I rarely follow Hindi serials but one that got me hooked was IPKKND - mostly because of the sizzling chemistry between the leads, the cast & the way the scenes were written...not so much the story..of course Barun Sobti's good looks didn't hurt either ;) When I heard about QH I wasn't sure whether to watch it or not but last month I decided to check it out...I caught up with the episodes till date and from what I see so far I'm not too impressed I must say..
To have a Muslim backdrop is new..well it hasn't been used since the 90s atleast like in Farmaan & Tanha. They've got the language right..mostly.. so it does give an authentic feel in that department but the characters and scenes seem to have too many similarities to IPKKND which in turn was compared to their earlier show GHSP...n come to think of it some bits are similar to MEPK too. What similarities? Lets see...
Zoya & Khushi
- Both grew up without parents - they were adopted and sensitive about that subject (obviously!)
- Both are chirpy, talkative, a little mad and can't see anyone else's pain
- Both have a painful pasts but don't let it get in the way of their future
- Both have phobia's due to their parent(s) death - Zoya is scared of fire as her mother was burnt in one and Khushi is scared of the dark & speeding cars as her parents died in a car accident
- Both try to help others and end up in trouble themselves
- Both have a favourite phrase which involves their God - 'Allah miyan' & 'Hai devi maiya'
- Both have an ornament of their dead mother - Zoya her earrings & Khushi has the Payal
- Both have a nickname for their men - Jahapanah 6 packs (Zoya) & Laad governor (Khushi)
- Both were knocked down by their men's cars in their initial meetings
- Both get on famously with their leading man's sister
- Both hug their leading men after an emotional moment - Zoya after she finds out her father is might be alive and Khushi in the hospital after her father had an heart attack
- Both are consoled by their men while crying after a personal tragedy - Zoya after she found out her dad is dead and Khushi after she broke her engagement to Shyam
- Both were engaged before they fell for their leading man
- Both have someone in their family who is involved with their leading man's father - Zoya's father stays with Asad's dad and Khushi's aunt is the other woman with whom Arnav's father cheated on his mother
- Both are the only ones who can talk back to the leading men and even get through to them
Asad & Arnav
- Both are the tall, dark & handsome but brooding types.
- They have a fierce temper and don't care what they say when they get angry - needless to say they hurt their leading ladies every time!
- Both had a bad childhood and let it affect their future
- Both are rich industrialists
- Both hate their fathers as they had another woman in their lives
- Both care for ones close to them but won't show it. Both are protective about their leading ladies.
- Both found & kept the ornaments close to their leading ladies - Asad kept the earring & Arnav the payal
- Both have scenes where the leading lady almost died and male lead realises how much he loves her
- Both have scenes where they are told love just happens and you can't control it - Asad is told by his mother and Arnav by his sister
- Both have big egos and that will never let them confess their true feelings
- Both fall for women that are totally opposite of their definition of an 'ideal wife/woman'
- Both initially think that their leading lady is not a 'nice girl' - Arnav thinks Khushi wants money/break his sister's marriage and Asad thinks Zoya has objectionable morals as she wears jeans
- Both are mean to their leading lady about her parents only to realise later that they are orphans
- Both have a sister they are over protective about (Najma & Anjali) and a brother they love (Ayaan & Akaash)
- Both have brother who are flirts (Ayaan & NK)
Other things common
- Both leads finally face each other for good after 5 meetings - Zoya-Asad: 1. Dargaah 2. Almost hit by the car 3. Knocked down by the car in the market 4. At the mall 5. In Asad's bedroom when they realise Zoya now stays in Asad's house. Arnav-Khushi 1. fashion show 2. Dargaah 3. Hit by the car 4. In the office basement 5. Meet in ASR's office to realise Khshi works for him.
- Both serials have background songs for all romantic moments - Mitwa (QH) & Rabba ve (IPKKND)
- Both serials have a turning point in the story where the male lead was supposed to go out of station without the leading lady but she ends up there anyway by accident - QH had Mangalpur & IPKKND had Nainital
- Both instances had a bride running away and the leading lady ending up in the bride's clothes and the male lead fighting goons to save the leading lady. Of course there is a stay at the dhaba scene where they're mistaken for a married couple!
- Both serials have scenes revolving around falling stars
- Both serials had scenes where the lead pair gets drunk on bhaang & confesses they like each other but refuse to acknowledge it even though they remember it
- Both serials have scenes where the male lead sends the female lead in to a situation where her life is in danger & then rescues here - she later is angry with him and doesn't want to talk to him - QH Asad sends Zoya to meet her ex-fianc who hurts her & tries to force her to marry him and IPKKND Arnav sends Khushi to his site which is going to fall
- Both leads have danced to Teri Meri song
- The romantic situations are similar - falling scenes, confessing love under the influence of bhaang, realising love after a near death experience, staring matches where everything happens for ages in slow motion, etc
- There is someone after one of the leads who keeps messing things and causing problems between them - Tanveer wants Asad in QH and Shyam wants Khushi in IPKKND
- Airport scene - in QH its Asad trying to stop Zoya and IPKKND had Khushi waiting outside trying to stop Arnav
- Both serials have a lead whose mother died because of their father - Zoya's mother was murdered by Razia as she was going to marry her husband(Zoya's father) and Arnav's mother killed herself as she found out his dad was cheating on her
I'm sure there are a lot more similarities coz there are too many times when I watch a scene in QH & say "oh! this is such a 4Lions kind of thing...same thing happened in IPKKND or GHSP or MEPK"...guess it's coz it is the same PH
I think KSG is very handsome and a pretty decent actor. Surbhi is good too considering she has a theatre background & had worked in punjabi serials before this but she is definitely not very beautiful - smart & natural yes but not beautiful...plus her diction is bad where English is concerned! The whole cast doesn't somehow match up to the IPKKND one. Sanaya & Barun are brilliant actors and worked well in their parts - what expressions n chemistry! KSG & Surbhi fit their parts very well too..but the chemistry isn't as strong - maybe it'll develop.
Unfortunately 4 Lions is just using the same old formula to attract viewers atleast on the romance front - same characters in a different setup...of course we are all fans of Mills & Boons stories so we watch QH...who doesn't like a good romance..I just hope they do not get Zoya & Ayaan involved and create a love triangle...we've already had too many of those and it would just make it too similar to IPKKND/GHSP/HSHL...so for the benefit of the show and finally killing all comparisons I hope it's Asad & Zoya all the way without any detours! And I hope they concentrate on the story not just the romance..that was IPKKND's biggest flaw.
Hope they concentrate on the murder mystery along with the complications it brings for their romance..For once I hope the channel & PH mean it when they say their show is 'really different'! I love QH anyway but I would love it to be a show with a good story than just with leads who make doe eyes at each other :)
PS: I'm a fan of both shows - these are just my thoughts - not bashing...whatever that is ;)
Anupamaa
Jhanak
Ufff Yeh Love Hai Mushkil
