Sunita Alahan: Difference between revisions
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|image=[[File:Shobna gulati cs.jpg|200px]] |
|image=[[File:Shobna gulati cs.jpg|200px]] |
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|name=Sunita Alahan |
|name=Sunita Alahan |
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|introducer=Jane |
|introducer=Jane MacNaught (2001)<br />Kim Crowther (2009) |
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|years= 2001–06, 2009— |
|years= 2001–06, 2009— |
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|portrayer= [[Shobna Gulati]] |
|portrayer= [[Shobna Gulati]] |
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|home= [[List of Coronation Street residences and businesses#7 Coronation Street|7 Coronation Street]] |
|home= [[List of Coronation Street residences and businesses#7 Coronation Street|7 Coronation Street]] |
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|classification= [[List of Coronation Street characters#Present characters|Present; regular]] |
|classification= [[List of Coronation Street characters#Present characters|Present; regular]] |
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|occupation ={{nowrap|Shop assistant |
|occupation ={{nowrap|Shop assistant (2001–06,<br />2010—)}} |
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|spinoffs = "[[East Street (Children in Need)|East Street]]" (2010) |
|spinoffs = "[[East Street (Children in Need)|East Street]]" (2010) |
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|husband= [[Dev Alahan]] (2004–06) divorced |
|husband= [[Dev Alahan]] <small>(2004–06)<br />(divorced)</small> |
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|born= 1978 |
|born= 1978 |
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|father= Suresh Parekh |
|father= Suresh Parekh |
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Revision as of 21:01, 3 January 2011
| Sunita Alahan | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||||||
| File:Shobna gulati cs.jpg | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Shobna Gulati | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2001–06, 2009— | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 23 March 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Jane MacNaught (2001) Kim Crowther (2009) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | "East Street" (2010) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Sunita Alahan (née Parekh) is a fictional character from the British ITV1 soap opera Coronation Street, played by Shobna Gulati. She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 March 2001 and remained in the show until 2005, when the character was axed from the serial by producer Tony Wood. In 2009, Sunita returned to Coronation Street as a full-time character, reintroduced by producer Kim Crowther.
Sunita's storylines have seen her escape an arrange marriage, diagnosed with an aneurysm and a brain tumour, falsely imprisoned, held hostage, falling pregnant with twins and becoming a single parent after divorcing her husband.
Storylines
2001–06
Sunita calls her boss Dev Alahan and asks for help. She arrives in Weatherfield on 23 March 2001 after escaping her home days before her arranged marriage to Deepak. Sunita tells Dev that she does not want to marry Deepak and Dev agrees to let her stay until her flight for India has left. She explains to her parents Mena (Leena Dhingra) and Suresh (Kaleem Janjua) that she does not want to marry Deepak, but they dismiss her fears and tell her that she can either marry him or never see her family again. Sunita refuses to marry and decides to make her own future. Dev offers Sunita job at his shop along with accommodation, which she accepts.
Sunita begins dating Ciaran McCarthy (Keith Duffy), however Ciaran is arrested for being absent from the Navy without leave. When Sunita starts to develop feelings for Dev, Ciaran returns and they resume their relationship. Ciaran proposes to her and she accepts. Later, Ciaran decides he does not want to marry Sunita, but cannot tell her. Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) tells her that Ciaran does not want to get married. Sunita confronts him and he denies it, but she calls off the wedding. After, she dates Danny Baldwin (Bradley Walsh), but she ends it after discovering he is married.
Sunita later collapses and is diagnosed with an aneurysm and a brain tumour. Dev's partner Maya Sharma (Sasha Behar) becomes suspicious and breaks into Sunita's flat, finding a pregnancy testing kit. She then breaks in a second time and finds her hugging Dev, and assumes Sunita is pregnant, but Dev tells her about Sunita's condition. Sunita is shocked when Dev admits her loves her. She then has an operation, having her aneurysm and brain tumour successfully removed. Dev proposes to Sunita, which she accepts and begins planning the wedding. Maya breaks into Sunita's flat and steals her birth certificate and then marries several illegal immigrants, impersonating Sunita. When Sunita and Dev are celebrating their marriage, she is arrested for bigamy. Dev proves Sunita's innocence and she is released from prison, with Maya being arrested but released on bail. Maya then sets Dev's branch of convenience store's and takes Sunita and Dev hostage in her flat above the shop. Maya then sets the flat on fire, but Sunita and Dev are saved by Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward) and Ciaran. Maya realises they have escaped and attempts to run them over, but crashes and a truck crashes into her. She is later arrested and imprisoned.
Sunita is overjoyed when she discovers she is pregnant with twins. However, she learns that Dev has children by several different women who he has given homes and jobs to. She is devastated and leaves Dev after deciding she can no longer trust him. Sunita gives birth to baby twins Aadi (Zennon Ditchett) and Asha (Tanisha Gorey) in January 2006, with Dev by her side. She then leaves for Swinton, after informing Dev that she can never trust him again.[1] Off-screen Sunita divorces Dev, but they keep in regular contact.
2009—
In 2009, upon Dev seeing golfing associate Matt Davis with his children, Dev confronts Matt. Matt reluctantly tells Dev that he and Sunita are engaged and that Sunita was hoping to tell Dev herself. Infuriated, and possibly jealous, Dev goes to see Sunita. She is genuinely sorry that he has found out that way but assures Dev that Matt is not trying to replace him. Dev isn't convinced and confronts Matt in the following episode, accusing him of doing so. Sunita, very angry at him, orders Dev to leave. In 2010, Dev holds a party for the twins at his flat in Victoria Court. Sunita is pleased with the way he looks after the twins. Matt is jealous that Sunita is starting to feel something for Dev, which leads to him being suspicious of Sunita. Unable to bear Dev's presence in their lives, Matt and Sunita's relationship ends as Dev and Sunita become closer, resulting in them getting back together. Sunita is now regularly seen working and helping Dev in D&S Alahan's Corner Shop.
In May 2010, unhappy with Victoria Court, Sunita manages to convince Dev that they should buy No. 7 Coronation Street from Maria Connor (Samia Smith). Dev reluctantly agrees to Sunita's wishes and their offer on the house is accepted by Maria.
In August 2010, Sunita is horrified when she finds Aadi unconscious on the couch. She immediately rushes him to hospital, where they learn that a head injury is evident. Sunita and Dev believe that Claire Peacock (Julia Haworth), who had been babysitting Aadi, is to blame. After some nasty confrontations with the Peacocks, they are shocked when young Simon Barlow (Alex Bain) confesses that he was responsible for Aadi's injury. Sunita feels extremely guilty that they accused Claire of child abuse, but her attempts at an apology are quickly dismissed by Claire and husband Ashley (Steven Arnold), who are disgusted that the residents turned against her.
On 6 December 2010, a gas explosion at the Joinery bar causes a tram to derail and crash into the Corner Shop and The Kabin. Sunita, along with Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) and her baby son Jack are left buried under the rubble fighting for their lives. Sunita is then rescued from the carnage after Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly) finds her alive but with serious injuries. She makes a full recovery and returns home to her family.
Character creation and development
Introduction (2001)
On 12 February 2001, it was announced that Coronation Street would introduce a new Asian character named Sunita Parekh as part of an arrange marriage storyline.[2] It was revealed that former Dinnerladies actress Shobna Gulati would portray Sunita and appear in the show from March. Sunita was given an immediate link to established character Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) as she was an employee at his shop in Swinton. After the announcement of the character, the storyline caused criticism among the press for reinforcing negative racial stereotypes.[2] A Coronation Street spokeswoman, Alison Sinclair, defended the portrayal of the new character, commenting: "The arranged marriage storyline is just a device for pulling viewers in. We researched various storylines with the Asian community and this gives us dramatically best way forward. But then we move on from that." Sinclair also said that the show had been criticised in the past for not tackling issues of concern to the characters from the minority ethnic communities portrayed. Defending the storyline, Gulati added: "It's very brave to explore an issue a lot of people consider to be untrendy but it's prevalent and part of our culture." Despite the criticism, writer Yasmin Alibhai-Brown who has sat on a parliamentary committee investigating forced marriages in Asian communities, believed such issues should be tackled on screen. She stated: "I think these stories should be on a lot more but Coronation Street should have a whole range of characters. Most people who are running soaps are so narrow-minded, the only time they think of black characters is for stereotypical roles."[2] She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 March 2001, although her voice only was heard on 21 March 2001.[3]
In 2004 Sunita was part of a storyline in which she discovers she is suffering from a brain tumour and aneurysm.[4] The story was reported in tabloids prior to airing, with the storyline showing Sunita convincing herself she was suffering from migranes rather than get herself checked out.[4]
Departure (2006)
In September 2005, the Daily Mirror reported that Sunita could be axed along with nine other cast members as part of plans to reduce cast numbers.[5] On 20 September 2005, it was confirmed that the character had been axed, alongside Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle) and Jessie Jackson (Nailah Cumberbatch).[6] Speaking of the axings, producer Tony Wood said, "Shobna and Vicky are superb actresses who have proved extremely popular during their time on the show. However it is the nature of soap that characters come and go and the writing team and I felt that these characters had run their course for the time being."[7] Gulati said she was looking forward to a "great exit storyline" and it was confirmed that Sunita would not be killed off, leaving the door open for a possible return.[7] Sunita departed on-screen on 1 February 2006.[1] In April 2006, it was reported by the press that Gulati would return to the show, however it was revealed by a Coronation Street source that Sunita would only be mentioned in forthcoming scripts and would not be returning.[8]
Reintroduction (2009)
In May 2009, it was reported by The Sun that Gulati would make a "dramatic return" to the show.[9] A source from the soap said: "Talks have been going on for some time to finalise a deal acceptable to all those who are involved.[9] A spokesperson later commented: "Talks have been going on, but nothing has been signed and sealed."[10] On 16 May 2009, it was confirmed that Gulati would be reprising the role of Sunita.[11] Discussing her comeback, Gulati commented: "They didn't kill Sunita off - she went to live in her parents' house in Swinton with her and Dev's twins. Sunita's a heartwarming character and I'd like to see her come back as a mature woman - she has brought up two kids on her own and she's not a girl anymore."[11] Coronation Street producer Kim Crowther first hinted at a possible return for Sunita in an interview with entertainment website Digital Spy in the previous week.[12] She said: "We have a great new direction for Dev after Tara [Mandal]'s (Ayesha Dharker) exit. Further down the line, we build more family around Dev again and it might signal the return of some old faces…"[12] The character returned on-screen on 10 December 2009,[13] drawing 7.79 million viewers and 34.2% of the total TV viewing audience.[14]
References
- ^ a b Green, Kris (1 February 2006). "Sunita leaves Weatherfield". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ a b c "Asian runaway bride story 'not racist'". BBC Online. 12 February 2001. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ "Sunita Alahan - Corriepedia". Wikipedia. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
- ^ a b Green, Kris (09 June 2004). "Life of Corrie character hangs in balance". Digital Spy. (Hachette Filipacchi UK). Retrieved 2010-12-16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (17 September 2005). "'Coronation Street' cast cull planned?". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ Saney, Daniel (20 September 2005). "Three 'Corrie' stars face the chop". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ a b "Janice among trio to leave Street". BBC Online. 20 September 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ Green, Kris (20 April 2006). "Shobna Gulati returning to the Street?". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ a b Lee, Cara (13 May 2009). "Shobna's return to Corrie". The Sun. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ Green, Kris (13 May 2009). "Shobna Gulati to make Corrie return?". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ a b Green, Kris (16 May 2009). "Shobna Gulati's Corrie return confirmed". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ a b Green, Kris (8 May 2009). "Corrie producer offers character teasers". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ Green, Kris (10 December 2009). "Dev confronts Sunita about her engagement". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ Green, Kris (11 December 2009). "Sunita's Corrie return draws 7.8m". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
External links
- Character profile on the ITV website