A Missed Opportunity - Page 2

Originally posted by: EkPahelii

Chances are, if you grew up in the early 2000’s in India, you grew up watching the K shows and Kyunki no doubt is the mother of ‘em all.

So, after it was first announced that it’s getting a reboot, I was not exactly thrilled. Because those who followed the show in the first season remember, by the end of it we simply wanted it to end ourselves, although not that randomly and haphazardly out of the blue one fine day but that ship sailed.

It didn’t exactly help that the disaster that was the KZK reboot just added to the dread of what unholy, unhinged monstrosity Ekta was about to unleash again.

Then the news of much of the original cast including Smriti Irani, Hiten Tejwani, Ketaki Dave and most surprisingly Amar Upadhyay, are about to reprise their roles comes out and things start looking up.

Sadly, it seems like the joke is on poor audience again, because this reboot despite having the brilliant cast that created magic onscreen all those years ago so far is a dud.

Ekta had such a fantastic opportunity to get Tulsi to play Baa 2.0, now the matriarch of the family and how she guides her own DILs through their own journeys with their kids and especially their DILs.

But strangely, Mihir is supposed to have a new love interest, AGAIN, so down the drain goes everything.

It seems in a bid to make the original lead pair younger the makers have forgotten their own story. They have forgotten that Anupam and Kesar had 3 daughters, two teens and a preteen, who were briefly shown when Karan started living with the Kapadias for a while. And that by the time the show ended, season one had so many leaps that Karan and his generation were shown as parents to kids in their early 20s. So stands to reason, even if they were younger than Karan, those kids would have been adults if Karan’s stepdaughter who was born much, much later had also been married by the end of the show.

Mihir Tulsi were grandparents to ADULT grandchildren by the end of the show.

Not only is there a disconnect with the original show in a lot of ways but the new generation sucks too. There’s hardly any chemistry between the new generation’s lead pair - Vrinda and Angad; Pari comes across as a daughter of Trupti or at least Mohini more than any daughter raised by Tulsi and the cherry on top of the disaster that this cake is, that Mihir Virani, now a certified GRANDFATHER (despite not a single grandkid appearing onscreen so far in this season) is the object of obsession of a single, desperate, moronic woman AGAIN. A NEW ONE!

Because god forbid Tulsi gets an opportunity to rest on her laurels and relax about women being obsessed with her husband even in this age - after Payal, Mandira, Meera, now it’s Noyna. And to make things worse and icky, this one’s got a cheerleader at home in the form of Gayatri who is trying too hard to live up to her real name made infamous by the KZK vamp Komolika but manages to come across as pathetic, disgusting and cheap more than anything else.

All in all, so far, I can’t imagine what prompted Ekta to make this show again as it’s killing the nostalgia and the charm of the show that at one point of time had the whole country mourning for the death of a fictional character and weeping alongside his pregnant wife who had just been widowed.

I couldn’t agree more with you, and honestly, this reboot feels more like a tragedy than entertainment. Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi wasn’t just another TV serial, it was a phenomenon. It was the show that had families across the country glued to their screens, that made audiences cry for Tulsi as if she were someone they knew, and that gave them characters who, despite all the melodrama, felt like a part of their own lives. That kind of cultural impact doesn’t come around often, and when news of a reboot broke, there was at least some cautious hope that this legacy would be treated with the care and dignity it deserved.

The original show worked not just because of its writing but because of its powerhouse cast. Smriti Irani as Tulsi became the beating heart of the Virani family, embodying both strength and vulnerability in a way that connected instantly with audiences. Amar Upadhyay’s Mihir gave the character its strong foundation, and it was during his tenure that the unforgettable “Mihir death track” aired, an event so impactful that it stopped the nation in its tracks. Newspapers covered it, fans held protests, and the outcry was so overwhelming that the character had to be brought back. Later, when Ronit Roy stepped into Mihir’s shoes, he didn’t just continue the role, he carried it with such gravitas and emotional depth that he became inseparable from the character in the audience’s memory. Together, Amar and Ronit ensured that Mihir Virani would remain one of the most iconic figures in Indian television history but from my personal perspective though Amar laid foundation Ronit lived that character and I liked Ronit better than Amar.

And part of what made season one so impactful was the sheer caliber of its actors. Many of them trained theatre artists. Ketaki Dave (Daksha ben), Apara Mehta (Savita), Sudha Shivpuri (Baa) brought stagecraft, timing, and emotional range that gave their characters authenticity and depth. Their delivery, their silences, and even their exaggerated reactions carried a certain truth because they were rooted in performance craft. That theatre influence is one reason Kyunki felt larger than life yet relatable at the same time.

And the ensemble was nothing short of extraordinary. Hiten Tejwani and Gauri Pradhan as Karan and Nandini created one of television’s most unforgettable love stories. Sahil Virani by Sandeep Baswana, added sensitivity to the family dynamic, while Gautam (Sumeet Sachdev) carried the weight of Tulsi’s son through his turbulent arcs. Damini, brought to life by Riva Bubber and Ganga played by Shilpa Saklani was the emotional anchors of the family and DIL's who brought quiet resilience and warmth.

The antagonists, too, were iconic. Jaya Bhattacharya’s sharp and unforgettable Payal, and Mandira first played by Mandira Bedi with her deceptive charm and later by Achint Kaur, who gave the role a fierce, commanding edge remain etched in television history.

And coming to season 2 , What viewers have been given so far in the reboot feels like a pale shadow of that legacy. Instead of honoring the journey of these characters, the makers seem obsessed with dragging them back into the same repetitive cycles, old love triangles, tired rivalries, and endless twists that feel hollow now. Nostalgia can only carry a story forward for sometime and beyond that, it’s the heart and soul of the writing that has to sustain it, and sadly, that heart seems missing.

One of the biggest missed opportunities is Tulsi’s role. If there was ever a natural, powerful direction for this reboot, it was in showing Tulsi as the new Baa. The matriarch of the Virani family. Smriti Irani today has the maturity, presence, and emotional depth to carry that role beautifully. She could have guided the family with the same strength, compassion, and fire that once made her iconic in the first place. It would have been such a moving progression, Tulsi, who once fought tooth and nail to keep her family together, now leading a new generation of DIL's through their own battles. That would have been growth. That would have been honoring the legacy. Also they could have restarted S2 from Tulsi finding long lost son of Karan Nandini (Parth). S1 also had a character Sugandi who was introduced in last episode - adopted daughter of Tulsi and Mihir. Probably she would have been love interest of Parth. S2 could have stitched all those loose but as audience we dont even know at which point have makers rebooted this story.

Instead of continuation from S1, we got a reboot where Mihir is once again caught in the web of a new obsessive woman. After Payal, Mandira, and Meera now it’s Noyna. The irony is painful. This tired trope doesn’t just make Mihir look weak and repetitive, it also undermines the deep, soulful connection he once shared with Tulsi. For fans who had once wept with Tulsi at Mihir’s death, who had watched their love endure every imaginable storm, this storyline feels less like drama and more like betrayal. It’s as though the makers themselves don’t remember what made Tulsi and Mihir such a timeless couple in the first place.

And then there’s the issue of continuity. By the time Kyunki originally ended, Mihir and Tulsi were not just parents, they were grandparents to fully grown grandchildren. Viewers had watched generations of the Virani family grow, falter, and rise again. That was the beauty of the leaps the show took. It made them feel like they had truly lived with these characters across decades. To suddenly wipe all of that away, resetting the timeline as if none of it ever happened, feels careless and disconnected. If the makers really wanted to focus on fresh stories and younger love angles, they had so many options that would have made sense within the legacy. Karan’s children, Gautam/Sahil's family, or even a completely new branch of the Viranis. Tulsi and Mihir could have stood tall as the dignified elders, shaping and guiding, instead of being thrown back into recycled conflicts.

The new generation doesn’t help either. Vrinda and Angad lack the kind of spark that makes audiences root for them. Pari feels like a stranger in Tulsi’s household, as though she was raised by Trupti or Mandira rather than the Tulsi. The rest of the characters come across as flat sketches, exaggerated for drama rather than fleshed out as real people. It’s as if the makers are banking entirely on nostalgia but nostalgia without meaningful storytelling doesn’t last.

What made the original Kyunki resonate wasn’t just its over the top drama or shocking twists. It was the emotions at its core. It was the idea of family, the relationships that reflected households across the country, the heartbreaks and reconciliations that felt so deeply human even in the most dramatic of settings. That soul is missing now. This reboot doesn’t celebrate what these characters once meant to people, it reduces them to pawns in shallow, recycled story lines.

As an audience I had hoped for Tulsi and Mihir to evolve with grace, to be shown as dignified pillars of a family that has grown through decades of trials. Instead, they have been forced back into an endless loop of the same betrayals and obsessions, robbing them of the growth they deserved.

In trying to revive its past glory, Kyunki is instead unraveling its own legacy thread by thread, twist by twist until all that’s left is nostalgia without substance. And that, perhaps, is the greatest tragedy of all.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

I do believe that the show did reveal that Mihir was drugged by Mandira, Mihir is not completely guilt free for what he did but at no point was he leading Mandira on nor did he ever pursue any relations with her beyond the one time that lead to her conceiving Karan.

Yes, Mihir is initially not interested in fathering Karan, in fact he doesn’t even acknowledge him as his son though he never backs out of fulfilling any responsibilities and duties he might as a father to a certain extent. Karan is not exactly a child he wanted or even asked for, but yes, later their relationship was mended once Tulsi accepted Karan and he started living in Shanti Niketan.

However, the fact that’s not sitting well with me is not what happened in the past, it’s the present. Gayatri seems to have a problem with Tulsi and even at this stage it seems like she would be more than thrilled if Mihir were to replace her with another woman. It comes across as if might actively encourage Mihir and the other woman herself if it were possible.

Of all the things in the world, that’s a low that’s beyond reprehension for anyone let alone a woman. Especially a woman who is playing the “saas” of another woman who is supposed to be at least in her 60’s if not older.

The problem with this season beyond the confusion and the blah new generation which lack chemistry and acting chops, is that yet again it’s about EMAs, and this time of a man who is clearly a grandfather for crying out loud. It’s beyond pathetic and stupid not to mention disgusting that the reboot of one of the most iconic shows of the country has to go down this road. Again. Especially since we have seen this play out before already, multiple times in the previous season, with at least 3 different women, 4 if you consider Juhi Thakral as well who was fake Tulsi briefly.

Originally posted by: EkPahelii

I agree it’s a bit confusing regarding what time period they’re going for here to begin with, because there have been way too many leaps in the original season to make an accurate prediction.

Most of the original kids aka Karan and his siblings are just out of the picture, it’s a surprise in and of itself that Nandini is still hanging around but we hardly see any mention of Gautam, Saahil and all the other cousins that were on the show back then. It’s like all of them have magically disappeared and are not to be spoken of again anymore. So that confusion already doesn’t sit well with the original viewers who are already tuning in for the nostalgia or closure or both.

Then they go ahead and bring old wine in a new bottle all over again with the idea of a single woman being infatuated with Mihir, as if other men don’t exist in the world or at least the Virani family is simply something beyond comprehension. It doesn’t help that the way Gayatri keeps on rage-baiting Tulsi implying that once a cheater always a cheater is such a cheap thing IMO. It’s as if the show has forgotten its own canon and it’s ensuring Mihir also forgets his own traumatic experience and history by being too much of a gentleman to Noyna. I mean it was already established that while Mihir technically does cheat on Tulsi and fathers a son with another woman, he doesn’t do it intentionally nor willingly. Mihir was literally drugged by Mandira who then went ahead and took advantage of the situation, forced herself on him in that state and got pregnant, leading to Karan’s eventual birth and his absolute disdain and disgust for the woman he loved and worshiped once when the truth is finally exposed.

It was Mihir’s good intentions, his nobility and to some extent gratitude towards Mandira that she saved his life that led him into that trap in the first place. Initially he had no idea how to reveal the truth of her being alive to her brother and everyone else and once she had conceived his child it was too late for him to do anything as that would’ve opened a can of worms he wasn’t willing to deal with. And I believe, now in hindsight with a bit more age and experience as well as understanding on my side, that partly that had to do with his own traumatic experience of being assaulted by Mandira. Like what would’ve he done to explain that? Men can be exploited but it’s not easy for them to even admit that such a thing exists much less that they can be victims of it because that’s how it is in society. Since we are not sure of what the timing is here regarding anything, but even if we assume that Mihir was assaulted say in the late 1980s or early 1990s, given that the show began this season by celebrating Mihir Tulsi’s 38th wedding anniversary, Indian society was not having that conversation back then, I doubt any society on the planet was for that matter no matter how liberal and progressive. So Mihir hiding everything related to Mandira was not just about guilt, but shame, confusion and trauma thrown into the mix too, but at this point its ridiculous that he is being too naive and not maintaining a healthy distance with any woman who happens to be single given his multiple experiences with single women who get too close for comfort.

I don’t even understand him fawning over Pari and adoring her the way we never even saw him with Shobha. I would have honestly understood this attitude a lot more if Shobha had been the daughter, given that Gautam had been kidnapped as a child. Shobha was the only child he had until Harsh happened and there were a couple of years between them as it is. Fathers already have a soft spot for their daughters and in the absence of the son who was kidnapped, it would have made sense if Mihir spoiled Shobha silly as he poured all the love meant even for Gautam into his relationship with Shobha but this girl, it baffles me to no end why Mihir seems so much like a pushover when it comes to her. Not so much because she’s an adopted child but because we see no basis for his behaviour for the same, which not only makes it more frustrating but also annoying to endure let alone watch.

I completely disagree with the concept of Mandira drugging Mihir. It was not shown in original storyline. If you rewatch Kyunki episodes 562 and 563 on hotstar, Mihir himself admits to Tulsi, “Naa chahte hue bhi Mandira mujhe apni duniya mai le chali. Mai naa kehkar apne aapko bacha sakta tha, par mai naa nahi keh paaya.” This clearly shows he was in his full senses, aware of what was happening, and not under any influence.

Before this ONS, Mandira attempts suicide and he actually calms her down. Just to calm her down he says "I love you Mandira". Though mandira manipulated Mihir with her words, faked her illness - Mihir was in his full sense when he committed this sin as per narrative. He succumbed to weakness or rather temptation.

He even tries to frame it as his majboori, but when Tulsi questions if it was really majboori, he had no answer. He was guilty to answer her question as he knew he committed a sin in his full sense. Mihir had the choice to refuse, but he didn’t. Mihir was not guilt free and the blame doesn’t lie with Mandira alone; Mihir is equally responsible for what happened. I just re-watched the episodes to reply

On Gayatri, though, I agree with you partly. However she was always on and off with Tulsi, and I would consider that as character core since the beginning. So her having issues with Tulsi even now isn’t surprising for me. The problem I have is how it’s being shown. Earlier her opposition came from ego, insecurity, or her need to assert control. Now it just feels exaggerated, almost cartoonishly spiteful, like she’d actually celebrate Tulsi being replaced. That undermines what was once a layered character and makes the storyline feel repetitive and regressive, especially with the writers dragging extra marital affairs back into focus yet again.

And you’re absolutely right about the problems in S2. The new generation lacks chemistry, and instead of building fresh storylines, the writers have once again fallen back on extra-marital affairs. But this time it’s even more unconvincing, because Mihir is a grandfather now. Watching them recycle the same EMA tracks we’ve already seen play out with Mandira, Meera, and even Juhi as fake Tulsi is just lazy writing. For a reboot of such an iconic show, it’s honestly disappointing that they couldn’t come up with anything better.

Originally posted by: adeela

They mentioned that Gautam-Damini, sahil and ganga are settled in the usa .only karan-nandini and shoba came to india for tulsi and mihir's wedding anniversary, and then returned to the usa . However ekta brought karan-nandini back to the show due to public demand. Currently nandini is tulsi's only supporter and I am sure karan will join them soon.

Ah, must have missed that bit but that still comes across as such an obligatory thing to do. Besides it seems just so weird. Kyunki, Kahani had messed up families, an understatement really, but a joint family was still shown regardless. Yeah, in Kyunki after a point, Mihir’s cousins and even his younger brother all but disappeared but the family still had a full house going with the new gen kids. This time around it seems like just to keep focus on all the adopted kids the older kids have been made to disappear. And even though they all seem to have moved on to the US, besides the few scenes of Shobha with Karan and Nandini, the rest are MIA.
Just weird.

Lazy writing is the most accurate description of this season.

Not only are they recycling the old plot again, but there seems to be no coherent narrative to explain the point of reviving the show again either. I know Ekta mentioned wanting to see Tulsi as a mom but then what exactly was she to Gautam, Shobha, Karan, Saahil, Harsh, Ansh let alone to almost all her DILs barring Trupti and Mohini. And those two were rotten apples so they don’t even count!

Mihir being so easily manipulated by Pari who uses her “I am not your real child” excuse with fake tears is getting really annoying to watch. Not even sure what to make of the whole Angad Vrinda situation here. Gayatri again seems to be the only one who might have an issue when they go official owing to her classist attitude because I hardly see anyone else having any issues to object to their match.

This time around the show seems rather bland and pointless.

Originally posted by: EkPahelii

Ah, must have missed that bit but that still comes across as such an obligatory thing to do. Besides it seems just so weird. Kyunki, Kahani had messed up families, an understatement really, but a joint family was still shown regardless. Yeah, in Kyunki after a point, Mihir’s cousins and even his younger brother all but disappeared but the family still had a full house going with the new gen kids. This time around it seems like just to keep focus on all the adopted kids the older kids have been made to disappear. And even though they all seem to have moved on to the US, besides the few scenes of Shobha with Karan and Nandini, the rest are MIA.
Just weird.

They were the leads of the 2nd Gen. The fact that Karan Tulsi also went onto become an iconic mother son pair despite not sharing blood also helped cement their legacy.

The new generation unfortunately lacks the same charm and there’s no connection that’s felt between Tulsi and even a single new kid among the 3. Worse, Pari playing Mihir just makes you dislike her at the drop of a hat. It seems like she’s set on filling the vacuum left by Ansh, Bhoomi and to a certain extent, the initial days of Gomzi all by herself and doing an excellent job so far at it. As in, if she happens to get dumped by her husband, thrown out of Shanti Niketan while at it as well and end up disappearing completely, not a single person would feel bad and miss her.

Originally posted by: EkPahelii

They were the leads of the 2nd Gen. The fact that Karan Tulsi also went onto become an iconic mother son pair despite not sharing blood also helped cement their legacy.

The new generation unfortunately lacks the same charm and there’s no connection that’s felt between Tulsi and even a single new kid among the 3. Worse, Pari playing Mihir just makes you dislike her at the drop of a hat. It seems like she’s set on filling the vacuum left by Ansh, Bhoomi and to a certain extent, the initial days of Gomzi all by herself and doing an excellent job so far at it. As in, if she happens to get dumped by her husband, thrown out of Shanti Niketan while at it as well and end up disappearing completely, not a single person would feel bad and miss her.

It’s an astonishing combination of poor acting, lazy writing and non-existent chemistry all at once for an iconic brand such as Kyunki. Heck, even comic characters and villains of season one were better actors than the current lot, and these are the main leads!