Devika Chhibber
Everything, which begins, comes to an end for sure; similar was the case with ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’. 'Kyunki,’ which began in 2000, struck a chord with Indian viewers worldwide and gained popularity as an early Hindi soap. This show forced its way into our drawing rooms and generated big bucks. And now, after 8 long years and nearly 1500 episodes, the most popular television serial in Indian history finally took leave. So, is the saas bahu fixation no more a part of our lives? God knows….
Relationships are so simple and beautiful but we don't know why self-acclaimed Directors like Ekta Kapoor find pleasure in twisting it and spicing it up with funny family dramas and horrifying vampish characters. Hats off to the production house that believes in taking credit for such irritating serials. Thanks to our jurisdiction authorities who finally cleared the way for the execution of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. And, why do they keep such big names?
As 'Kyunki', finally bid farewell I was quite upset. Why? Oh come on! Not because the serial was coming to an end but because I was feeling sorry for myself. How could I have watched this serial continuously for 7 consecutive years? Thanks to my hectic schedule that I was unable to watch it’s ending. Otherwise, I would have regretted it all my life.
The Tragic plot
Kyunki… was the story of the Virani household, their trials and tribulations in life. The ideal Bahu Tulsi was one of the central characters, played by the very famous Smriti Irani. Then came the various generations, various vamps, and various enemies of the Virani family and with them various agonies and pain but the actual miss was a genuine storyline. Let's guess out a few plotlines----
The first twist came with the death of Mihir Virani the most loved and obedient son of the family. How could Mihir, the protagonist die? Almost every homemaker talked about him and his pregnant wife. His death was one of the most tragic deaths ever witness on the small screen and viewers reacted as if some beloved family member had died. Well finally the plot changed and Mihir came back with a new character Mandira (in case others might not know, she was going to be the other woman in his life). Till here the serial was going fine, but after this twisting and twirling plot lines fooled the committed viewers no end.
This, sensational case of pati, patni or woh, (witnessed in almost every ‘K’serial) gripped the boggled minds of TV serial watchers, who every night without failing sat in front of the idiot box to know more! For those lucky few, who do not know what I am talking about, here is a little insight.
Ms Ekta Kapoor, the queen of tearjerker sitcoms, three years ago, probably woke up with this brainstorm one morning (curse that day!) of starting a so-called saga about 'Saas' and their beloved 'Bahus'! Apart from the mothers-in-law and daughter-in-laws of course, there were hoards of other family members, who for some reason seemed to give a damn about government’s population policies! Well, you will know what I mean if you look at the ‘Virani Parivaar’ of the tragedy filled serial.
Now coming back to our current love triangle, which we can understand using simple tools of algebra, which goes on the lines of- A loves B and B loves A, but C loves A too….so what’s the end result? Answer: A viewer who is in desperate need of an Anacin! To make things a bit clearer: Mihir Virani, the all-good-doer and the apple of everyone’s eye, found himself engulfed between his one and only sweet heart wife, Tulsi and his new found well-wisher, Mandira. So, a fine shock it was indeed, when Tulsi discovers hubby dearest in the arms of the supposed-to-be-dead woman, whom she anyways despised, in the good old days, when Mandira was officially alive!! Series of tragedies followed and the Virani mansion was flooded with tears… … Blah Blah Blah…the list went on and on…I just couldn’t stand it!!
The same old story line (if you can call it a story) went on for weeks….Believe me, even if you went on a holiday and resumed watching the program after about two weeks…you would have missed nothing! It was a downright drag!! If you want to know what happened further, I’m sorry, I couldn’t bear to tell this anymore about the tearful melodrama.
If I am not mistaken, in its long span of 8 yrs, this great Indian family took two giant leaps with their second and third generations but the ladies of the household managed to remain gorgeous, young and trendy. And of course, Baa, the great-great granny just defied age and refused to die.
Some basic facts
Initially, the name for 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' was 'Amma'. 'Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' was the name registered by Actor-director Sachin Pilgaonker, who willingly gave the name to Balaji Telefilms. 'Kyunki' was added because of the ‘K’ fixation of Ekta Kapoor.
The famous Mihir Virani’s character was named after Ekta Kapoor’s school friend
Mihir Shah. Casting for Mihir’s character came down to two actors — Amar Upadhyay, who eventually played Mihir Virani (though was later replaced by Ronit Roy), and Cezzane Khan, who lost out to him but went on to play popular role of Anurag Basu in 'Kasauti Zindagi Kay'. Now coming to the heart of the serial, our favorite Tulsi was adopted from Harkishan Mehta’s work, Jad Chetan. The highest rating for the show (22.4 to be precise) happened when Mihir returned home alive. Ansh Gujral’s entry was the most expensive sequence in the show costing Rs 5 lakh.
An analysis
If you ask me that after seeing it for so many years how would I rate it then I am extremely sorry because I don't have anything positive to say about it but yes I can give a 10 page write up about its demerits. Being its viewer for at least 7 years, I would rate it very bad. Every character appeared manipulative, the ladies looked loaded in jewellery and costumes and cried at every turn of event.
With a distorted story line ‘Kyunki’ appeared a total mess. Characters kept coming back from the dead. The director mainly concentrated on using highly charged and emotional dialogues remix sound tracks from films and inches thick make up on the face of the vamps. Well, one thing was worth applause, the actors really worked hard to prevent signs of ageing. What more even the Saas at the age of 80 looked stunning and ageless, forget about the Bahus.
Generally, all husbands had extramarital affairs as if it was so difficult for them to keep hands off from other women. The face of Mihir used to change every season. And for a change Tulsi too changed, when Gautami replaced Smriti but again, Smriti was brought back after popular demand. Illegitimate sons appeared from nowhere and the women of the household were more interested in the family politics rather than taking care of their children. What I never knew was that plastic surgery appeared so easy and cheap that almost every other character went for it. This is one accepted science made popular by this serial. All thanks to Ekta Kapoor.
Well I just don't understand one basic fact that - When Indian women are moving shoulder-to-shoulder with men in their real life, then why are they moving backwards when it comes to reel life? Tulsi and Parvati (of ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki’) have gone through the worst and have thus been part of hit shows. Now, new Bahus like Bani and Saloni are going through hell and making people love their shows. Why are people encouraging the channels to produce such shows by viewing them and increasing there TRPs? Why regressive storylines, which depicts women as weak and helpless creatures who put up with all kinds of injustice?
Piece of advice
Today it’s the need of the hour that the television industry must look forward to issues, which bring awareness in the society rather than concentrating on making money. It's because of this that movie industry has moved forward, while the television industry has lagged.
We still have beautiful serials on television like 'Balika Vadhu', 'Saat Phere', and many more which coveys beautiful message. Therefore guys, it's time, we move forward and show the world that our TV serials too are actually part of the 21st century.
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