As someone who's been in the writing business for quite a long time and an ardent viewer of 4Lions Shows, their lack of focused writing has always bothered me. Without getting too off topic here, I'm going to dive straight right into what I've been taking notes of since this show has begun: character development.
This is the first time where the Production House (PH) has included more than two leads with the show having six parallel leads. Six parallel leads, 3 couples. Already things can become complicated because there are three epic romance plots that you have to convey and that too in a 20 minute episode. On top of that, there is a focus on the inter-family relations as well: Janvi-Tej-Svetlana triangle that has to be covered, the Jethani-Devrani relationship, and not to forget the existing relationships of Shivaay and Omkara with Tia and Riddhima respectively.
Shivaay's character is the eldest of the trio and is a tough nut to crack. He's got the whole superiority complex fit to the "T" and while I think Nakuul is doing a spectacular job portraying him, the character is a typical TV hero that the PH likes to dish out. ie: Maan Singh Khurana, Arnav Singh Raizada, and Asad Ahmed Khan. All characters be stoic in nature and while they appear to be hard on the outside, they would easily die for the people they love. Men like these, I've found, appeal to the audience due to their dominant nature. We really do want to see how a man that rarely smiles and embodies the image of an angry young man is brought to his knees by a simple girl that clashes with him.
Shivaay's character, while enjoyable, is something that has become all too repetitive and since the show has started, his character had hit a bit of a plateau. Personally, I hope the PH tries to set Shivaay's character apart from his predecessors because even though there are many shared qualities, they could easily mold him to be one of the most intense characters with just a little focus on stepping away from the foundation of the PH's "Go To Male Hero" technique. While it's fun to watch, it's very predictable and the obsession with him remaining as he is is damaging his character further.
Anika's character has really intrigued me. Her character was what I was hoping Shivaay's character would be like. She's paired opposite Shivaay and when she was first introduced, I was convinced we would have another rendition of Khushi or Geet. But, she was a pleasant surprise because while Anika may not have the perfect life or relationship with her family (excluding her little brother), she remains headstrong and fights fire with fire. While the PH chose to show some submissive qualities in their previous shows, I'm quite happy with the way they've molded Anika's character into one of demanding an equally dominating position as Shivaay. Yes, the worrying about not seeing Shivaay when the bomb in the chopper detonated was a bit cliche, her returning to being the headstrong Anika upon Shivaay's return was a good decision.
One thing I do have mixed feelings about when it comes to Anika is her being too over the top at certain times. Sometimes I find her hilarious, other times I'm just sort of rolling my eyes and going "That really wasn't needed". Her character has pretty much exploded onto the scene but now it seems the CVs aren't really sure what they should do with her. While she is continuing on with her battle with Shivaay, we're not really seeing how else she's growing besides knowing exactly what sets Shivaay off (ie: calling him Billu). Her nyctophobia has been lightly touched on and that's something I'm really looking forward of seeing. What's causing the fear? Why? It's a good sub-plot to grasp onto and move forward with her.
The only word that comes to my mind whenever I look at Omkara is: observant. Being an artist he definitely picks up on the little things and really does sought out the understand them. Omkara is a very fresh character from the PH and I see a great deal of potential with his character development. We know he's struggled with substance abuse and I am patiently waiting to see that sub-plot getting explored further because it's not a very popular topic in TV Shows.
He's an artist and like all artists, he sees things in a different way and naturally that causes him to come to crossroads with his father. He's always appearing to be a very happy and understanding person, but Omkara's anger towards his father is evident and it's the one time where viewers get to see such a powerful negative emotion from him towards anyone. One thing that the creatives are doing quite well with Omkara is showing us another side of him where he has begun to question the people he knows and shared a good rapport with. Ie: Anika. We're getting to see another side of him with the recent events happening and I appreciate that because it takes me back to what I originally think of Omkara to be: an observant fellow. It's quite realistic if you think about it.
Ishana's character is being received with mixed reviews and I personally think the problem lies in what I said initially, too many characters and too little time to let them develop. I'm not overly fond of the lack of attention being shown towards developing her character because she's embodying what writers often like to call "rogue by necessity". She's a con artist, again that's a pretty refreshing character, but she's not a con-artist by choice, rather one by necessity since she needs the money to keep herself and her family safe. This was shown when Ishana's emotions began to cloud her judgement and it was when we got to see a more sensitive side of her.
From a creative standpoint, Ishana is a character that needs to be handled quite delicately because she is one that can easily attract negativity as well as love from the audience. Her response depends on how the CVs choose to handle her story but with the lack of attention being shown towards her, it's only projecting her in a negative light. I love handling characters like her due to their complexity. Characters like these need to be well thought out and they are very time consuming. Unfortunately, Ishana's intentions aren't clear and this is causing the viewers to be turning away from her. I really hope the CVs don't let such a complex character go to waste.
Rudra and Soumya are the comic relief duo while at the same time they're the characters that tempt you to adore them regardless of what their arc may be. Rudra's disbelief in marriage and Soumya's alter ego of the Love Angel are simple hints towards a budding romance but in the meantime, you get to witness some antics that college kids can get up to. From witty arguments but with semblances of vulnerability. I find their interactions to be quiet amusing and the casting call was spot on. Spunk and hilarity really boost these characters but one thing that often happens with characters like these is that comedy overtakes the arc and you lose the original story. While it's all fun and games, I do hope to see something moving forward with their relationship.
For the sake of not lengthening this post than it already is, my notes on some of the supporting members are as follows. The Jhanvi-Tej-Svetlana triangle is quite unique but quite unnecessary when you have three romantic lead couples you want to focus on. That tumultuous relationship, while understandable, really does take a toll on the creative aspect. There is no such thing as having too many characters, but exploring each and every one of those characters' stories in a time limit of 20 minutes is what causes some serious damage to the development of both plot and characters.
Tia and Riddhima are the typical "she's not right for him" characters that are made to simply aggravate the viewers and make them want to see the "intended" couple together. The feeling I get from characters like Tia and Riddhima are that of punching bags. Thrown in to take the heat of being an obstacle in a couple's romance, almost like placeholders. One thing that bothers me about characters like these is that when not written properly, their roles become quite obvious and before you can even develop them further, the audience has already created this image of "she's not the girl for him" which can become very difficult to break down.
Shakti and Pinky are two characters that I'm still trying to understand. Shakti, we rarely see him and Pinky confuses me because I can't seem to figure out whether she's being genuine or ingenuine. Dadi and Priyanka are the darlings of the Oberoi household and I can see why. Dadi being the eldest and Priyanka being the youngest definitely deserve the credit. Sahil is a sweetheart and Ishana's family seem to be aware of what they're doing is wrong but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Finally, with two more cameo appearances, I'm terribly worried about which characters will be suffering the brunt of these two new faces even though it is supposed to propel the story forward. It's getting terribly crowded and that can cause some damage.
Thank you for reading.
This post wasn't meant to cause any form of friction between any fan groups but rather it's an observation simply from a writer's perspective on these characters and their development so far. Kindly refrain from creating a hostile environment.
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