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Capturing the pathos behind the burning issue of wives abandoned by NRI husbands in Punjab, the show uses real incidents to tell their story
The idiocy of the tellytube was, largely, dumped out of the window a while ago. What we have today is substance TV outgrowing the saas bahu sagas and gradually gravitating towards filling those chinks in the psychological makeup of the Indian Television.
Backed by real stories the daily soap Bani - Ishq Da Kalma explores the plight of Punjabi brides abandoned by NRIs, through the lives of sisters Bani and Rajji played by Shefali Sharma and Neha Bagga respectively.
With a 13 year stint in theatre Shefali played the role of Bani with ease. "TV was never on my mind. Theatre had always been my primary concern. And I wasn't even keen on the idea of moving to Mumbai, when I got a call for this role, but I'm glad I did." says Shefali.
As for the surgically attached screen sister Rajji alias Neha, persistent auditions landed this B-School girl into tinselville. "Though my parents were always hesitant about my TV endeavours, when I bagged Rajji's role, there was nothing stopping me," she beams.
The tumultuous period of being the bride and not really a wife faced by abandoned brides is rampant across the state. Talking about the show and NRI fanaticism, Shefali says "It's a rivetting concept and since both of us hail from Punjab (Shefali is from Amritsar), the sisterhood, the crackling chemistry and identifying with the issue gains the necessary momentum very easily."
Neha on her part adds that coming from a region where such incidents are mushrooming at alarming velocities the issue sinks in far better. "I have a friend whose sister is married to an NRI and hasn't seen her husband since their wedding five years ago," she says.
The tube sisters don't fail to point out the raging craze for settling overseas among Punjabis as one of the reasons for this stomach churning reality. "We feel it wouldn't be wrong to blame the people who get blinded by the gloss and flash of an NRI groom and do not make any further enquiries about him. It's like trap. And we wish to educate people on avoiding this trap," says Shefali.
Concludes Neha, "After the initial controversy around the title of the show everybody had their apprehensions (The serial was initially titled Gurbani but due to protests from Sikh activists, it was changed to Bani). But the show kick started with such aplomb and it continues till date. We didn't intend hurting anybody's sentiments."
The idiocy of the tellytube was, largely, dumped out of the window a while ago. What we have today is substance TV outgrowing the saas bahu sagas and gradually gravitating towards filling those chinks in the psychological makeup of the Indian Television.
Backed by real stories the daily soap Bani - Ishq Da Kalma explores the plight of Punjabi brides abandoned by NRIs, through the lives of sisters Bani and Rajji played by Shefali Sharma and Neha Bagga respectively.
With a 13 year stint in theatre Shefali played the role of Bani with ease. "TV was never on my mind. Theatre had always been my primary concern. And I wasn't even keen on the idea of moving to Mumbai, when I got a call for this role, but I'm glad I did." says Shefali.
As for the surgically attached screen sister Rajji alias Neha, persistent auditions landed this B-School girl into tinselville. "Though my parents were always hesitant about my TV endeavours, when I bagged Rajji's role, there was nothing stopping me," she beams.
The tumultuous period of being the bride and not really a wife faced by abandoned brides is rampant across the state. Talking about the show and NRI fanaticism, Shefali says "It's a rivetting concept and since both of us hail from Punjab (Shefali is from Amritsar), the sisterhood, the crackling chemistry and identifying with the issue gains the necessary momentum very easily."
Neha on her part adds that coming from a region where such incidents are mushrooming at alarming velocities the issue sinks in far better. "I have a friend whose sister is married to an NRI and hasn't seen her husband since their wedding five years ago," she says.
The tube sisters don't fail to point out the raging craze for settling overseas among Punjabis as one of the reasons for this stomach churning reality. "We feel it wouldn't be wrong to blame the people who get blinded by the gloss and flash of an NRI groom and do not make any further enquiries about him. It's like trap. And we wish to educate people on avoiding this trap," says Shefali.
Concludes Neha, "After the initial controversy around the title of the show everybody had their apprehensions (The serial was initially titled Gurbani but due to protests from Sikh activists, it was changed to Bani). But the show kick started with such aplomb and it continues till date. We didn't intend hurting anybody's sentiments."
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