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TV Series Review: Plot ko laut aane do- Pyaar ko ho jane do
Ekta Kapoor is on a roll! With shows launching on every major GEC over the past two months, television's Miranda Preistly has been busy. Amongst her hot off the stove offerings is 'Pyaar Ko Ho Jaane Do', which airs on the beleaguered Sony TV Monday to Friday at 9 pm.
Pitched as a show about a couple who have drifted apart while handling family responsibilities, 'Pyaar Ko Ho Jaane' do promises a rekindling of romance and intimacy in a marriage.
The story features yet another 'mature'/ thirty plus couple, the current favourite Balaji theme after memory loss and reviving dead people. PKHJD opens with the Hooda family that eats, prays and stays together in their rather humbly named Hooda Mansion. They build defence equipment for the army, are expectedly wealthy, and passionate about their 'paranthas'. The Hooda parivar has the senior Hoodas, who are parents to two girls, one in designer dresses with Daddy issues, and another who is the comic relief of the show, predictably fat and hence, free to be ridiculed. Completing the picture are Grandma Hooda, the not so prodigal son, Siddharth and their household son-in-low Kukuji.
At the nerve centre of this family are Mr. Hooda's nephew, Ishaan and his wife Preet, Mr. and Mrs Incredible who spend their every minute looking after the family's needs. Evidently the Hooda's are either lazy or inefficient, because the senior couple can't take their medicines without Preet zooming in with her super bahu cape. While everything seems peachy perfect in their little mansion, it's rather quickly revealed that Ishan and Preet have nothing incredible happening in their own lives.
The baggage they both carry from their pasts has not allowed them to make room for each other and quite expectedly they have never been intimate with each other. EVER. Wow some self-restraint there Preet, given how her husband is attractive in such an obvious kind of way. Ishaan has a dead ex-wife, whom he claims to be mourning while Preet has lost her family and been molested, a rather traumatic but more believable backstory to explain her intimacy issues. She is brought home by Mr. Hooda, who is her father's friend and has been living with him ever since. She is soon joined by Ishaan who is invited to stay after his entire family dies in an accident, leaving only him and his daughter. The Hooda's decide to get the two married for the sake of the little girl, but they remain her parents, never indulging in anything more than a handshake.
Just when you thought that the two will slowly but surely fall in love and do more, there was a rather publicised twist in the tale. Ishaan Hooda is actually Rizwan Khan, an agent from the 'padosi mulk' (neighbouring country). He conveniently assumes the identity of Hooda senior's nephew who is actually dead and plants himself in the family to obtain military secrets that will help his 'mission'. Err, what??? Suddenly we are in a muddle between a drama, a thriller, a love story and a family soap.
In an age when one can't be invisible no matter how hard you try, here is a family who has never seen how their cousin/nephew looks in 30 plus years. No social media profile, no online photographs, no professional mentions, nothing. How amazing is that? While one understands him losing his entire family in an accident, did their house burn down, taking with it all photographs and documentation? After finding his estranged nephew of so many years, why isn't Mr. Hooda even a little curious to know how his erstwhile brother's family looked? Before going undercover on this rather damp squib mission that involves poking around safe vaults and filing cabinets, why doesn't Ishaan/Rizwan do a background check on his fake dead wife? Or better still cook up a backstory and character profile for her? Is he naive enough to believe that no one connected to her can ever pop in for a cup of tea? Instead as the current track shows, he is completely flustered when his former in-laws make an entry just as he and Preet were beginning to romance over lentils.
The show is building up towards a major high point on the 26th of January, where Rizwan has big plans after which he goes back to his home country. While the date is India's republic day, it also happens to be Ishaan and Preet's wedding anniversary and his last day playing Ishaan Hooda. The current track has Ishaan and Preet's romance simmering with an Indian intelligence officer, his ex-wife's parents and his personal guilt creating performance anxiety. Will Rizwan triumph over Ishaan or will Preet's love steer him away from his terrorist identity? How will Preet react when she realises that the terror attack which killed her family involved her husband as well? How will the family react when they realise that their beloved nephew is actually a wanted terrorist? These are questions the show is building towards, answering in the next couple of months to come.
Iqbal Khan, playing Ishaan/Rizwan is a good looking man with a great voice and the camera loves him. He is also a seasoned actor, trying very hard to keep his character afloat over the choppy waters of the script. However, it seems as if his character is not getting the right direction it should. It's unbelievable that a man who has fooled an entire family for four years can get so uncomfortable by just meeting an Indian intelligence officer. It would have been far more interesting to give his character grey shades, like Saif in Kurbaan who was sinister yet human but always smooth, never causing suspicion of any kind. In the process of keeping him honourable, he is reduced to look amusing in situations. His outrage at innocent people dying, his aversion for bomb explosions and his issues with violence completely dilute his dual identity that could have created great drama and a riveting character. It's also unclear exactly what his role is. Is he a spy, an informer or an armed terrorist?
Mona Singh rescues Preet from becoming yet another idealistic Bhabhi, bringing pathos, vulnerability and realism to an already exhausted soap opera role. While we know about her tragic past, there is very little revealed yet about what she did before she arrived at the Hooda's. Given this is a Balaji show, it won't be surprising if she ends up being an Indian counter agent, in Mr and Mrs Smith style. In the meanwhile it's a delight to watch such a natural and effortless performance and one hopes to see more of her on the small screen.
In spite of being riddled with soap opera stereotypes, the show is still light and fresh on the eye, thanks to some new faces in the cast and a more realistic treatment. The dialogue is thankfully bereft of any Bhojpuri twang or literary Hindi, and except for the padosi mulk neighbours who pepper their interaction with urdu-esque words. It's a relief to see characters act and dress normally minus mile-long sindoor streaks and banarasi pallus.
The lead pair is a delight to watch, and their crackling chemistry helps to distract from the glaringly visible holes in the plot. It is still early days for PKHJD, and hopefully the writers and creative team of the show will be able to create a more cohesive storyline and finalise a genre for the show. Also, the revelation of Ishaan's character seems rather premature for a daily soap. It will be interesting to see how the show sustains itself without losing its likeability along the way.
While the terrorism angle does strike a poignant note in the current scenario, one wonders what would have happened if PKHJD had remained what the promos promised. A realistic romantic drama about a couple finding love again after drifting apart under the everyday pressures of a marriage Simple, relatable, and fun to watch. Watch PKHJD for its good looking hero and talented leading lady who make it an entertaining albeit clumsily told story. But before it's too late, plot ko bhi laut aane do. Pyaar, well that will happen any which way
Pitched as a show about a couple who have drifted apart while handling family responsibilities, 'Pyaar Ko Ho Jaane' do promises a rekindling of romance and intimacy in a marriage.
The story features yet another 'mature'/ thirty plus couple, the current favourite Balaji theme after memory loss and reviving dead people. PKHJD opens with the Hooda family that eats, prays and stays together in their rather humbly named Hooda Mansion. They build defence equipment for the army, are expectedly wealthy, and passionate about their 'paranthas'. The Hooda parivar has the senior Hoodas, who are parents to two girls, one in designer dresses with Daddy issues, and another who is the comic relief of the show, predictably fat and hence, free to be ridiculed. Completing the picture are Grandma Hooda, the not so prodigal son, Siddharth and their household son-in-low Kukuji.
At the nerve centre of this family are Mr. Hooda's nephew, Ishaan and his wife Preet, Mr. and Mrs Incredible who spend their every minute looking after the family's needs. Evidently the Hooda's are either lazy or inefficient, because the senior couple can't take their medicines without Preet zooming in with her super bahu cape. While everything seems peachy perfect in their little mansion, it's rather quickly revealed that Ishan and Preet have nothing incredible happening in their own lives.
The baggage they both carry from their pasts has not allowed them to make room for each other and quite expectedly they have never been intimate with each other. EVER. Wow some self-restraint there Preet, given how her husband is attractive in such an obvious kind of way. Ishaan has a dead ex-wife, whom he claims to be mourning while Preet has lost her family and been molested, a rather traumatic but more believable backstory to explain her intimacy issues. She is brought home by Mr. Hooda, who is her father's friend and has been living with him ever since. She is soon joined by Ishaan who is invited to stay after his entire family dies in an accident, leaving only him and his daughter. The Hooda's decide to get the two married for the sake of the little girl, but they remain her parents, never indulging in anything more than a handshake.
Just when you thought that the two will slowly but surely fall in love and do more, there was a rather publicised twist in the tale. Ishaan Hooda is actually Rizwan Khan, an agent from the 'padosi mulk' (neighbouring country). He conveniently assumes the identity of Hooda senior's nephew who is actually dead and plants himself in the family to obtain military secrets that will help his 'mission'. Err, what??? Suddenly we are in a muddle between a drama, a thriller, a love story and a family soap.
In an age when one can't be invisible no matter how hard you try, here is a family who has never seen how their cousin/nephew looks in 30 plus years. No social media profile, no online photographs, no professional mentions, nothing. How amazing is that? While one understands him losing his entire family in an accident, did their house burn down, taking with it all photographs and documentation? After finding his estranged nephew of so many years, why isn't Mr. Hooda even a little curious to know how his erstwhile brother's family looked? Before going undercover on this rather damp squib mission that involves poking around safe vaults and filing cabinets, why doesn't Ishaan/Rizwan do a background check on his fake dead wife? Or better still cook up a backstory and character profile for her? Is he naive enough to believe that no one connected to her can ever pop in for a cup of tea? Instead as the current track shows, he is completely flustered when his former in-laws make an entry just as he and Preet were beginning to romance over lentils.
The show is building up towards a major high point on the 26th of January, where Rizwan has big plans after which he goes back to his home country. While the date is India's republic day, it also happens to be Ishaan and Preet's wedding anniversary and his last day playing Ishaan Hooda. The current track has Ishaan and Preet's romance simmering with an Indian intelligence officer, his ex-wife's parents and his personal guilt creating performance anxiety. Will Rizwan triumph over Ishaan or will Preet's love steer him away from his terrorist identity? How will Preet react when she realises that the terror attack which killed her family involved her husband as well? How will the family react when they realise that their beloved nephew is actually a wanted terrorist? These are questions the show is building towards, answering in the next couple of months to come.
Iqbal Khan, playing Ishaan/Rizwan is a good looking man with a great voice and the camera loves him. He is also a seasoned actor, trying very hard to keep his character afloat over the choppy waters of the script. However, it seems as if his character is not getting the right direction it should. It's unbelievable that a man who has fooled an entire family for four years can get so uncomfortable by just meeting an Indian intelligence officer. It would have been far more interesting to give his character grey shades, like Saif in Kurbaan who was sinister yet human but always smooth, never causing suspicion of any kind. In the process of keeping him honourable, he is reduced to look amusing in situations. His outrage at innocent people dying, his aversion for bomb explosions and his issues with violence completely dilute his dual identity that could have created great drama and a riveting character. It's also unclear exactly what his role is. Is he a spy, an informer or an armed terrorist?
Mona Singh rescues Preet from becoming yet another idealistic Bhabhi, bringing pathos, vulnerability and realism to an already exhausted soap opera role. While we know about her tragic past, there is very little revealed yet about what she did before she arrived at the Hooda's. Given this is a Balaji show, it won't be surprising if she ends up being an Indian counter agent, in Mr and Mrs Smith style. In the meanwhile it's a delight to watch such a natural and effortless performance and one hopes to see more of her on the small screen.
In spite of being riddled with soap opera stereotypes, the show is still light and fresh on the eye, thanks to some new faces in the cast and a more realistic treatment. The dialogue is thankfully bereft of any Bhojpuri twang or literary Hindi, and except for the padosi mulk neighbours who pepper their interaction with urdu-esque words. It's a relief to see characters act and dress normally minus mile-long sindoor streaks and banarasi pallus.
The lead pair is a delight to watch, and their crackling chemistry helps to distract from the glaringly visible holes in the plot. It is still early days for PKHJD, and hopefully the writers and creative team of the show will be able to create a more cohesive storyline and finalise a genre for the show. Also, the revelation of Ishaan's character seems rather premature for a daily soap. It will be interesting to see how the show sustains itself without losing its likeability along the way.
While the terrorism angle does strike a poignant note in the current scenario, one wonders what would have happened if PKHJD had remained what the promos promised. A realistic romantic drama about a couple finding love again after drifting apart under the everyday pressures of a marriage Simple, relatable, and fun to watch. Watch PKHJD for its good looking hero and talented leading lady who make it an entertaining albeit clumsily told story. But before it's too late, plot ko bhi laut aane do. Pyaar, well that will happen any which way
P.S. Seems the writer is regular of IF and this forum too. Every point is being discussed here, from Rizwan's character to Preet bein agent, from Mr and Mrs Smith reference to Urdu speaking terrorist. Kuch toh alag likhna chahiye. Yeh sab toh pata hi hai.
Anupamaa
