In the previous serial, as Neeraj, he did fine until the time Sarla re-entered his parents' house. Actually, in that serial too, the CVs spoilt it by introducing a family for him just when Sandhya had found him, and there was nothing obstructing their romance. Maybe in retrospect, they'd have done well in just having him marry Sandhya right then, and re-uniting w/ her sisters & settling in her late father's home.
On Jai's character, Jai now seems in some respects better than Anuj's representation was in that he's fully responsible, working w/ Taruna to get Sarika back to class, and so on. But while I understand the character's gratitude towards his mom, his fawning @ her is something I don't condone. Where was the need for him to say that Sarika galat hei? Just say so honestly jo maasa, aap galat hei. Explain it if she's in a mood to listen, but if she's not, leave it. By now, they all should have understood that forcing the different family members to go according to maasa's wishes has brought them to the brink of disaster. Forcing Chandan to work in the business, but not Jai has not only made Chandan do things that has now sunk its reputation, but also contributed to the alienation of Chandan's father. Cracking down on Shikha all the time has brought to this point where she's now poisoning her FIL's ears against maasa, and contrary to Vidya, I fully agree w/ what Shikha is doing.
In tonight's episode, I do hope that the rift within the family is exposed to everyone, so that maasa can't show her face anymore.