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Star of BBC's A Suitable Boy admits they felt cheated by ending

The actor plays Haresh in the drama


suitable boy ending© Photo: BBC
Francesca Shillcock
Senior Features Writer
August 24, 2020
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A Suitable Boy fans will no doubt be eager to settle down and watch the ending play out on Monday evening as the final episode of the drama airs on BBC One.

MORE: Fans on edge of their seat watching A Suitable Boy's penultimate episode

WATCH: BBC's A Suitable Boy trailer

While the ending of the programme is yet to unfold, the plot from Vikram Seth's epic novel left many a little disappointed - including one of the stars from the drama (warning: potential spoilers ahead!)...

MORE: Who is A Suitable Boy star Tanya Maniktala?

haresh suitable boy© Photo: BBC

Namit Das as Haresh in A Suitable Boy

At the end of the novel, which happens to be one of the longest written in the English language, protagonist Lata ends up going on to choose the more "suitably boy" Haresh to be with, despite being in love with Kabir. The actor playing Haresh Khanna, Namit Das, told Indian publication Mid Day that Vikram's ending left him "cheated". He admitted: "I questioned it myself when I first read the book in 2015. After 1,500 pages you feel a bit cheated with the ending."

Despite the ending, the book received high praise from critics and fans alike at the time of publishing, it's perhaps unsurprising that many watchers at home can't help but draw comparisons to the novel. And it seems that the programme has proved just as, if not more, well-received.

suitable boy© Photo: BBC

The BBC drama has had viewers hooked

One person tweeted: "So I am (re)reading #ASuitableBoy and think the series is doing a very good job within (regrettable) constraints. Sure, no very long asides on the zamindar system, shoe making, music etc., but the detail is hinted at, the tone is right & the dialogue spot-on - some of it verbatim."

Another commented: "Having read the book about seven times and then watching this as a series adaptation, #ASuitableBoy is worth the watch. Skipped a lot of parts from the book, but the thing worth commendable is the Indian Classical background score which brings everything together beautifully."

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