I do not agree with much of what you have said...I do think u are being a bit judgemental especially when it comes to the views of the 'shippers'of a particular couple.
For one thing, the show has never run and never will run according to what a bunch of people from an online forum say...the makers are no fools and neither should you question the sensiblities of those 'teenage fangirls' you keep referring to since you really don't know them.
Your frustration regarding the show is understandable and the blame solely and solely lies on the makers.
Manik has been more of a leader always...he is not perfect, never has been and I certainly don't expect him to either.He has his share of flaws and so do the rest.He is too closed off, probably a result of his past experiences and he is extremely protective of his friends to the point of being acutely and unnaturally perhaps, selfless. It is always manik who has to rescue the others, it is always him who gets to shoulder the responsibility of his friends and them not being able to stand up for themselves on their own and when it's his turn, nobody is there for him...that is where I have a problem with the show.
As for Cabir and Harshad, I totally agree with you...I feel for Cabir,I really do because of his current situation.He is slowly growing up but Karma always has a way of catching up with you...look how he is being punished now for his past indiscretions.The very own tools that he used to mock others are now being used against him.
Speaking about Harshad, he has always been a grey shaded character...but off-late his obsession with defeating fab5 overrides everything good that he has ever done...him turning black from grey is not something that any of us wish for and the fault lies only in the creatives.
Coming to Navya...I'm surprised you find her to be a real character. I find Nandini much more real and wise...behind Nandini's sweet exterior lies a strong, resilient and vulnerable girl which is much more relatable than the insipid , dumb, naive to a fault and plain stupid characterisation of Navya.She is the most poorly-etched character ever.I would have still empathised ,if her character showed any growth but alas! She is portrayed as an absolutely clueless dumb-ass.
Nandini on the other hand, is much more worldly wise and mature.
Also, I have to disagree to your comments about chemistry...chemistry comes naturally, it comes with a good script and good acting.Manik and Nandu have always had that spark, that connection in them which Nandini and Dhruv lack. Chemistry doesn't come with kissing or intimate scenes, but comes with good execution. I am all for showing realism in the show but I do not understand how Nandini and Dhruv's coming together will enforce that idea.Dhruv doesn't understand Nandini as Manik does, Dhruv hasn't seen the vulnerable side to her, Dhruv isn't the one who Nandini finds both a physical and mental connection with and Dhruv certainly isn't the one who knows her deepest thoughts and feelings.
Dhruv's character was sweet initially but ha seen no growth over time.He is still as clueless he is about his friends as he is about Nandini.And speaking of Mukti, she sure has a lot of layers to her.She isn't just sleeping with people and partying her heart out...of late, we got to see her struggles with combating depression and heartbreak, her trauma, her nervous breakdown and the inherent goodness in her character that she tries to hide behind her tough exterior in her conversations with navya.
Alya and Manik's relationship disintegrated because of the evident lack of trust between them but it was evident that there were cracks from much before.What they shared wasn't true love in the avtual sense,their relationship was more of a relationship of convenience arising out of other's expectations partly and partly out of prolonged companionship.Manik did not share his deeest thoughts with Alya and neither did she.Their parting of ways was inevitable.
Finally, I do feel that cliched tracks take away the novelty of the show and neither the 'teenage fangirls'nor the 'general viewers'want that, I assure you.. We all love MaNan because they are beautiful, they are imperfectly perfect and they make the show even better than it already is. TRP is important and so are the youtube likes but one thing I can confidently say is that this show isn't blindly running behind either.Otherwise they could have made a Gopi bahu part 2 or a Naitik part 2...the fact that they are introducing tracks like homosexuality goes on to show that the makers are trying to do something different.
However, at the end of the day, this is still an Indian telly soap...letting go of all the common tropes all at once won't be easy and I fervently hope that the current track is just a bad phase in the history of the show.Like you, all of us enjoy something different, something unique, something that we can relate to ,something that we can go 'wow'at...be it the MaNan love story, the DhruLya friendshio, the RaghBir angle or the music that is integral to the show.