Saath Phere completes 200 episodes:Articl

The whole of last week has been like a party for the entire unit of 'Saath Phere - Saloni Ka Safar'. There has been a lot of anticipation on the sets and even their cut-to-cut schedule hasn't dampened their excitement. Saath Phere, which has been the brainchild of Zee TV, aired its 200th episode on Monday as the whole unit rejoiced in this moment.
"It has been a pleasant journey all through the year. We have had our share of highs-and-lows. But despite that, the journey has been beautiful," says Vijay Pandey, one of the directors of the serial.
Saath Phere was initially the story of Saloni, a girl with a dark complexion from a traditional Rajasthan family. The serial brought out the stigma dark girls have to face in society and the problems they have to undergo at every step of their life.
Taking a trip down memory lane Sunjoy Waddhwa, producer of the serial says, "While developing the concept, minute details were taken care off. Each one of us has tried to give in our best." After around one-and-a-half-month of auditions, Rajashree Thakur was finalised for the role. "I have been lucky that I got a wonderful role like this at the beginning of my career. I'm thankful to Saath Phere because I have achieved a lot through this serial," said Rajashree Thakur. Playing Saloni for a year, people have already begun to identify with her character.
Completing 200 episodes, the story line has been through several changes. Though the serial began with the problems of a dark-skinned girl in Indian society, the story has had several twists-and-turns and has explored various other facets of the Indian society. "Though there has been a lot of shift in the story line, there is no logical lapse. The characters are very close to real life and so I think people are growing with the serial," adds Pandey.
This can be seen from the fact that even after the many changes from the original story, the serial boasts of increasing TRP's.
"We have tried to deal with a lot of social issues that are prevalent in society so people can relate to it," says Waddhwa. He adds, "I salute our writers for their brilliant inputs and hard work."
Leading the writers' board, Purnendu Shekhar, is proud to have been associated with the serial and the team of writers he has been working with. "I have a lot of independent writers like Rajesh Dubey and I am very lucky to have them working with me."
There is a lot more to come post the 200th episode of Saath Phere. "Though a huge chunk has been chalked out , the planning is still in its initial stages. Hence, I can't elaborate on it right now," says Waddhwa.
With high TRP's and an enthusiastic unit, we can see Saloni ka safar going way off.