I am a new member to this forum but definitely not new to IF. In short logging in after more than 8 years of hiatus (surprised at myself that I remembered my log in information). As you can see from my DP my last show that I participated was IPPKND, That was one heck of adventurous ride from 2011 to 2012, never got that kind of experience from any other forum. In the process I found 10 best friends and we are still in touch with each other to this daya and we visit whenever we can as most of us live in the US.
This is going to be along post. so please bear with me. Anyway coming to this show, I have been watching its original in tamil since the beginning (2018) and so know the premise. They have made some minor changes to few characters to suit the pan Indian/TRP audience. Amidst all the Saas-Bahu shows in all the channels including my region this show came in as a breath of fresh air (this is the only show I still continue to watch in tamil) and a feel good one, continuous to be different from others. I just wanted to come to the forum and make atleast one post about the show. I am only going to talk about the lead characters.
Gautam is exactly like the big brother in the original, so I am not surprised that they retain the characterization, He is so fond of his brothers, wife and now 2 daughter-in-laws, will do anything to keep the family together.
Dhara just like the female lead in the original has sacrificed so much, she deserves all the love from everyone. One thing here is Dhara cries a lot more may be because the CVs think it will fetch them the required TRPs.
Suman is a witty, in control matriarch, who has to have a say and know everything that is happening in her family. She is a maha saas like she says. She loves all her children and has special affection towards Shiva, because of the sacrifice he made at a young age to help his brother. I think her character here little more of a saas than the original where she is more subdued.
Dev is where I am having problems with the characterization. I just hope makers copy Jeeva from the original. He is a very strong character and till date gives a tough fight against Janardhan. Initially he had problems making Meena (Rishita) understand the family dynamics but quickly caught on to it and the comical fights they have is good to watch. Now, only he knows how to tackle her every step. I think CVs here can definitely bring that side of Dev.
Rishita in the original is a grey character but also stands up for the family many times against her own dad. She still does have her grievances but Dhara and Raavi see the good side and support her. But her comic timing with Krish's character in the original is the highlight. I hope makers develop that bond here as well with Rishita and Krish. I want to see growth in her character.
Shiva is sensitive, emotional in both versions, but here they have made him talk more. In the original he would rarely share his feelings with anybody and till date did not have any clashes with Rishita's character like it is shown here. But it is different and the CVs wanted to show something different which is perfectly fine.
Raavi is the reason why I started watching the original show. Mullai still has parents in the show and here Raavi is tad bit more special because here parents are no more and that girl deserves all the love she can get. Raavi can fight with Shiva all she wants and that is what normal husband and wife do within the four walls. As for her and Shiva, they will definitely come around and will fall in love and understand each other more than we can expect.
Krish is the baby of the family, everybody loves him and is the comedian. They have retained his characterization to a large extent. Here it is shown that him and Shiva are a team, I definitely don't mind that but I want him to have Rishita or even Raavi as his partner in crime/comedy.
Hardik/Anita are already a pair in the original. So Raavi and Dhara are related in the original as well.
Maami's character is great and it is subdued in the original but I like Maami and Shiva's comedic confrontations.
The only change I am not comfortable with Dev-Shiva's relationship. In the original they never had any confrontation. Infact Dev's character is the closest to Shiva's character and when Dev has to complain about his marital problems, he pours his heart out to Shiva. This all happens after Shiva and Raavi start to fall in love. I want the makers to bring a truce to Dev-Shiva confrontation here and get it over with.
The other thing I am not comfortable is Shiva manhandling Raavi. I know it will go away when their love story starts but feel they should not go overboard with it.
Now for the actors.
Krutika Desai- Grew up watching her in several TV shows in the '90s especially Chandrakantha and A Mouthful of Sky, only English series made in India at that time by Mahesh Bhatt. She was fab everytime I saw her. Now seeing her after 25 long years on TV.
Kinshuk Mahajan - I have not followed him but know him from the time I was in IF. I have seen few episodes of Bidaai and Chand Chupa Badal Mein. He was young, trying to establish and make a name for himself. He is doing a great job here as the big brother/ fatherly figure and got a nice part.
Shiny Doshi - After leaving IF in early 2013, started watching Saraswatichandra for Jennifer Winget and Gautam Rode as it was produced by SLB and later taken over by Sphere Origins (same PH). But was floored by Shiny's beauty, and as a new comer she did a great job. From that to now, she has grown leaps and bounds as an actor.
I am watching all the other actors for the first time.
Akshay definitely has the potential, doing a great job so far and when they have improve the characterization , I am sure he will do much much better.
Simran is playing Rishita well like she has been briefed by the CVs and director and now looking forward to seeing her various facets.
Kanwar is doing an amazing job. His voice suits the character of rough/tough Shiva. His exasperation. gritting, expressions and emoting is all on point. There is never a dull moment when he is on screen.
Alice is cute and is doing a tremendous job and I can only see her growth from hereon. She lives As Raavi.
Mohit Parmar is exactly doing what he is expected of him. He is very good at comedy and the one liners given to him, also in emotional scenes as well.
Pallavi Rao is fabulous and how she can switch between the conniving SIL and the comedian. Such characters are enhanced when you have experienced actors like her.
Now coming to this forum, there are some wonderful writers and dedicated hardcore fans who are part of the ATs and EDT, but this show and the forum deserves much more and definitely deserves to be on top. I wish we had more topics about daily episodes and more discussions. I repeat in this day and age of Saas bahu shows this show is a welcome change. When I grew up in the late 80s and 90s India, we had much better content on TV than what it is now. Every show was unique and can relate to. After marriage and kids, 10 years I did not know what was going in ITV due to my asli zindagi commitments. When I restarted in 2010, was in for a shock and then later became choosy with the shows I would watch. After Saraswathichandra ended, didn't watch any until now which would be Pandya Store.
I wish all the success to this show as it deserves every bit of it and continues to become popular and earn more and more fans.
Phew! That was a long post and apologize if I bored you all. As I said above, wanted to pour my thoughts and appreciation atleast once.
, with the exception of Dev like you mentioned 
