Woes of a viewer ( not a fan )

I am not a Shivika, Rikara or Ruvya fan. I am here for the story and the show. I didn't watch IB from the beginning and I had no plans of watching it all. As a matter, I haven't watched any Hindi soap in over 2.5 years. After the heartbreak I suffered from another Four Lions show, I decided to stay away from daily soaps in general and only make an exception for my favorite actress who hasn't done any show in a while.

Sometime last year, I chanced upon IB while flicking through channels and watched it for a little while. I caught it on screen again after a few days. Initially I wasn't very interested. But whenever I happened to be in front of the TV while the show was airing, I would watch it...maybe not the whole episode but at least a good 10-15 minutes. I'd try my best not to continue lest it became a habit. I didn't have the time or patience for another daily soap...especially not a 4L show...didn't want to go through those emotions once again.

Then DBO started and I must admit I have seen very little of it, but if I caught it on TV, I'd watch it and I liked the acting and the chemistry.

So basically, I've been watching both shows on and off until some ago, but I heard about the merger and the launch of another show by the PH. I hadn't seen IB or DBO in a while and I was curious how it was fairing, so I decided to check it out again. That's when I finally gave into my temptation and started to not only watch the latest episodes, but also the old ones.

Despite my initial lack of interest, what kept bringing me back to it was the acting, the characters, the chemistry, and the equation between the characters. Not to mention, that old magic. Out of all the leads, I was only familiar with Nakuul and Shrenu. I had watched Nakuul a little before but Shrenu was just a known face and I was completely unfamiliar with Surbhi, Kunal and Leenesh. But all of them managed to captivate me.

I am never the one to watch a show watch for just one actor or a jodi even if I just like one actor. If I watch something, I invest myself fully, so it isn't just Shivika or Rikara or Ruvya for me. I am here for all of it. As much as I enjoy a good romance, I can never watch just the leads and FF the rest. Where's the fun in that? I want to watch an actual story with good character progressions.

So here I am, watching yet another Four Lions series, against my better judgment and setting myself up for yet another inevitable heartbreak. Par kya karein? The heart wants what it wants. Nakuul's compelling portrayal, Surbhi's charm, Kunal's expressive eyes, Shrenu's spunk and Lee's comic timing pulled me in.

But what I see now has such a startling contrast to what it used to be. It's the same cast, same story, same set and same characters, right? So what changed? What has changed is that once these characters had consistency, their actions were conceivable, the storytelling was smooth and had progression.

Now the characters are just caricatures of themselves, occasionally showing glimpses of their old, real selves. They are still there and re-emerges from time to time and can once again become consistent, only if the lady with the pen would be so kind to oblige us.

What is the point of destroying the characters you've crafted so beautifully? Why give us scraps when you're still clearly capable of delivering it in its entirety? What's the point of teasing us?

Shivika is getting butchered, Rikara is being sabotaged, that's what fans are complaining. But what I see it that the show is being destroyed.

The creatives keep throwing crumbs at the fans...one day at Shivika fans, next day at Rikara fans...Ruvya fans and so on. And sometimes they give us these beautiful family moments. We lap it up like hungry dogs, because we're too attached to let go.

But what about the people with the powerful, little device called a remote? They won't be satisfied with five minutes worth of Shivika, Rikara or Ruvya each episode. If they are to spend 40-45 minutes it might as well be worth it. After all, they want to watch a story and not five minutes of romance.

The results are reflected in the TRPs. Wedding tracks can be wonderful TRP boosters and can pull in viewers that don't usually watch. With two or three other shows on SP airing wedding tracks and so many other options available, who else but dedicated fans ( who are never given the respect they deserve) would watch when powerful object called remote can show you something else?

So much could have been done with such a great ensemble cast and two shows worth of air time. If only a little effort and some respect were given. But the lady who wields the proverbial sword has to be as stubborn as Shivika were being just two episodes ago...refusing to back down and end the charade.

5 years ago I was told ke dekhna hai to dekho and I had decided ke once this is over, phir kabhi nahi dekhoongi. So why am I here? It's for the brilliant actors who manage to rise above shoddy scripts, makhi suits and horrendous neckpieces. Tell that to the TRP audience, they'll just say alright use that remote.

It all could have been so much better. Sigh.

Originally posted by: Luna46

Dear, your feelings about this show is same as mine.

I too can't watch a show for a couple or a character. Really, there is no fun in it, no?? I watch a show as a viewer, not a fan..though I'm fan of the brothers..but I can't watch them daily for one hour. It'll be boring...not that they are shown much anyway.
I agree.. It were the characters that attracted us to this show. It was very rare to see so many distinct characters with so much depth in an Indian television show. They all seemed real, flawed and relatable...the Oberoi Family, the OBros, the three original FLs too.
But now none of the characters make any sense, neither they have any consistency. They are moulded according to the pathetic tracks of this show. Maybe only Rudra is a character who hasn't lost his charm till now.
I should have realised that in Indian TV, characters are always hypothetical and it's foolish to get connected with them.

Right now, this show is destroyed beyond repair. The story is non-existant. Shivika is moving around in circles with no story. Rikara are hardly there and have no progress. CVs don't know what to do with them. Ruvya story wasn't making sense from the very beginning and it still hasn't changed. IB has became a yawnfest now.

Ishqbaaz always had the potential to do much better, ONLY if Gul and the writers had actually invested their time and energy in the storyline for two years(as they said before the starting of this show), instead of just boasting about it.
I heard that the characters were written by someone else and not Harneet...that's why they made so much sense and weren't just cardboard cut outs. Well, I'm not surprised at all.
I guess IB would have done much better if these characters had been given to a better writer and PH.
Just having the write ingredients isn't enough to make a dish. You need to have a good cook to know how to use them.
A proper script and storyline was always missing, even in the beginning of this show. It was only the ensemble cast which made the show watchable but not anymore.

You can see this show, none of the characters can go outside OM. None of the tracks has happened outside except a certain few.
That's because Gul's all money goes into decorating the sets, lighting and horrendous costumes. So when these things are given more importance than the writing of this show, then we should've understood that this IB is all about style and no substance. Only if she had hired better writers instead of costumes and sets, then this show could have garnered better TRPs.

But what to do, Gul loves to butcher her shows That's what is happening here. She has lost interest from IB and doesn't even gives two hoots about it.
TRP audience isn't going to take this crap for sure. They are not die-hard fans to die for 5 minutes of Shivika, Rikara or Ruvya. But I see that the fandoms are still fighting for the SS and saying that their favourites bring TRP...when there is hardly any TRP to boast of.

I was addicted to this show but now I've stopped watching and getting over it. Infact I'm completely done with Indian daily soaps now.
Just waiting to see how long this show can go on, because it's definitely not going to survive for long.
Gul's ego destroyed this show and will destroy her PH too.

Originally posted by: MariaRebecca

Dear this is just beautiful.
Please send this to SP, you have a nice constructive flow with little sarcasm!
I too don't understand why they are spoiling their own hard work.
They had such 3 dimensional character and brilliant performers.

Originally posted by: music1

I remember u so well from the IPK first season:)...and totally agree with u.. I started watching this show very recently(as a matter of fact after a very long time, since IPK season1 was my last Indian television show before this one)only for the outstanding cast. Om and Gauri captivated my interest the most but the others are equally brilliant. But of late.. my mind wanders away when watching the show ( to the forum fictions or posts)because I could so well picturize these beautiful actors in the fictions on the forum than the actual show. Wish the creators would just focus on the story a little bit more...

Originally posted by: ashti1234

Awesome post👏

basically i wont hide that i'm more a shivika fan than a viewer, but even i accept i cant watch 1hr of shivika, and right now whenever shivika have more SS, i'm more scared at the illogical scenes which will be thrown my way.🥱

and i absolutely agree that currently it;s no longer about SS, but about story and since the merger this show clearly lacks a story

also i agree that we can somehow waste 20mins on a show, but no1 will waste 1hr on a show!

from the 'dekhna hein to dekho" i guess you are talking about GH and IPK😆, this was their favorite line and currently even Gulneet have used it a lot for iB viewers too... guess people have started to really listen to them now😛

i have watched IB since 1st episode, and no matter what i never used to ffwd tracks not even Ishkara or RuMya despite my first love was Shivika, i never even ffwd the rubbish tracks we got at start at times when the writers were experimenting...

but the show has gone downhill with Mahi's track, Pinky's torture never-ending track with separation track, while from what i heard DBO suffered a lot with Svetlana

despite being a shivika fan, currently i end up ffwding even their scenes, the other characters make no sense to me, tejvi is on Mars currently, Pinky is walking free as if she is a God( which the writers actually think)...

we all say we are getting a wedding track, but such a lame wedding track? where all rituals are more burdens than anything else, where the characters are made to flip at the writer's convenience

i didnt even watch today's episode because i'm fed up completely now with this track🥱

for a viewer who never ever ffwd 1 min to being reduced to skipping a complete episode🥱

i guess my craze is getting over slowly now.

the writer has to buck up, but i seriously have no hope not after those recent IVs of hers, she's currently hiding being a victim card and thinks her viewers are too dumb to understand her 'intelligent tracks' now! she also doesnt see how she's currently dragging the episodes and making viewers run away

for the second time( first time when separation track was a fiasco) i'm happy at the drop in trps

and now if the wedding doesnt garner the required trps, then fans better prepare themselves because IB has officially entered the red zone now😊

let's see how long Gulneet will be able to keep up this show with such lame tracks😊 and their arrogance😊