First and foremost, my most heartfelt THANK YOU to Kashish and Sharmi, for insisting that I watch this serial.
Last night, I decided to sit down and see what all the fuss is about. Next thing I knew, I was watching episode after episode, until I finished them all...at 5:30 AM...
My reaction, in short: SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL.
I know T and D are known for coming up with different stories that are a place apart from the every day rona dhona same concept drama's we see all over the place, but...I had no clue they would create something SO refreshing. Infact...I didn't go into it with any expectation at all. Of course, Apu would be a perk, but other than that, I didn't think to myself that it was a serial made by the same team that did JJKN so it MUST be great or anything. Infact, not until after I found that I was blown away by the serial did I realize that of course...it had to be so great...after all, its the team of JJKN. Undoubtedly, this is the best serial I have seen after JJKN...including story, technicality, cast, dialouge...just...everything.
Chotasa, Pyaarasa Parivaar...
The story...again, as is the trend with T/D, is something that's never been attempted before. And, according to me, if anyone has attempted anything like it before, they couldn't do it as well as its done here. I love it. A middle-class single mother of three girls...leaves everything she's ever known and comes from a small town to the mother of big cities - Mumbai, to ensure a secure future for her girls...Come What May. The beauty of it is the simplicity. The every day problems that everyone faces...not getting admission in school; not having adequate money to afford the things that life demands every day; being rejected at not one, but multiple job interviews. Who hasn't experienced that? Especially in India. The best thing about this lovely simple story is that everyone can relate to it. One of the best things about the story is that no matter what, at the end of the day, for Radha and her Betiyaan, nothing else matters but that they have one another to look to - through whatever life may throw their way. They are each other's pillars of support...but most importantly, they are one anothers inspiration...rays of hope...and, courage. Its just simply beautiful...and a part of me can't help but be jealous of the relationships these four share. A point to be noted is though, that these relationships...the story itself...and the character sketches could have easily been overdone. The beauty of it, is that nothing is overdone. Everything is handled with utmost delicacy...and presented in the most real way.
Roshan Ammu and Her Recently Extended Parivaar...
The Characters. Every single Character Sketch has been so very well thought out, taking every detail into concideration.
Roshan Ammu: Poised. Respectable. An old lady, living alone, in her mundane, painful life. A small ray of sunshine in her life is her doctor (her "boyfriend"), who, though she may not know it, looks to her as a mother of sorts. Roshan Ammu...a mother who lost her son to the dream of a "bigger and better" world. A woman who had learned to live everyday reminding herself of her pain. A woman that couldn't control a son's decision...that instead tries to control every person and thing around her - to make things better...to ensure that such a drastic change shall never occur for her again. All the sudden, 4 ladies, full of life, show up on her front step. They remind her of her lonliness...yet, she finds that they attempt to make her a part of their own little world. As much as she tries, she can't hold back. Afterall, under the hard, strict exterior is a woman, that once used to share this same love of life as the new women in her life possess. But slowly letting the wall she had created herself around her crumble to the floor doesn't mean she'll melt completely. This doesn't mean her Pain will be completely forgotten. This doesn't mean she'll change her ways and be more lenient.
Radha: A Mother. A Father. A Sister. A Friend. She is all this and much more in the eyes of her three girls. She left everything she's ever known behind in a small town to move to the big city, knowing it would be very hard, so that her daughters could acheive their dreams. She's brought her girls up to believe in simplicity (eh hem...Gini is still learning...đ)...and most importantly, truth and togetherness. The strongest pillar of the group. Ready to do anything, even sacrifice her izzat, for the well-being of her girls. This woman blows me away. She is so desperate that she must accept help from complete strangers...she lives, obidingly by the rules of a woman who wants to have nothing to do with her...she lives, with utter confidence, that her daughters will one day, win the world over...one day, she'll be able to pay back all the favors...one day, life, will be simply...fullfilling. And she and daughters will achieve this, by being honest and hard-working...and of course, a tinge of help from her God, and her Chutki's stars. She's her daughters' strongest pillar...and I think, when she needs to be an all-bearing mother, she finds her pillar, in a "farishta"...in Dr. Shekhar.
Doctor: A man who...has one patient...by choice. A man who...has found that when he is with this one patient, the big void in his life...the one that can only be there due to lack of a mother...is filled...atleast a little. The woman is strict, and set in her ways...and perhaps has no idea what she means to him...but still, for him, she is most important. He wants so much to take away her pain, though he knows, no amount of medical school knowledge will help him cure the void she lives with. So he hopes that if he treats her like a mother, she just may see him as a son...one that will never leave her. One day, a small family in need shows up at the woman's house, and he on one hand, fullfills a civilian duty...but on the other hand, sees a possibility, and hopes to give the woman - the only mother he's ever known, a family to belong to. And the badi beti of the family? Well, who knew he'd fall so hard and fast....
Badi Beti, Badi Zimedaari: These are the four words always playing in Rohini's mind. Voh apne maa ki badi beti hai...koi papa nahi...koi bhaiya nahin...toh saare parivaar ki zimedaari voh nahi uthayegi toh kaun uthayegi? Her mother's strongest pillar in the group...a second mother to her little sisters. A small town girl that is naive enough to believe that her hard work alone will land her a big city job. A girl that has a troubling past - as far as her personal life is concerned. A girl who too wishes to dream big of a happy, blissful life...lekin yeh zimedaariyan jo hai sar par. And now that a new, strange relationship is taking place in her life, like every young girl, she wants to dream of the possibilities...but she is after all, her mother's daughter. A girl, who like her mother, places everyone else in her life at the top of her list. Oh yes, and lets not forget her fear of big city boys...unpe bharosa toh kadai bhi nahi karna chahiye - sab ke sab sirf ek cheez ke peeche pade hue hote hai! Par kya yeh Doctor genuinely itne ache hai? Kya yeh sachmuch, dil se madat karna chahta hai? Kya yeh un sab baki ke ladkon se vakai alag hai? Kya hoga, agar bharosa kiya?
Padosan Ki Beti: Funloving, carefree, and completely Filmy! Dare I say, the life of the family? She knows that as long as her mom and Rohini Di are there, she has nothing to worry about. She takes life head on and accepts its decisions, believing that no matter what, in the end, everything HAS to be okay. Bindaas. But, when it comes to her mother and sisters, this take it easy girl shows a side of herself we wouldn't expect to see. She shows that she is responsible, and not to mention, speaks up for her family where needed (or not đ) because she knows that the rest of the woman won't stand up for themselves, and show the world that they too, are worth something. She's actually quite a firecracker...a bit budhu...or is she? And yes, she has dreams too...to be a true mumbaiite, move out of her middle class status, and join the big leagues. So...what's the story behind the silent "cool dude" at college? Aur yeh Anarug apne aap ko kya samajti hai? She'll take the world by storm one day...But to sum this beti up in one word...I would say: FILMY! She's fun...a nice dose of comic releif from her choti chutki's rona dhona...(not that i'm ragging on chutki, but I needed a transition here...đ)
Chutkoo Rani...sabse choti, sabki laadli: The youngest of the three, she is undoubtedly the taara of everyone's eyes. And everyone has high hopes from her too...she is to fullfill her father's wish - something that means a lot, to all of them. Her academic excellence is her weapon in this new city that otherwise might defeat her. She's soft spoken, overprotected, and yes...has a habit of crying over the simplest of matters. Lekin, she also seems to be quite mature for her age when it comes to certain things. She's a lot like her Rohini di in many ways...and why not? She's practically her Di's daughter. She respects and cares a lot for her elders. She even extends a hand out to an old, lonely woman whom she doesn't know at all, and shows her that life can be beautiful again. And who'd have thought she'd find a big brother in the Doctor...and, have so much in common with him. But that Adi? Why can't he just leave her alone? She Hates Him! ...Or, is she afraid to admit...he's peaked her interest...atleast a little.
Anaru: Ammu's caretaker. A smalltown girl brought to the big city at a very young age. She's bitter...a bit - about her life. And, can't help but take that out on the imposers. Can you blame her? She too looks upon Roshan Ammu like a mother figure. She cares about the woman a lot. Perhaps there is a bit of pain due to the fact that Ammu lies around all day thinking about the son she lost, that she doesn't quite realize that she has a daughter that loves her right there with her. Perhaps she resents Ammu's son Varun for leaving her. Anaru would never leave her...not that she can. She's very indebted to Ammu in many ways. For giving her a home, a family. Ammu's hukum for Anaru is the final word. Everything must and will be done according to the older woman's wishes. Anything to help Ammu get better...Anaru can't afford to lose Ammu. She and Shekhar are, afterall, the only family she knows. The most beautiful thing about Anaru's character is that though she's strict with the new woman in the house, she does it, for Ammu...and, though she doesn't show it, she is a bit jealous of the bond the woman have...the frindship amungst them. And she hopes, silently, to somehow be a part of it. I think if only she'd let her guard down a bit, she'd learn that the woman don't object to this wish of hers. They'd welcome her with open arms. Anaru...a young girl, somewhat lonely in that big house...has learned to accept the turn life and times have taken...but can't help but wish that the good old days would show up on their doorstep again. The new ladies? How dare they think they can just show up and move into her house? ...But, are they the ones that can bring the color and happiness back?
Hats off to T/D...Each character has their own special relationship with the other. Each person, each relationship, each situation, is given time to develop. Ever so slowly, like a flower in bloom, the plot unfolds. The characters were casted brilliantly. Every shot is handled so very delicately. Every minute detail is handled with utter care. And all these elements together create a beautiful story, one that is simple, yet rich in so many ways. Its incredibly refreshing. And the cast is marvelous.
Here's to another masterpiece from these two....I give it a standing ovation.đ
Now that the basics have been covered, a detailed look at the episodes and story, coming up....
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