Dear Mrs. Diya Singh,
As you may perhaps already know by now, many of us ardent fans of JJKN are EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED AND DISHEARTENED by the entry of Ms.Shilpa Saklani-Agnihotri (SS) into JJKN.
As one of my friends on this forum says, this is the DEATH-BLOW to JJKN. We are not joking. We, at IF, have stood by JJKN through its worst days—the 5 August wedding fiasco, the Nainital track, inconsequential characters like the Oberois…..we have defended it against the people who left no stone unturned to lambast the show after Purab was sidelined. Those people criticized the show and its characters in the most vicious terms and it was our group of IFians who actually picked fights (and got into trouble for violating the Forum rules) to defend our beloved show.
You may think we are getting too emotional. Perhaps we are. But I would just like to tell you the reason why we still love JJKN.
And that reason is—the mindblowing, phenomenal chemistry between Jassi and Armaan—lovingly called JandA by us—or, in other words, between Apoorva and Mona. Each and every scene of theirs has been lovingly recorded, posted online, made into breathtaking stills, commented upon in glowing terms, and cherished by the members of IF. We are willing to sit through every illogical twist and turn only for some JandA moments.
Now the show is closing shop; we want to treasure these last few days where we can still see JandA. You have said in an interview that you may cast MandA (Mona and Apoorva) together again in a show—however, it may be some time before that materializes, if at all. But in the meantime, we want to remember JJKN for the GREATEST COUPLE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF INDIAN TELEVISION . And if Mr.Agnihotri's spouse is present at the JJKN sets I doubt if our memories of the show will remain sacred.
I want you to answer this question, TRUTHFULLY (you can give a confidential answer to our friend who is visiting your sets): IS YOUR LEADING ACTRESS MONA SATISFIED WITH THIS DECISION? Does she have no doubts at all that her chemistry with Apu may suffer because of the presence of his spouse on the sets? Who suggested the name of SS? Was it Mr.Agnihotri himself? It is natural on his part to suggest his wife's name—but is it really good for the serial?
Ms.Diya, you may think that the introduction of SS will raise the show's TRPs by allowing you to capitalize on SandA's (Shilpa and Apoorva) so-called Hottest Couple Tag. But let me give you LOGICAL reasons why it is a BAD IDEA:
It has to be accepted that JJKN will not get new viewers at this stage. That leaves only the possibility of getting back old viewers by this move.The people who stopped watching the show long back (after the makeover, Purab's death, 5th august) are not going to come back NOW when is ending. They may be fans of SandA but they can watch them in Nach Baliye 2 or at parties and award functions, together. These viewers are self-professed JJKN-haters: nothing you do will bring them back on the show.
That leaves us, who love the JandA pair and have resolved to stick with this show to the end. And let me tell you that NONE OF US LIKES SS. All of us hold different opinions about her acting abilities; the point is that her very PRESENCE will intimidate MandA from giving their best in romantic scenes. Also, it is a proven fact that Ms.SS is very possessive and does not even like her husband to socialize with his female co-stars, and drags him away when female fans approach him for an autograph. We have members here who have first-hand experience!
Given these circumstances, I have apprehensions that this move will lead to STRAINED RELATIONS between your lead pair. And that will show on screen. The media may not tell us everything but we , the fans, observe more than you realize. The strain between MandA was, in fact, evident in the March 13 scene where jassi comes to meet Armaan at Dhanraj fashions. It was supposed to be a warm, reassuring exchange between JandA—but many of us sensed and commented immediately that they just seemed to be going through the motions. And we are sure that this move has a lot to do with it.
I sincerely appeal on behalf of all IF-JJKN members to SERIOUSLY RECONSIDER YOUR DECISION. It is not too late—there are many talented actresses out there who would be delighted to be a part of the JJKN family. Anybody please, but not SS! If the entry of SS spoils the JandA chemistry, you may just find that instead of gaining viewers, the show LOSES the ones it already has!!
Sincerely,
Anjali.
P.S. I would be extremely grateful if you could show this letter to Mr.Agnihotri. Some portions of it may pinch him; but he has to understand that apart from his loyalty towards his spouse, he also has some commitment towards his fans.
Arjun
Cricket
Indian Mythology
