Its raining romance on TV:PKDN-Article

Jai and Bani. Raghu and Aanya. Nimmo and Kunal. Matters couldn't be more comfortably mushy as the season gets just right for fanning those flames of passion and affection. And while the tired old family dramas keep up their tired old antics, it's the time tested but potent Mills and Boon flavour of Kasamh Se, Jab Love Hua and Nimmo... that's been cheering up TV for some days now.

This week, Nimmo, accompanied by the loud though lovable Kantaben (veteran actor Bharati Achrekar who's also fallen for the Balaji bait) managed to come out unscathed from another misadventure in Mauritius. But the perpetually perplexed looking hubby grappled with another knotty problem in the form of former girlfriend Natasha. If Kavita Kaushik is looking to get back into the Balaji fold (there's not much work for her after the dying Kesar), she could have chosen better. As Natasha, garishly made up and dressed like a tart, she doesn't look or act like she could win anyone's affections, let alone a married old flame.

Over at Zee, Saat Phere's plain Jane Saloni continues to keep viewers mysteriously hooked despite stiff competition from the timorous Bani of Kasamh Se, who, it now seems, will definitely win over the snooty husband (played with remarkable restraint by another good actor, Ram Kapoor), again over the affections of another old flame who's popped out of the history books.

But the best story of the lot, away from the artifice of the in laws and the artificial gloss of city life, is that of Raghu and Aanya. Tony and Deeya Singh's labour of love after Jassi, Jab Love Hua has picked up steam in the last few days (did dropping the extra 'b' from the title have anything to do with this?).

The protagonists are spontaneous, the dialogues pithy and spiked spicily with a rural flavour, which is a refreshing change. The hero (Sudeep Sahir doing a much better job than in Ayushmaan) goes about comfortably in his dhoti and vest, and still retains a charm that no Millionaire-sponsored wardrobe can match. Priya Badlani may have started awkward, but she's gotten well into the skin of Aanya, a curious mixture of innonence and urban conceit, This week, she almost got an embarrassed Raghu to confess his love, unaware that she herself was the subject of his feelings. Just the kind of feel good story to look forward to on rainy evenings.

Quite unlike the other contorted efforts that pass for programming. Sony's Risshton Ki Dorr, inspired by Three Sisters, continues to confound. The story doesn't seem to know whether to focus itself on the brother's love for his sisters, the wife's obsession with a prominent builder, or the builder's wooden romance with one of the sisters. The same goes for Sony's other prime time show Ek Ladki Anjaani Si. The desi version of Juana Le Virgen has been meandering after its efforts to Indianise the 'socially uncomfortable' theme of a young girl's inadvertent pregnancy. It may be trying to go back to the original track, but by now, who cares?

Which brings me to the happy conclusion that it is the home grown variety that's finally clicking. With the exception of a Pyar Ke Do Naam, Ek Radha Ek Shyaam (with a name like that, did they expect it to work though?), it is the indigenous plots that may set the tone for the remainder of the year. May the rash of foreign format shows inspired by the Jassi phenomenon die peacefully, and allow us to grow old happily with the likes of Saat Phere, Jab Love Hua, even a Thodi Khushi Thode Gham...