Lud, zbunjen, normalan
Lud, zbunjen, normalan is a Bosnian television comedy series that began airing in 2007. Since its debut, it has also been shown in Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia.
The series spans 12 seasons with a planned 300 episodes, aired from 2007 through 2020.
Synopsis
The show stars three generations of the Fazlinović family, all living in an apartment in Sarajevo. The oldest of the family is Izet Fazlinović. Izet has a son Faruk, who in turn has a son Damir. In season four, Damir's son Džebra is born. The show's title refers to the three main characters, with Izet being Lud, Faruk being Zbunjen and Damir being Normalan. The show's plot revolves around humorous situations involving the Fazlinović clan, their friends and co-workers.Later on in the series, Faruk leaves for Sweden, after which Damir's son Džebra, a student, becomes the normal one in the family. Izet stays crazy, while Damir is both crazy and confused.
Development
The first episode of Lud, zbunjen, normalan aired on 2 September 2007. The first five episodes were produced as a pilot for Bosnian public broadcaster FTV, but then Croatian commercial TV station Nova TV joined to produce the show, then the crew was ready to begin production. Beside producer Davor Pušić and Mirsad Herović, very important production whole in process of making had Jasmin Duraković, who was at that time general manager of FTV. He made the decision for the beginning of production and made a cast with Mustafa Nadarević and Senad Bašić. Another important player for this project was Siniša Svilan, who was the director of the programme. Nova TV, who commissioned TV rights for the Croatian territory and provided production to make the first season. The first season had 40 episodes, the second had 32 episodes, and seasons three and four each had 24 episodes. The fifth season, which aired in 2012, had 16 episodes and the season six had 9 episodes before the series was canceled by FTV.A seventh season was announced though, and began airing on 3 November 2014.
In 2015, the Bosnian broadcaster changed to the commercial television Face TV and started broadcasting the 7th season regularly from 4 April 2015 at 8:00 PM.
In 2016, series screenwriter Feđa Isović stated that after 264 episodes, the series was supposed to end, but in 2018, Isović announced that a new 36 episodes were planned to be made. The 265th episode aired on 17 February 2020 on Nova BH, with Bašić leaving the series.
In April 2020,the screenwriter Feđa Isović announced that the series will continue after 300 episodes with at least 3 seasons planned.
Episodes
264 episodes were filmed, but in 2018 it was announced that a new season with 36 more episodes was to air sometime in 2020, although one of the three main characters, Faruk, portrayed by Senad Bašić in all the previous series, won't be present in those new episodes. The 265th episode of the series aired on 17 February 2020.Cast and characters
Lud zbunjen normalan employs an ensemble cast. Three generations, later on four, of the Fazlinović family all live in a Sarajevo apartment. The oldest of the family is Izet Fazlinović. Izet has a son Faruk who has a son Damir and he has a son Džebra. The show's title referred to the three main characters, with Izet being Lud, Faruk being Zbunjen and Damir being Normalan. The show's plot revolves around humorous situations involving the Fazlinović clan, their friends and co-workers. Later on in the series, Faruk leaves for Sweden and Džebra joins Izet and Damir as one of the three protagonists, becoming the normal one in the family. Izet stays crazy, while Damir becomes both crazy and confused.The series also featured a number of guest stars. The series featured Enis Bešlagić as Đenis Đenis, a rockstar; Samir Fazlinović, Izet's nephew from his late brother, played by Emir Hadžihafizbegović, who later was promoted to a regular on the show.
Popular balkan singers that had a guest appearance on the show are:
Al' Dino, a recording artist; Sejo Sexon, member of the rock group "Zabranjeno Pušenje", who is good friends with Faruk; Tifa ; Nagib who came to Faruk to record a song and Nina Badrić, came to Izet to record a song.
Protagonists
- Izet Fazlinović - Izet is a widower in his mid seventies, who was orphaned as a child. He is a staunch communist with Titoism leanings, as he always asks Tito for help while looking at his picture, but is nonetheless greedy and unwilling to work for money, preferring to run scams. Izet often threatens to kill people "like rabbits". Izet is constantly yelling and browbeating everyone around him to great comic effect. In addition he makes outrageous claims. He is considered the show's breakout character. The character is a parody of many of the elderly citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, most of whom are nostalgic about when Bosnia was a part of the SFR Yugoslavia.
- Damir Fazlinović - Damir is Faruk's son and only child as well as Izet's only grandchild. He was the result of a one night stand which occurred in the bathroom of the Cafe San Remo on its opening night in 1985. His mother abandoned him with the Fazlinović family and briefly returned in 2008. In spite of this he is the only normal and well balanced member of the family as well as a medical student at the University of Sarajevo. He represents the countries youth, or more specifically students, caught in madness of conflicting social currents. A running gag on the show is his attempt to lead a normal life in spite of his abnormal relatives.
- Džema Branko Fazlinović/Džebra - Džebra is Damir's and Barbara's son, Faruk's grandson and Izet's great-grandson. He does not like go to school and first went to school with his great-grandfather. He has already outgrown his peers. Damir and Barbara originally wanted to name him Dražen, but Izet got involved, so he was named Džema Branko instead. He is referred to as Džebra, a mix of the names Džema and Branko.
Other cast and characters
- Faruk Fazlinović - Faruk is Izet's son and only child. He works as a music producer and owns a fledgling studio where he works. The character parodies another stereotypical remnant of Yugoslav era as he represents the generation that was the urban youth revolving around Sarajevo's burgeoning rock scene, that is now on the brink of financial downfall in post-war Yugoslav societies where only turbo-folk musicians tend to be more well off. Faruk's involvement in the scene is often emphasized by celebrity appearances of rock musicians who all seem to know Faruk back then. A running gag on the show was his tendency to sleep all day and stay up all night. He had to contend with all his father's neurotic browbeating. The actor left the series in 2018, and there were be no new actors to replace him in season 11. His last appearance was in episode 264.
- Jelena Fazlinović-Janković - She is Izet's daughter. Her mom was Izet's girlfriend and she was called Persida Janković. Jelena's mother dies and Jelena comes to Sarajevo to find her father. She is sexually active like Izet, but sleeps like her half-brother Faruk.
- Dragan Čmar/Zoran Čmar - "Čombe" - Čombe is an intellectually challenged, albeit a nice and kind character. He has a lot of ideas but they never end up going the right way. He is a passionate musician, but is a terrible guitarist and singer. For a long time every episode would end with Čombe either terribly singing, or with him talking on senseless TV-shows or radio talk shows. He was initially called Dragan Čmar, but in an episode he changed his name to Zoran.
- Barbara Fazlinović - Damir's ex-wife. Actress who puts her career first. She is arrogant and self-centred, doesn't care much about other people. The character is a parody of region's new go-getter youth. Her first appearance was in Episode Tripl Randevu as seller in jewelry store.
- Samir Fazlinović - Izet's nephew from his late brother. A notorious scam artist who always cheats the people he does business with. He is a parody of Bosnia's stereotypical unscrupulous micro-businessmen. A running gag on the show is the fact that every time that Izet, Faruk, Damir and later on Džebra do any business with him, they are always scammed.
- Šefika Rondić - Šefika is a maid who works for the Fazlinovic family. Her job is complicated by the family's dysfunctions, especially Izet's constant sexual harassment and attempts to lower her pay. She quits her job because Izet's constant sexual harassment and was replaced by Rabija in the first episode of the second Season. She comes back to the Fazlinović home in season 11.
- Enes Hadžiethemćumurović - Enes is the Fazlinović's next door neighbor. The character is a parody of corrupt and smooth talking politicians. His last name is also a parody of post communist politicians in Bosnia because it is long, has obscure origins and religious overtones. He makes numerous references to an unnamed political party of which he is a senior member. He frequently charges personal expenses to the party's accounts and has ripped off the Fazlinović family on at least one occasion. The party also "helped" Enes to earn a law degree in 2007 though he rarely finds the time to practice law. Enes had a romantic relationship with Šefika and,in the second season,with Rabija and he recruited Izet into his party in an attempt to lure elderly voters. The attempt backfired because of a sex scandal caused by Izet. Izet calls him dugonja because of his tall stature. The actor died on 11 July 2009, and it was decided no new actors will replace him further on in the series. His last appearance was in episode 71.
- Dr. Điđimilović - - Dr. Điđimilović is a psychiatrist and a longtime friend of Izet. The doctor is often called in by Izet to help with the family's problems which both medical and personal in nature. A running gag on the show is the fact that many of the medical problems that Dr. Điđimilović is called to treat are misdiagnosed prior to his arrival, so he ends up dispensing advice for a problem that does not exist, such as Faruk's bestiality and Damir's impotence. The actor died on 6 September 2009, and it was decided no new actors will replace him further on in the series. His last appearance was in episode 72.
- Ivana - A secretary at the music studio owned by Faruk. She more or less ran the studio. The actress left the series with her last appearance in episode 55. The character was said to have moved to Germany.
- Dino Mujkić - Sound technician at the studio. Obese and inept. His portrayed as stupid even buying Izet's VW Beetle for 4,900 Bosnian Marks and paying 4,000 Marks to Samir for a driver's licence which has someone else's name and photograph on it. The actor left the series, with his last appearance in episode 63. In the first episode of season 3 he died after too much eating, and in the same episode was his funeral.
- Stjepan Mrvica - Former owner of the Cafe San Remo which is a popular hang out for the show's characters. He tried to sabotage San Remo with Samir, but they failed. His last appearance was in episode 69 explained by his fallout with his wife Marija.
- Marija Šarafova - Stipe's former wife who also works at the cafe. After many years of marriage Marija schemed to divorce Stipe and take control of all his assets. To accomplish this she enlists her lawyer/lover and recruits Enes to represent Stipe in the divorce proceeding with the agreement that he would lose the case.
- Selma - A waitress at the Cafe San Remo. After finishing college, she became the secretary at Faruk's studio after Ivana went to Germany.
- Rabija Bubić- "Rapka" - The family's new maid, who Izet handpicked himself. She's a very nice girl, a great cook, and is a workaholic although for 300 Marks. But, in episode 95, she quits her job after the old vacuum cleaner exploded, and, as she said, there is nothing that works in Izet's house.
- Dr. Đuro Ubiparip - Gynecologist and Izet's long-time friend from Belgrade.
- Bećir - A gay pop recording artist. He came from Zagreb to Sarajevo due to personal reasons. His first appearance was in episode 78.
- Mentor Kosova - Mentor Kosova is a Co-Owner of Faruk´s Video Production. He's a Kosovo Albanian, and has pride for Kosovo. He became very angry, when Faruk compared a schnitzel that Mentor brought to him from Kosovo to Karađorđeva Šnicla, and a salad from Kosovo to Shopska salad, due to the Serbian and Macedonian names of those dishes. Later in that episode, Mentor wanted to have a picture of Bill Clinton in Faruk's studio, due to Clinton's advocation for what was the NATO intervention during the Kosovo War.
- Zumreta Bubić- "Zumra" - The family's third maid, which replaced her sister Rabija. She is very primitive, and has a typical country accent. She was fired after peeling some potatoes with a used shaving razor.
- Sanela Hadžimuftezović - The family's fourth maid, which replaced Zumra. She's considered to be beautiful and sexy, and the family is always trying to take a look at her buttocks and her breasts. Her brother is a Sarajevo mafia member Pajser.
- Milan Čmar-"Kufe" - Čombe's and Fufe's brother. He came to Sarajevo after having lived in the United States for years. He's pretty much exactly like Čombe and Fufe. He and Mentor Kosova quickly become friends, despite the conflict between their ethnic groups in Kosovo. The character only appears in season 6. He appears in the other seasons only in flashbacks.
Recurring appearances
- Mariofil Marija's second husband. A lawyer. First appearance in episode 52.
- Spomenka Izet's neighbor and occasional lover.
- Senka - Senka is house-sitting for Spomenka while the latter is out of the country. She is also involved with Izet.
- Ana Izet's new girlfriend, after Senka and Spomenka left him.
- Alma - Damir's first girlfriend. Met her in a library in episode 2.
- Ines - Damir's ex-girlfriend.
- Mirna - Damir's new girlfriend. She left him in episode 71 for a misunderstanding.
- Tanja - Faruk's ex-girlfriend.
- Senada Fukić-Fazlinović - Faruk's new girlfriend, after he broke up with Tanja. Faruk married her. She left him.
- Đido Mova - A detective Faruk hires to investigate Senada's new "relationship".
- Reufik Mujkić - "Refko" - Dino's brother who used to live in Zagreb, but came to Sarajevo for Dino's funeral, and stayed in Sarajevo. He worked as a sound technician at Faruk's studio, and Čombe and he later had their own senseless nighttime radio show. The character was introduced in the first episode of season 3.
Episodic appearances
- Đenis Đenis - He is a famous rockstar that came to Faruk two times to record a hit. Izet got involved and his plan failed.
- Stefanel - A recording artist who came to Faruk once to record an album.
- Ranka - Ranka is Izet's dead wife. She has her life savings that are hidden. They are called "Crni Fond" and they are hidden somewhere in the house.
- Nevena - Damir's mom that abandoned him when he was a baby.
- Mahmut - A wealthy religious musician who came to Faruk's studio to record some muslim religious songs.
- Murga - police inspector.
- Nada - Damir's professor.
Celebrity Appearances
- Hanka Paldum - Came to Faruk to record a song in Izet's dream.
- Nina Badrić - Came to Izet to record a song.
- Elvir Laković Laka - Came to Faruk to record a song.
- Mladen Vojičić "Tifa" as himself, came to Faruk to record a song.
- Sejo Sexon as himself. A member of the now-disbanded punk-rock group "Zabranjeno Pušenje", he is good friends with Faruk in the series.
- Nagib - Came to Faruk to record a song.
- Al Dino as himself.
- Deen - Came to Faruk to record an album.
- Rambo Amadeus as himself.
- Bakir Hadžiomerović as himself.
Controversy