Posted:
Thank you Ariyadasa...you may not know it but your post inspired this...
I know the end of any and every show spells heartbreak for its fans...the clamour for a Season 2 always erupts...nothing new there..
Yet, KTLK has not been a usual soap...at least it did not start out that way...it has had a tumultuous journey, seen many ups and downs, been plagued by one constraint too many...and yet the fact remains that this show has had deeply touching moments too,,,magical moments that have made it possible to digest even the worst.
Given this, I thought it would be interesting to answer a question here..
Why does this show mean so much to you? Why do you love it so much? I already had a poll on most hated moments. Feedback includes both positive and negative. So, what was this wonderful quality of the show that kept you captivated all along? I am not talking about actors, their chemistry or the romance. I am asking you to go beyond that, I am asking for core values of the show, core elements that made it what it is!
Let me make a beginning!
The biggest reason why the show kept me interested for the most part was its attempt to explore human relationships and emotions in a subtle, realistic fashion. The characterizations were not over the top. They seemed like you and me! Instead of focusing on mundane kitchen politics, the mainstay of most shows, this one attempted to look at finer emotions, complex relationships and and even some really relevant social issues. It may not have wholly succeeded, it could have done so much more and yet, the fact remains that it tried. You got to give it to them for at least trying when most people would prefer to play it safe. That in itself is a big thing in today's context.
I know that TV is all about women but after a very, very long time, here was a male character that actually had depth and complexity. He was gloriously imperfect and contradictory, not painted in monochromatic shades.Just today, TOI carries a report on that universally loved literary hero, Mr Darcy. Women across generations have voted him as their most favourite character ever. Ashutosh is no Mr Darcy and yet he ranks up there with him for me. The character caught my fancy, fired my imagination as no TV character has done in recent times. He compelled me to love him, to look at the story's events from his perspective and to root for him all the time.
Nidhi, in my opinion, is the character that the writers have been most unfair to. The character had so much potential as those who have seen DK will agree. Yet, in KTLK, they just did not let her grow and flourish the way she ought to have. She could have been so much more and yet, they did not let her achieve what she could have. That is truly a pity. And yet, she was a spunky, cheerful girl and fighting spirit was her best character trait as I saw it.
I know that this show is about Ashutosh and Nidhi, Yet two other characters made me cry for them. One was Mallika on her wedding day. She made me cry for what she could have been, for how she had allowed her life to be ruined by unrequited love, how a sophisticated and dignified woman had allowed her obsession to turn her into a scheming shrew who was devoid of compassion! Although, Mallika as a character was mercilessly butchered eventually, I still recall that sophisticated woman of Episode 1. She was a woman of class who was unfortunately stripped of it.
The other character was Khushi. I know people cried on account of Khushi and not for her. But that moment when she asked Ashutosh to surgically reduce the size of her stomach, she said it with the innocence of a child. It was not a calculated move intended to have maximum impact. In that moment, she became the face of the hundreds of thousands of abandoned and orphaned children across the world who are denied of their right to basic sustenance. She made me feel for them all, my tears and and sense of helplessness and anger was for them all.
In essence, while it was not a neo-realist masterpiece and was essentially just a feel-good show, KTLk did show glimpses of very real and raw emotion. Granted they were not pretty or even appealing and yet, they were honest for the most part!
So, it is a thank you from my side to the KTLK team for keeping things real for the most part, barring all the lack of medical and other logic. Thank you for touching a deep chord within me, for leaving me with lingering memories of beautiful moments. Thank you for giving me yet another fictional hero to fall in love with! One who still seemed so real that I almost reached out to touch him!
That's about it from me! Hope to hear your reasons and thoughts too!
