahmed in important roles, is the story about an acid-attack survivor. The two teasers released earlier today give a very good preview of what the drama is all about.
What Surkh Chandni is all about
The first teaser is all about the lovely relationship shared between the characters played by Sohai and Osman. They are a young couple very much in love with each other and the two share some beautiful moments as Osman’s character promises Sohai that he would always be by her side no matter what happens.
The chemistry between Sohai and Osman is truly a treat to watch. This is the first time these two will be sharing the screen together in a drama and we must say they have all the makings of the next hit Jodi in town.
As the teaser progresses, we see their characters happily getting ready for what looks like their nikaah. But just as Sohai is on the way to sit in the taxi that promises to take her to her happy ending, we see Asad Siddiqui’s character appear in front of her and throw acid on her. What starts as a beautiful story of two people ends in a complete tragedy. The last echo of Sohai’s scream as she writhes in pain on the road is truly a very haunting note to end the teaser on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_6YcgJzjd4
Of the ugly reality of acid attacks
The second teaser doesn’t pull back any punches and we see the ugly reality of what an acid-attack survivor has to go through after such a big tragedy. We see a glimpse of Sohai’s disfigured face as she dispassionately asks the doctor if her face can ever be like it was before the attack? As her character tries to process how her life turned upside down within a few minutes, she also has to face the behavior of her own family as they treat her like the culprit and not the victim.
She is questioned by her brother about the man she was having an “affair” with which led him to attack her like this. She is shunned by her sister-in-law as some plague-infected patient who would spread her disease to everyone around her if she is not kept locked. Her niece gets scared of her disfigured face and calls her, “Chudail!” in a fit of fear. To end this misery filled teaser, we see her brother giving her the ultimatum to leave the house within two days.
All of this leaves a hollow feeling in the pit of the stomach and that is exactly what the drama is all about. By showing the plight of the acid-attack survivors who are completely rejected by the society for no fault of their own, Surkh Chandni aims to highlight that the real ugliness isn’t the disfigured face of the survivors but the behavior of the society that shows them no empathy and support.
Of brilliant acting performances, cast and more
The acting performances by everyone in the cast look wonderful. Sohai Ali Abro, who has the weight of being the protagonist of such a sensitive and dark subject, seems to have done complete justice to her character. Osman Khalid Butt, who is known to be wanting to play characters that do not conform to the toxic masculinity rampant in both our society and our dramas, looks brilliant and I can’t wait to see what he does in Surkh Chandni. We only got a few seconds glimpse of Asad Siddiqui but as he plays the culprit who carries on with the attack, there’s a definite air of intrigue around him. Hasan Ahmed and Mansha Pasha look like typical, regressive pair of relatives but as Mansha had said in an interview that she plays the antagonist in Surkh Chandni, it is too early to write her off as a stereotypical villain.
Surkh Chandni’s release date has not been announced yet but it is safe to assume that the drama will go on-air on Ary Digital after Eid. The drama is written by Asma Nabeel and is produced by Sana Shanawaz and Samina Humayun Saeed under Next Level Entertainment and Six Sigma Plus, while it is directed by Shahid Shafaat.
