Bye Bye to two shows on Star Plus which I watched fairly regularly and enjoyed ...
Maryada, for its strong characterization, strong female leads and fantastic villain. Loved Devyani, Uttara, Vidya and Priya, liked Imli, absolutely loved Roshnee Devi and Brahmanand Jhakhar - their clashes were the highlights of the show. Fabulous acting, great screenplay for the most part and four strong parallel tracks, which were separate, yet interwoven, so that the screen space could rotate between all the actors. It helped that I had no favourites among the actors, and could enjoy all the tracks equally. My favorite was definitely the Vidya-Gaurav track when she discovers that he is gay and how she deals with it. Daksh Ajay Singh - another fantastic actor - his character was beautifully etched out - a thorough gentleman, so at variance with his earthy, rather rough appearance. He is an actor I will be looking out for - would love to see him again. Roshnee Devi - Mona Ambegaonkar was simply deliciously evil as the crafty cunning politician perpetually at loggerheads with the frankly evil Brahmanand Jhakhar. Loved her Hinglish attempts.
Sasuraal Genda Phool - a cute family show on the lines of previous comedies like Dekh Bhai Dekh and Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi. Initially I made the mistake of watching it expecting a love story =)) ... Suhana and Ishaan soon disabused me of that idea - zilch chemistry, and definitely not the stuff romantic couples are made of. Once I accepted that this show was a comedy, I loved it. My favorite characters - Badi Maa, Supriya Pilgaonkar, and Papa, Suraj Thappar. Tracks I loved and which hooked me to the show - the Radha Bua-Deepak track, and the Panna-Raunaq track. Loved the brother-sister acting of Inder-Panna, especially when Panna was in trouble with her in-laws, when her husband went missing - Inder was such a lovely elder brother, strong, silent, yet fiercely protective. Loved the way they showed Panna's MIL changing over time, till she ended up supporting her DIL over her son - but with very good reason. Again, acting of the entire cast was great. The family moments were lovely - the madcap Kashyap family and their antics. What I liked best was that they behaved like a normal family ... no secrets, isko mat batana, usko mat batana ... everything was shared and discussed by the entire family - like it happens in real life. Special mention of the 'Suhana has a brain tumor track' here - the entire family was told without a fuss, they all shared in the sorrow and the pain of anticipation, supported each other through all the tension of getting the tests done, waiting for the reports and the relief when the tumour was found to be benign. I compare it with the inane track in EHMMBH where half the family, including the real sister, still doesn't know about her sister's cancer, and feel like beating my head! Also had one of my old favorites - Mahesh Thakur, and the twinkle in his eye - he's a terrible single father, has brought up two completely spoilt daughters, but I still like him! Will miss the crazy Kashyap family - my regular watch while waiting for IPKKND to air.
Hello Hi to Phir Subah Hogi - haven't caught the show yet, but I mean to - it has one of my most favorite actors, an AWESOME actor Varun Badola - the guy is simply fabulous! And the show seems to be a serious one ... look forward to watching it. Have seen Narayani Shastri in a show earlier, she's not bad either, but the main draw for me is Varun. I remember when we were watching Koshish - Ek Aasha, halfway through, my husband asked me - is this guy really retarded? His acting was SO realistic and good. And of course, he was the hero - or anti-hero - of one of my all time favorite shows - Astitva.
Maryada, for its strong characterization, strong female leads and fantastic villain. Loved Devyani, Uttara, Vidya and Priya, liked Imli, absolutely loved Roshnee Devi and Brahmanand Jhakhar - their clashes were the highlights of the show. Fabulous acting, great screenplay for the most part and four strong parallel tracks, which were separate, yet interwoven, so that the screen space could rotate between all the actors. It helped that I had no favourites among the actors, and could enjoy all the tracks equally. My favorite was definitely the Vidya-Gaurav track when she discovers that he is gay and how she deals with it. Daksh Ajay Singh - another fantastic actor - his character was beautifully etched out - a thorough gentleman, so at variance with his earthy, rather rough appearance. He is an actor I will be looking out for - would love to see him again. Roshnee Devi - Mona Ambegaonkar was simply deliciously evil as the crafty cunning politician perpetually at loggerheads with the frankly evil Brahmanand Jhakhar. Loved her Hinglish attempts.
Sasuraal Genda Phool - a cute family show on the lines of previous comedies like Dekh Bhai Dekh and Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi. Initially I made the mistake of watching it expecting a love story =)) ... Suhana and Ishaan soon disabused me of that idea - zilch chemistry, and definitely not the stuff romantic couples are made of. Once I accepted that this show was a comedy, I loved it. My favorite characters - Badi Maa, Supriya Pilgaonkar, and Papa, Suraj Thappar. Tracks I loved and which hooked me to the show - the Radha Bua-Deepak track, and the Panna-Raunaq track. Loved the brother-sister acting of Inder-Panna, especially when Panna was in trouble with her in-laws, when her husband went missing - Inder was such a lovely elder brother, strong, silent, yet fiercely protective. Loved the way they showed Panna's MIL changing over time, till she ended up supporting her DIL over her son - but with very good reason. Again, acting of the entire cast was great. The family moments were lovely - the madcap Kashyap family and their antics. What I liked best was that they behaved like a normal family ... no secrets, isko mat batana, usko mat batana ... everything was shared and discussed by the entire family - like it happens in real life. Special mention of the 'Suhana has a brain tumor track' here - the entire family was told without a fuss, they all shared in the sorrow and the pain of anticipation, supported each other through all the tension of getting the tests done, waiting for the reports and the relief when the tumour was found to be benign. I compare it with the inane track in EHMMBH where half the family, including the real sister, still doesn't know about her sister's cancer, and feel like beating my head! Also had one of my old favorites - Mahesh Thakur, and the twinkle in his eye - he's a terrible single father, has brought up two completely spoilt daughters, but I still like him! Will miss the crazy Kashyap family - my regular watch while waiting for IPKKND to air.
Hello Hi to Phir Subah Hogi - haven't caught the show yet, but I mean to - it has one of my most favorite actors, an AWESOME actor Varun Badola - the guy is simply fabulous! And the show seems to be a serious one ... look forward to watching it. Have seen Narayani Shastri in a show earlier, she's not bad either, but the main draw for me is Varun. I remember when we were watching Koshish - Ek Aasha, halfway through, my husband asked me - is this guy really retarded? His acting was SO realistic and good. And of course, he was the hero - or anti-hero - of one of my all time favorite shows - Astitva.
Dia,
ReplyDeleteGlad u did this post...
Me too watched SGP quite regularly. Badi ma and Papa were my fav charaters too....I also liked Radha (Siddiqui is very gud actress...i remember her from Banegi apni baat days!!) SGP was the only other show that i have watched apart from IPK for a decent length of time, in recent times. The only time i did not like SGP was duing the Sona track(ishaan-Suhana mumbai track, which i gave the miss)
This show is special also becos i started watching IPK only becos of this show, it comes right after it....7.30 - 8.30 pm is manageable slot for tv viewing for me...(give or take a 15 min here and there
I tried to watch Maryada after reading ur posts...but the time did not suit me...but i am sure it must have been gud
I am also huge huge fan of Varun Badola, ( i even watched a dance show to see him (of course he was not that gud, tho his wife was grt(astitva is my all time fav, very realistic portrayal, i lost interest only during that age leap..got confused)
Narayani shastri, again has eyes that speak..not to mention her dusky looks that make her very attractive
I also remember Ajai sinha directed Harsh Chhaya and Seema kapoor/Shefali Shah (then Chhaya)'s serial hasratein. It was very promising serial tho again it lost its way later...Some gud old days before the ekta invasion. I stopped watching after that
Rekha,
ReplyDeleteYep, I didn't like he IShaan Sona Suhana track either - in fact all the Ishaan Suhana tracks were very average, I don't think either Ragini or Ishaan are great actors at all. By the end, Suhana's mannerisms and the fact that she is as clueless and dumb as ever, meant that she failed to amuse me in the slightest. I watched for all the other characters - all are much better actors than either Jay or Ragini, IMO.
Maryada was very good ... but it had its lean times too - there were times when I switched off from watching, and came back a few weeks later to find that the story had moved a lot! So when I get impatient with IPKKND< I remember that - Maryada was a very well made show, but even that had its off moments. The last few weeks were also very average, and the ending was not completely satisfactory. But all in all, it was good, and had some great tracks, and excellent acting.
I didn't see Astitva after the age leap ... moved countries and didn't have SP where I moved ... so I guess I saw the best part and didn't see the downfall. But whatever I saw, I loved ... especially the characters of Dr Simran (Niki Aneja) - she was beautiful, graceful and dignified to the core, and Abhi (Varun) was a slimeball and a heel, and was played so beautifully, you loved to hate him.
Hasratein was another good show - and very radical for its time. It had the woman engaging in an extra-marital affair, and being unhappy with her marriage. I did watch that for quite some time.
I have actually never watched Ekta shows - neither KSBKBT or KGGK, nor others - don't know names! I did see Kasam Se sporadically, and never understood what all the fuss was about ... :))
And yes, I love Varun Badola - have watched three shows of his purely by coincidence - or maybe because he was good enough to make them worth watching, or because he chose good shows to do :) ... Astitva, Koshish Ek Asha and Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand - the last was okayish, but it was the only show on tv in Malaysia, so I watched it and he was good again. He is a very good actor - one of the best I have seen on telly.
Yeah about Badola, do u know his father (Viswa Mohan Badola)is also an artist, who has worked in movies notably in Swadesh, Lage Raho Munnabhai...as also a serial Ek chabbi pados mein, which also had Varun in it..Tho i did not watch it..His father also acted in a serial which used to come on Home TV (Sahara took it over) loong loong back...i forget the name...it was a nice one..very funny...yaad aaye to batoangi...
DeleteIn fact, while watching Varun's father in Swadesh, my hubby remarked ."batao yeh person kiske tarah lagta hain?" or better still Batao, yeh kiske papa hain? I closed my eyes and said Varun...What sets apart Varun is his diction, his style of dialogue delivery --masterclass..
I also did not watch ekta shows becos couldn't relate to her characters at all..initially, i gave her soaps 15 days and then stopped watching and stopped totally so i don't know anything about her shows
Dia,
ReplyDeleteWathed Maryada initially in bits and pieces when the priya Aditya track was on - somehow the gruff Aditya character appealed to me. Then lost interest when it got a bit weepy.
SGP have again watched off and on in bits and pieces because of the nature of the story. A joint family that has its ups and down. Also a pretty realistic potrayal. It was more about teh sasuraal than the love story. Ishaan - teh actor's real time bro is the lead in Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha - a show on Colors whose promos keep grabbing my attention and I wish its timing were different then I may have watched. Bachelor and widow with 2 kids - lokks interesting. The actor has powerful eyes and is good at expressions too.
Thankfully never watched Ekta shows - too OTT; actually that is what attracted me to IPk in teh first palce- some good acting ;crazy fun moments; crackling chemostry and none of that OTTpana. The only other show I have mar mar ke watched was Mahi Way - I loved Mahi and her 2 friends. The character Shiv was good too.
The SGP replacement - sounds whacko too - should see how it lives up to expectations - will wait to here from you girls who may catch it while waiting for IPK.
I have started following Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha - it is really interesting to me.. a bit cringeworthy at times , but the guy and gal have a certain spark that is difficult to come by in normal shows.. and the love track, the whodunit track, the little kids.. altogether, much more happening than BV or SNS
ReplyDeleteI liked SGP for suhana.. her character I loved in the beginning, when she was struggling to adjust to the traditional household.. but then I got bored and left it.. fairly recently I started watching it again, but did not click.
ok..I think I have bid a hello hi bye bye to IPK for now.. let's see if things shape up around the ME and then I will do a maharun of all the previous epis...to see if anything's changing.. :) this type of disconnected script and story is not my cup of tea.. Haven't actually watched all the epis of this week, but thanks to this blog and your comments, I have a fair idea of what's going on and am not really loving it... thankfully, I am not as addicted to ArHi as I was to SG from MJHT..so it makes me easy to quit.. :) for now! @all.. I am still going to read the comments and comment once a while...but I am officially off IPK.. :)
ReplyDeletebut on a SN - I caught up with Phir Subah Hogi.. after all your raving about Varun in this post.. :)) have to say m damn damn impressed..all the actors are decent and nice..and the main actress is really good...I think I have seen her somewhere, don't know where! And don't even know her name... If she is a new comer, she is damn lucky to have got such a hugely female centric show...and she is doing complete justice to the character.. Narayani is good too.. and I can begin to understand why you are saying Varun is your fav actor.. :)) so fr all the characters have been well etched out.. :) please, please, start blogging about that too! It would be really nice to discuss.. :)
Madsiee,
DeleteNahiiiii!!!! - 3 camera angles; repeat shots of my shocked face and music echoes all around
You are Hello Hi Bye Byeing to IPK *sigh* - the latets spoiler sounds tempting - maybe give next week a try.
something more about PSH (Phir subah hogi) - http://india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2941256
DeleteMads,
DeleteOh the IPK magic is defi on the wane.....I had written y'day that tho i rant almost everyday i still have not been able to do that "muh pherna"
I 've never been attached to any fictional character in the past, ARHI got me involved and i find that i have to now know how these two will come together.....yes the track of late has been crazy.....so much so that we need posts, comments to keep the enthu alive....Sometimes when i read the Redux and such other posts, i wonder if the makers themselves think of their creation in the manner detailed in those posts
ARHI addiction has taught me not to get involved with a TV serial to such an extent ever again...its just not worth it esp when the TRP. Channel interference can ruin a potentially gud show...
writers dumbing down their creations, making a heroine unique and yet open to ridicule with her recent portrayal...Its Sanaya alone who can do justice to her role when even the writing is failing her.
Hope IPK can draw u back soon..mads...its a lovely story..I feel for the characters even with all the noise around it.
Tell us how Phir subah hogi shapes up. Incidentally the lead is a theatre artist, Gulki Joshi and this is her first teli show, she may have done some ad, so her face may be familiar.
Mads, I have finally figured out the timings of PSH here, so will start watching that regularly. If it strikes a chord, I will blog on that too, though maybe not in as much detail as on IPK.
DeleteFrankly, if it weren't for Sanaya, I probably would have stopped watching it ... I don't like brainless bubbly characters, I prefer my heroines strong and graceful and intelligent! Sanaya is the only actress who can make Khushi still likable in spite of her antics, and for her sake I still watch the show.
And Barun is good eye candy of course ... but unfortunately ASR is becoming like most other SP heroes ... passively accepting all the lies and shit doled out to him by the villain while we all wait for the SP heroine to clear up all the problems and be the real hero.
@sandy and rekha..yaar I think I don't have as much patience wrt TV shows as I had earlier! :S The thing is, I am as it is neck deep in work and when I look for some relaxation..this is what I get! And no..my idea of relaxation and fun is not mindless comedy..especially not an intense love story turned into a mindless comedy! If they would have promised it to be a light hearted comedy then it would have been fine! I would watch it for entertainment purposes...but that was not what it was about..atleast upto the holi episode.. it completely went downhill after that.. :( So that's why I will just take a break from it for sometime... I did read that new spoiler, it sounds very interesting and tempting...but then again, they do have the tendency to raise hopes and then shatter them without any remorse! :S so let's see, I will read all of your comments and reviews and then decide whether to get back to IPK or not.. :)
Delete@diya..I know what you mean about Sanaya! I think if I would have been watching it regularly like you over the past one year, probably even I would have felt the same! but I started watching midway, watched the epis at express speed ... heck, I haven't completely dissected the characters or the earlier poignant episodes with you all ... probably that's why its easy for me to quit! And you are right about ASR turning into a typical SP hero.. and thankfully for me, I am beyond the age when I would watch the show just for Barun's looks and SaRun's chemistry... which is why it is even more irritating to me!
as for PSH, I liked the first look.. had NO idea about the show - its theme/characters/actors etc.. so everything was a surprise to me.. but a good kind of surprise.. lots of symbolism and interpretation wrt lots of things there! For starters ... the title itself : "phir subah hogi" as in "there will be dawn again"?..or "....and (finally) there will be dawn!" I have read ppl's comments on IF.. many of them seem to think its the first .. for me it gave the impression that it is the second one.. :) anyway, you watch it first..then we can discuss, if you find it interesting enough, that is! :)
@rekha.. so the lead actress of PSH is a new comer! :) that surprises me even more..and she is a Marathi actress.. me likes! :D sure she is a bit raw and has room for improvement..but she has owned the character at the word GO..probably explained by the fact that she has been a theatre artist.. :) also, her raw looks fit in with the character of sugni.. :)
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