Some actors immediately draw audiences in, not only with their talent, but with their reputation for carefully selecting their scripts. Sana Javed is one such actress. While her track record is not one hundred percent, one can see that she tries to choose unique scripts and this is what creates interest around her shows. With the underrated, but strong “Kaala Doriva” on Hum TV as her last show, “Sukoon” is her latest on ARY Digital, airing on Thursday and Friday nights. “Sukoon” also stars fan favorite Ahsan Khan, along with Khaqan Shahnawaz, Qudsia Ali, Sidra Niazi, Usman Peerzada, Adnan Samad Khan, Ahsan Talish, Laila Wasti and others in prominent roles. The story has been written by Misbah Nausheen and directed by Siraj UI Haq.
In the first episode itself, we find ourselves sitting up and taking notice of striking similarities between the story of “Sukoon” and a certain Bollywood movie. Aina (Sana Javed) is a girl from a middle-class background with a conservative upbringing and an even more conservative, restrictive fiance, played by Adnan Samad Khan. On the other end, we are introduced to Hamdan (Ahsan Khan) and Raza (Khaqan Shahnawaz). Raza is the impulsive, immature, spoiled child of a rich businessman, played by Usman Peerzada, while Hamdan is an orphan brought up and cared for by Raza’s family. He feels indebted to them and so he is always doing backflips by covering up Raza’s behavior – which includes running over an innocent child in the streets with a motorcycle. At a wedding, Hamdan and Raza encounter Aina and Raza is immediately smitten with her – much to her fiance’s displeasure.
Removing the outside-of-Pakistan angle, the story of “Sukoon” immediately seems to be somewhat inspired by “Pardes,” though rewritten to be suitable for Pakistani television. And while there isn’t necessarily anything unique about this story and the casting is mildly all over the place with the actors playing roles that are not age appropriate, there’s still something likable about the show overall. This is one of those dramas that is predictable from the onset, but will hopefully be entertaining watching the storyline play out. Of course, it helps that this is a visually appealing, talented cast, which makes this a promising show. ARY has been a mixed bag lately with shows, some of their most promising shows (such as “Mein”) disappointing and “smaller” shows (like “Jaisay Aapki Marzi”) making waves. Where will “Sukoon” fall with audiences? We will have to wait and see, but so far, this seems to be an entertaining watch.