I haven't been a Kumkum fan from the beginning, although the bgm is beautiful, the sweet female voice, the "kumkum, kumkum" that faded into the background, like a softly beating heart, has always been a favourite, but the point is, I am not a Kumkum Bhagya fan, although since it is a legacy show, I will start my goodbye with a few words about the show in general, as a proper farewell to the show.
Kumkum has always been in the news, be it from the memes (Tanu's pregnancy being the most famous one), to the styling (Sriti rocked both chashmish Pragya and smart, businesswoman Pragya), to the chemistry they definitely had and a storyline that actually focused on the leads (my knowledge is from episodic clips but they do reveal a lot).
I myself was roped in by Mishal Raheja and his portrayal of King Singh, his bond with Kiara had all my heart (❤️) which was broken rather cruelly but let's not get into the negatives. Sriti's styling during that period was rock solid, and the storyline was decent before it lost itself.
I completely skipped Gen 2 and Gen 3 but undoubtedly they have their fans, so kudos to the makers for making sweet, heart touching and maybe slightly toxic (?) stories, and all the actors and crew members involved in that.
Gen 4. My Gen. Our Gen. Our story.
When I first saw the promo, I liked it, I thought Pranali looked fresh, and although I didn't like Akshay's styling, I was hopeful this will carry forward the legacy and be a beautiful story.
I didn't invest a second in it, not until the entry of one particular man, who I found through YouTube shorts. Shivansh Randhawa.
Namik Paul has always been a favourite, but he has never been so impressive. From the entry scene itself, he caught my eye and took hold over my heart. Be it the styling. The smile. The Bgm that vanished midway and wasn't that another lost opportunity, we should have seen more of Shivansh in his full glory with that bgm and Namik's power packed performances.
And then, jumping from clip to clip, I found PraShiv. The dance bts from their reception that leapt out of the screen and took me along for the ride. It was beautiful. Perfect, in its styling, composition, the dance steps, the expressions.
The chemistry. Oh, the chemistry.
And then when I decided to give it a try, I saw that they had a beautiful story, about a mother and her son, about brothers, about a man who decided to marry a girl and use her as a pawn in his game of revenge but who also saw her as his wife (I joined during kidnapping track).
From then on, it's been...a ride. A journey packed with emotion and steeped in love. I have laughed at the absurdity, I have cried at the angst, I have ranted about the stupid things, and I have enjoyed every moment of it.
Shivansh Randhawa and Prarthana Parikh Randhawa, two equally strong, layered characters, two broken people who found a home in each other and decided to heal with the love they shared, and I wish we had gotten to see more of it, my wishlist is never ending, but I love all we did get to see, the good and the bad.
To end the show on a happy note, with PraShiv reunion, the screen frozen on their happy smiles, something neither of the previous couples got from the show (and something that made me dread watching them because what if history repeats itself, thankfully it didn't), that's the best we can wish for, and having them in traditional, Prarthana in that beautiful saree, is a dream come true. I love it. I love them.
I'm an emotional mess, and I'll probably come back later to appreciate the multiple actors and characters that made this a very memorable journey, like Smita Zaveri, Bua Maa, Jay, Gayatri, and even Raunak and Payal and Sonalika, but this is not the time. My heart's too full right now
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