Pavitra Rishta goes fast forward
Producer Ekta Kapoor is all set to press the "fast forward" button on her current longest-running daily Pavitra Rishta.
Those who have followed the show for over two-and-half years will be transported to a time when Manav is in Canada with his four children while Archana lives in Mumbai with her parents and adopted daughter.
With 20 years of separation between them, the couple prefers not to even bring up each other's names in any discussions with their respective family members. The story post-leap will also focus on interactions between the five fresh faces who are part of the new generation as Manav and Archana's children.
While all is not well in paradise and the key question is whether the separated lovers who began their journey in a Mumbai chawl will reconcile their differences and reunite, things are also not rosy for the show either. It was Zee's No. 1 show and it still occupies the channel's top slot, but not with same ratings. Not long ago, Pavitra Rishta was one of the top five shows across channels with 5-plus ratings.
Today, it doesn't figure even in the top 10 shows. The generation leap was on the cards for almost six months due to the show's falling popularity. "It's my fault that I did not bring the leap earlier. The show suffered because the story got saturated," admits Ekta.
Apparently, the leap got delayed for two reasons. One, the confusion over whether and when Sushant Singh who played Manav earlier would quit. Two, it was too much of a risk to introduce a new generation when KBC was doing so well and had a major impact on Pavitra Rishta's ratings. Zee's fiction head Sukesh Motwani downplays the KBC effect.
"More than KBC, Pavitra Rishta lost ratings because the story pegs were losing out on emotional conflict. As the emotional quotient got depleted, viewers didn't find it compelling enough," he defends.
But will the generation leap resurrect the show from its current lows? "The story will focus on the impact distance creates in Manav and Archana's lives. Besides, now we also have new characters to focus on parent-children relationship," says Ekta.
Elaborating further she adds, "When we started we didn't realise that the show would be so successful. Now we are hoping that the leap will help in brining back viewers." Throwing some light on the post-leap story, Hiten Tejwani says the focus will be on whether Manav and Archana will reconcile their differences and the role their children will play in reuniting them.
"Manav has changed a lot but his soul has stayed intact. The happiness of his children and his business will form the crux of his existence. Hence, he doesn't want to meet Archana though she wants to reconcile and be with him," he reveals.
Ankita Lokhande who plays Archana says, "Archana will age gracefully with hardly any grey strand. But she will not change. She will be the ideal mother, daughter and sister. But on some level she will deeply miss Manav. Let's see what lies in store for her."
Hollywood
