Posted:
Hi everyone,
So I just heard about the RumYa story finally being established (courtesy of pritzz ❤️ thanks!) and ShivIka taking a backseat, and I just have a bit to say about it.
This is not an attack on Gul Khan or her team, but rather, just a mere opinion of a frustrated viewer that the masses are indifferent too.
Ensemble casts are difficult to maintain.
I, for one, absolutely love ensemble cast productions. But, I've worked in theatre productions before, so I can relate to how tough it is for every character to get adequate attention, as such.
However, extensively thought out and well-planned, I think that ensemble casts are fantastic.
Indeed, some of the most successful shows and films on TV have ensemble casts. I'm thinking productions like Friends, The Office, He's Just Not that Into You, even bollywood films like Dus Kahaaniyaan and Life in a Metro. These masterpieces have left a lasting mark in the history of the cinematic world.
We've seen Gul Khan's attempt at ensemble casts before, the extremely praised, Qubool Hai. And I agree, the concept behind the show was intelligent and overall, it was very successful.
When we first started watching it, we were subjected to many stories; Asad and Zoya's love story, Ayaan and Humeira's love story, the tension between Rashid's old family and his new family, Tanveer and her villainous endeavours, the brotherhood between Asad and Ayaan, Najma - Nikkhat and Nuzhat's respective stories, and so many more (the list could just go on!). But in the end, we were left with half-baked plotlines, and the only one that was really done justice was Asad and Zoya's story. The other characters were left quite high and dry, and we didn't get much insight, let alone closure, with their stories'.
Moving onto Ishqbaaaz, I think that Gul is making the same mistakes.
While not extremely original, the premise of the show was quite interesting and the ensemble cast immediately drew me in.
I quickly fell in love with ShivIka, and grew a soft spot for RumYa as well.
And, to be very honest, I was extremely happy with the progression of the ShivIka track. Saying that though, I've always expressed disappointment with the lack of focus on the other character's.
After Ishaana took a 'break', I was quite sympathetic towards IshKara fans - I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to not see your favoured couple on screen for weeks on end. But, after hearing about the ShivIka sideline, I'm empathetic to their situation. I think that this news is what has finally triggered this post (I've been considering writing about this issue for a while.)
There's not any character on the show (with the exception Roop and Gayatri TBH) that I don't like. I love the idea of these different personalities that we can see onscreen and I applaud the CV's for sketching character profiles like these.
However it makes me really upset, because I realise that none of these characters are really being done any justice.
For Shivaay - what happened to the strained relationship between him and his parents? Why aren't we getting insight into any of that? Also, does he not go to work at all? Where is the corporate setting that we were shown in the promos?
Omkara - Where is his new lead? What happened to his drug addiction? When are we going to get more insight into his strained relationship with Tej?
Rudra - When do we get to see a more intense side of him? Does he not go to college anymore?
Annika - SO MUCH FOR HER. What happened to her fear of darkness? What happened to Sahil's custody case? What about Sahil's operation? What's the deal with Chutki? When do we get to know anything about her past?
Saumya - I know Gul is finally starting her track but still, why 100 episodes in? Does she not go to college? How does she run her Love Angel from her laptop, without even an antennae? How did her brother die? Who is her mother?
Priyanka - If she's younger than Rudra, doesn't she go to college? What happened to her social anxiety? If she's best friends with Annika, why do they not have any scenes together?
Tej - Does he not go to work anymore either? What about his affair with Svetlana? What about the intense change in his character?
Shakti - Why is he being portrayed so extremely shadily if we're not getting any insight into it? What the secret that he has been hiding for years on end? Does he not go to work either? What happened to the family-loving, serene Shakti we met in the first episode?
Jhanvi - What happened to her drinking problem? How did her relationship with Pinky go from hate to love? How does she feel about the affair? Has she forgiven Tej?
Pinky - What happened to the pretentious, money-hungry woman we met in the first episode? Why did she go from wanting to destroy Jhanvi, to becoming her marriage counsellor?
Tia + family - Why was she seedy for one episode and then a saint after that again? Why doesn't Robin approve of this wedding? Why wasn't Tia's desperate mother at the wedding that she had so unceremoniously demanded and manipulated into happening? Who was the masked man that Tia was talking to?
Ridhimma - What happened to her media-hungry alter-ego that she hid from Om? Is she suddenly a humanitarian after Ishaana's exit?
Romi - Why hasn't she existed for a million episodes? What's her big secret?
Gayatri - Is she just out to ruin the Oberois for Ashok's death? How is a woman who is so poor, so resourceful with the attainability of bombs and ammunition? Who is her inside man that she teased in one episode?
Roop - What's the deal with her husband? What did she really do to the family? How did she even meet Gaythri? How did she leave jail, without her husband, who was apparently serving the same sentence as her?
Svetlana - Does she not exist anymore either? What happened to her evilness that we saw in the promos? Does she even have an affair with Tej anymore?
You get my point.
I think the issue is, that even with so many promising plotlines, we have little insight into the characters after 99 episodes. And even with all these characters, why are there multiple cameos being brought in?
I just don't think Gul can do justice to her ensemble casts.
An ensemble cast is supposed to have multiple stories happening at the same time, not have specific focuses on certain ships, and stories. Why can't RumYa and ShivIka happen at the same time? I understand that portraying so much in a twenty minute episode is difficult, but it irks me, because some days, OmRu have two lines each, and ShivIka get twelve minutes just dedicated to them. Ensemble casts are hard to maintain, but they are also quite plausible if done well.
Balance is key.
If Gul or her team is reading this, I want to praise you on your characters and their promised stories.
All I ask is that you please do justice to them, because Ishqbaaaz's fans don't want these brilliant personas ( and their equally talented actors) getting lost in the crowd.
Apologies if I hurt any sentiments because that wasn't my intention!
Cheers,
Innika
Current Affairs
