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The serials I am talking about are of course, ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’ and ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, starring Parvati and Tulsi respectively as the bahu, saas, victimised, kali, avenger, heroine, and all that. It was a chance observation from my spouse that brought on this post.

The way I see these serials is that they complement each other and add things to each other (and I am not even talking about those 2 ridiculous episodes when they combined these 2 serials along with another one, Kayamath to have two 90 minute episodes where characters from all 3 serials acted (it was lucky that there was no actor common between these 3 serials).

Continue reading ‘Interaction Between The 2 Main K Serials on Star Plus’

This is a serial by Rajshri, and given that this serial is not from the K camp (Balaji Telefilms), the expectation was that the serial would be different from the regular saas-bahu stuff that happens on all the channels, and it was different. I liked this serial (although there were some episodes that I thought were slow and could have done with some effort to speed up things). I asked around, and looked at forum postings, and found mostly that people were appreciative of the serial. It has a nice sweet ring through the whole serial, and was nice.

The serial does have familiar elements that people find in other serials, such as a 20 year transformation happening suddenly; a saas who is a terror to her bahu (the saas is forever scheming of ways to get rid of her, including trying to burn her on a gas stove). And now relatives, who are also scheming of ways to get the family wealth.

Continue reading ‘Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki: Somewhat Different From The Others’

This is a programme that appears on 8 PM weekdays on Zee. Like most hindi serials, it has stretched too long and should have set a mission of ending when things seemed to be on a clear track, but apparently not. I remember a time on Doordarshan when serials were assigned 13 episodes, and then given extensions if required, but then came some soap operas such as Hum Log and Buniyaad that had open ended stories, meaning that you could stretch the serial for decades if you wanted. 2 serials, Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi and Kumkum on Star seem to be heading for that goal.

This serial also has the same standard things, a young idealistic sweet girl gets married into a rich family, and then has to suffer for some reason or the other. The plus points about this serial are that 2 newcomers, from the talent hunt Zee Cinestar ki Khoj have been selected for the main parts, the couple who are at the center of the who going-ons.

Continue reading ‘Banoo Main Teri Dulhan on Zee’

This is the popular 10 PM weekday serial on Zee. It also clashes with another programme on Star Plus, on the same theme (Betiyaan, Apni Ya Paraaya Dhan), namely that of a household having a strong patriarch (father) and of more daughters in the house than sons. And this in a household that values sons much more daughters. So, with 2 serials of the same nature, there was bound to be a clash, and it happened in the nature of a legal skirmish between Zee and Star before the serials started. Anyhow, there was an out-of-court settlement, and now both serials are ongoing.

Ghar ki Lakshmi Betiyaan is about the sexism that occurs in a number of families in India, and shows this in a form that is truly horrific. I don’t know whether the intention of the serial was to be so blatant about it, but the first few months of the serial were an absolute horror to watch, what with a father being so blatant about his preference for a son over the daughters that he has. He is shown favoring his son in everything and absolutely uncaring about the wishes of his daughters. Is this a realistic portrayal of things happening in India? In urban areas, among the families I have seen, I don’t remember any family having such a warped mindset, but with such prevalence of dowry and female infanticide, it is quite possible that such things happen a lot.

Continue reading ‘Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan‘

No, it does not mean that the serial will end. A serial, running at the prime time of 10 PM every day on Star Plus, is too hot an item to terminate. Putting a new serial in at this time would be like opening the slot for rivals to try and put something better on Zee or Sony to take advantage. But, if one looks at the serial, this is a good current position to try and bring the serial to an end.

For the past long time, the serial has been moving on the leg of one story, the conflict between Parvati/Janaki (Sakshi Tanwar) and Trishna (Mita Vashist). The current conflict has its roots in a story developing over the past several years in the serial. Parvati and Om (Kiran Karmarkar) had a happy marriage; then they suddenly revealed that Om had to get married due to circumstances to Trishna (she was mentally disturbed) and Om owed many debts to her father.

Continue reading ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki: A Good Place To End It Now’