Mere Rang Mein Ranganewali - Looks promising!

Mere Rang Mein Ranganewali

Monday to Friday 7.30 pm only on Life OK.

Producer: Sooraj Barjatya

Cast: Pranali Ghogare, Samridh Bawa, Alok Nath, Renuka Shahane, Imraan Khan, Mahesh Thakur, Dolly Sohi, Suchitra Bandekar

Story till now: It starts one stormy night, when the lead protagonist Radha (Pranali Ghogare) enters her friend Esha's house completely soaked in the rain and confesses to Esha's mother (Renuka Shahane) that she needs a Divorce. What unfolds latter is the story of Mere Rang Mein Ranganewali. Set in the backdrop of Mumbai and Mathura, it tells us about Liladhar and Radha. 21-year old Radha is a carefree girl, born in Mumbai and dreams of becoming a successful actress and winning best actor award someday. It's her father's (Imraan Khan) wish to see his spirited daughter on big screen. Radha is overprotected about her little sister Rupa. While Radha is a bit liberal, 22-year old Liladhar (Samridh Bawa) aka LD as he is fondly called, is opposite to Radha. He belongs to a conservative family headed by his traditionalist grandfather Shankar Nath (Alok Nath). Shankar Nath does not approve of sending his grandchildren to study outside Mathura, whereas Liladhar's mother Sadhana (Dolly Sohi) is in support of it. Liladhar's father Govind (Mahesh Thakur) usually finds himself torn between his father and his wife, due to their difference of opinions. Radha and Liladhar's love story starts with a fight in their very first encounter. Due to a misunderstanding, Radha gets into an argument with Dadaji over Janmastami festival. This leads to the first fight between Radha and Liladhar. Enmities between them increase as each tries to outsmart other. Liladhar plans a fake wedding with Radha to take revenge on her. This adds a final straw to Radha's patience. Both of them realizes the seriousness of the situation. While Liladhar in due course accepts his mistake and falls in love with her, Radha is reluctant to accept her marriage and rejects him. LD leaves no stone unturned to convince Radha to accept their marriage but she refuses to do so.

What works: Introducing fresh faces, Samridh and Pranali add a charm to this love story. Newcomers, Pranali Ghogare and Samridh Bawa portray their character with ease and confidence. Rajshri favorites, Alok Nath and Renuka Shahane add weight to their role effortlessly. Alok Nath as usual is a natural playing the role of Dadaji. Renuka Shahane in a new look, makes for a refreshing change. Background and setting used with perfect locations, make the serial look genuine.  The sets used as Liladhar's ancestral home brings out the true Mathura lifestyle with minute detailing.

What doesn't work: Though we have seen love blossoming through hatred on numerous times, the incidents in which Radha and Liladhar try to up each other, are tried and tested so, no originality there. Also, it looks far-fetched that Dadaji can get upset with daughter-in-law for sending Liladhar to study out station, which is very common nowadays. Renuka Shahane plays a cameo but this talented actress could have offered much more to the show, than just being a sounding board to Radha.

Our take: The ones who love Sooraj Barjatya's families complete with big havelis and traditional backgrounds are surely going to enjoy this one too! Chemistry between the lead pair, Pranali and Samridh is amazing and they do a convincing job. It will be interesting to watch how this warring couple falls in love. Young viewers might relate to lead pair's bitter-sweet moments. As Rajshri's other offerings on big screen as well as small screen, there is something for everybody in their show and 'Mere Rang Mein Rangnewali' is definitely one of them!