Kaneez Paracha

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Kaneez Paracha
Ackley Bridge character
Episode 46
11 July 2022
Portrayed bySunetra Sarker
In-universe information
Occupation
  • School cook
  • Student support officer
  • School counsellor
Spouses
Rashid Hyatt
Children
Relatives
  • Granny Paracha
    (mother)
  • Tahir Randhawa
    (nephew)

Kaneez Paracha is a fictional character from the

Rashid Hyatt (Tony Jayawardena
) and becoming a student support officer.

Kaneez has been described as a feisty, vocal and passionate woman who has become a prominent voice in her local community. Sarker was attracted to the role of Kaneez due to the lack of Pakistani northerners shown in media, as well as Pakistani women with large personalities. She pushed for Kaneez to have a mixture of northern and Pakistani accents and to be a

working-class
character, since it differed from the roles she had played previously. Sarker learned Punjabi for the role and was given a voice coach to help her perfect Kaneez's accent. Viewers and critics have praised Kaneez, with her being described as a matriarch, a queen of comedy and a feminist icon. She also won the award for Best TV Character at the 2019 Asian Media Awards.

Storylines

Kaneez is introduced as the mother of

comes out to Kaneez as a lesbian, she is initially disgusted with her. However, after Nasreen's best friend Missy Booth (Poppy Lee Friar) talks to her about Nasreen's struggles, Kaneez takes it upon herself to understand Nasreen and her sexuality. She visits Hebden Bridge
and talks to a lesbian who explains her lifestyle to Kaneez.

When Nasreen discovers that Iqbal has another family that live in

Oxford University
, Nasreen's dream university, and pleads with them to let Nasreen attend despite her results, to which they eventually agree.

Rashid informs Kaneez that his mother

Rob James-Collier
) on a school trip and to Kaneez's annoyance, she takes over when she begins to teach the students. When Zainab almost collapses, she tells Kaneez that she is being too harsh on her and agrees to stop. She reveals that she has always lied about her parents being successful, and that her mother was a sex worker and she never knew her father. In return, Kaneez tells Zainab that she may be pregnant. Kaneez takes a pregnancy test, which comes out negative. Zainab tells Rashid about the pregnancy, who confronts her. Kaneez confides in him and he says that he will tell Zainab to stop being mean to her. When Hayley pranks Tahir into believing she is pregnant, Kaneez later tells Rashid that she is jealous that Hayley is pregnant and not her. After Zainab makes another rude comment about Kaneez, Rashid confronts her and tells her to go back to Pakistan since he loves Kaneez.

Development

Upon the cast announcements for Ackley Bridge, Kaneez was billed as a "force of nature" who is full of personality and opinions.[1] It was stated that as part of her backstory, she arrived in England at the age of 16 and became a prominent voice in the community, raising her family almost single-handedly while her husband Iqbal is away from home.[1] Actress Sarker added that Kaneez's experiences with moving to England as a teenager has made her an example of self-learning and independence due to "finding her feet with the language and life skills".[2] Sarker added that Kaneez is a woman she had never seen on television before due to being full of personality and opinions. She also liked that Kaneez is shown to be a good mother with a sense of humour while also having a protective streak and strictness.[3] She described her character as a feisty woman who wears her heart on her sleeve who is also "a woman of substance, very vocal and passionate about caring for her children and her family [and] doesn’t really hold back on telling people what she thinks".[4] She felt that Kaneez has a funny personality in a way Pakistani women are not shown to have in media. She also praised the series itself for its "three-dimensional portrayal" of Pakistani women, specifically praising the stories that her character receives for being "all about this woman being a force to be reckoned with".[5] Prior to appearing in Ackley Bridge, Sarker starred in the BBC medical drama Casualty as Zoe Hanna for nine years. Following her exit from Casualty, she explained that she was looking for something different and described the role of Kaneez as "just the tonic".[5] Part of this was attributed to Kaneez looking and sounding nothing like Sarker in real life, an aspect of the role that she liked.[5]

On accepting the role of Kaneez, Sarker stated that it was rare for her to find a character that had been written as a three-dimensional Asian woman, and even rarer for her to be a

first series that caused the people on set to laugh, therefore it was implemented into the script, since they knew it would appeal to viewers.[2]

Sarker described the

fourth series, Sarker affirmed that Kaneez is "still a force to be reckoned with".[7] Sarker also took on the role of associate producer for the series. Kaneez is promoted to a school counsellor, which Sarker enjoyed playing. Due to a cast overhaul in the fourth series, Sarker was glad to have stayed on the show and felt that Kaneez had become a "foundation character", but confirmed that she would still have her own storylines.[7] Kaneez's relationship with Rashid is further explored in the series when his mother Zainab arrives, who Sarker described as the "mother-in-law from hell".[7] The series also sees Kaneez's relationship with nephew Tahir explored due to the exit of Nasreen in the third series.[7]

Reception

TV Choice Awards, Sarker was nominated for Best Actress.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Griffiths, Eleanor Bley. "Meet the cast of Channel 4 school drama Ackley Bridge". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Ackley Bridge: Interview with Sunetra Sarker who plays Kaneez". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Ackley Bridge series 2 cast: Who is in the cast of Ackley Bridge on Channel 4?". Brief News. 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Interview with Sunetra Sarker who plays Kaneez Paracha". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Houghton, Rianne (1 July 2018). "Ackley Bridge's Sunetra Sarker explains her decision to leave Casualty after nine years". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b Wilson, Victoria (30 May 2018). "SPECIAL BACK TO SCHOOL PHOTOSHOOT! Jo Joyner and Sunetra Sarker on the return of Ackley Bridge". What's on TV. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  7. ^
    Hearst Magazines UK. Archived
    from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  8. ^ Trent, Sadie. "Why Ackley Bridge is the perfect show for capturing modern problems". Shout Out UK. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  9. ^ a b Seddon, Dan. "Ackley Bridge fans hail "icon" Kaneez after hilarious job interview". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  10. ^ a b Houghton, Rianne. "Ackley Bridge fans thank "amazing" show for its portrayal of Pakistani women". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Asian Media Awards 2019 Winners". Asian Media Awards. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Welcome to the 25th TV Choice Awards!". TV Choice. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
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