kumkum turns 3

Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan can be considered truly path breaking in Indian television programming for redefining the afternoon slot. The serial, rightly called the king of afternoon primetime, recently celebrated its third year of entertaining audiences. On this occasion, the lead actors - Juhi Parmar (Kumkum) and Hussain Kuwajerwala (Sumit) spoke to us about what Kumkum means to them.

Juhi Parmar - Kumkum

About the show: The character of Kumkum has given me everything I have today. In fact I am living this role...I got this role through an intense audition where I was short-listed and finally selected. I could initially identify with the happy-go-lucky, chirpy young bride who was loved by all, but after Jatin's death, things became difficult and different, as the character suddenly became a lot more mature and transformed as a person.

Though Kumkum has been immensely popular, I personally loved playing Chanda. According to me, after Jatin's death, Chanda's character was a definite highpoint for me in the serial. I only hope that we don't have any time leaps and I can forever play the age that I am playing today!

About her co-actors: Hussain is my best friend today and we are very close. As the relationship between Sumit and Kumkum has grown, so has my friendship with Hussain. Today, We have all become one big family… I go to them for any sort of advice or help. Dadi (Rita Bhaduri) and Ma (Prabha Sinha) both treat me like their own daughter and even send me food, as I am not from Mumbai. Kumkum to me is home away from home.

Hussain Kuwajerwala - Sumit

About the show: The success of the show is definitely important to me. There is a lot of excitement and happiness as we turn three. However, there is also the pressure to continue performing and a curiosity among both audiences and us artistes to see what will happen next on the show. There are many new dimensions that need to be explored and I have always had faith in the story. My personal highpoint in the show was when Sumit got married to Kumkum.

About his co-stars: Juhi is the closest to me in the entire unit. She is a very giving actor; she is at her best even when she isn't facing the camera, just to help me give my best. We both have bonded over time and so has the rest of the unit. They are second family to me and we have had a blast together as most of the younger lot are of the same age group.

Anuradha Prasad - Producer B.A.G Films

Kumkum is a part of mainstream entertainment, which does not break the norms of 'Indianness'. It is genuine in its approach and is based on somebody's real life story. It portrays the life of a typical Indian woman hero who lives 3 to 4 roles in her daily life. She is a woman with a mind of her own. I made Kumkum with HUGE conviction.

After Jatin's death, when Kumkum was accepted as the daughter of the house, that was the greatest highpoint for me in the show. The greatest challenge that we faced was to overcome the tag of being an afternoon daily, but things turned out to be perfect for us and I hope they remain that way in the years to come.