To watch the Prequel or NOT?!?! - this (fake)shakespearean dilemma has been troubling me for the past couple of days 
Whether it's better for peace of mind to suffer another serial with Vanraj and Baa or miss out on seeing another stellar performance by Rupali?!😳
Apart from the fact that, to me, this prequel business smacks of overexploitation of a fine actress. Who can do TWO serials at the same time, that too for 2 different media?
And then a prequel not for arts' sake or our happiness as viewers but for unfathomable reasons. A prequel that brings back such toxic characters as the above, whereas we have already been savouring the wholesomeness of a MaAn# combination that makes us want for more of their lives together - instead of more of the rubbish of her earlier life
And don't the makers even look around and learn from what happened to other serials going astray?
Look for instance at the somewhat similar situation of the now defunct serial Thapki...Pyaar Ki, in which Jigyasa Singh acted as both mother and daughter at the same time. She met with an accident and lost 2 front teeth. Then she fell ill later, so much so that another actress had to take over during her recovery period.
And the story went into such weird twists and turns at that time that this stage of the serial was criticised so strongly (after receiving top ratings initially) that the makers had to pull it out.
Further, if the makers bank on Rupali's current popularity, let them sit up and take notice: Bepannah was such a top-notch serial with that super jodi of Jennifer Winget and Harshad Chopra.
But Bepannah was taken out of circulation within less than a year (still mourned about by its millions of fans the world over). And despite Yeh Rishta's current success (and new fans) many old fans don't watch Harshad anymore, simply because they don't like the story and characters in it, including his.
So, not watching the Prequel could save a great deal of agony but then, can/should we let Rupali waste all her efforts and talent on that stretch?!?
All I hope in the end is that Rupali stays healthy and happy in this onslaught on her acting and person, and that we as MaAn# fans may continue enjoying their journey for zillion years to come!
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