Monday - Friday, 10:00 pm, STAR Plus
Cast : Debolina Chaterjiee, Shaleen Bhanot, Nivedita Bhattacharya
Rating: **1/2
After colour co-ordinated modular kitchens, corporate boardrooms (though they eventually land in the kitchen!), government offices, it's now the terrorists den, Hindi TV heroines seem to be entering or so it seems in Star Plus' latest offering, Sajda Tere Pyaar Mein.
Aliya is a carefree girl. She lives for today, is lazy to the core, doesn't care much for rules and farz, would rather spend time with her gang of friends without a worry in the world. She has an older sister, Nafisa, a police officer and a missing brother (who we are sure will come from the dead when the TRP clock strikes!). While Nafisa wears duty and patriotism on her sleeve, she is also the disciplinarian of the house. All she wants is Aliya to realise her responsibilities and grow up!
Meanwhile, Aliya's best friend Rishi is into drugs though she isn't aware about it and at the time of writing, she has bumped into a long haired suspicious-looking man, who's dropped his pen which she's picked up. We are told the two are eventually going to fall in love (long hair and Miss Carefree that is) and herein comes the terrorist angle. Things are going to take a turn for the worse when Aliya will have to choose between her love for her man versus that for her country.
The plot, to be fair, seems interesting (we guess, anything away from the mundane family dramas are welcome) though we are not yet sold on its execution. For one, Aliya seems to be all over the place. O.K, we do get the point that she is a happy-go-lucky girl but why show her prancing around, giggling and behaving like a five year old in every other scene. Secondly, there is too much drama happening, especially when the two sisters share the frame. Each tries to outdo the other in the hamming department. So naturally,we are waiting for the story to pick up and fast.
Nivedita Bhattacharya as the tough cop sister tends to go over the top while Debolina Chatterjiee as Aliya is rough on the edges and may be reserving her intense best for the subsequent episodes when the story will take a big turn. Shaleen Bhanot as the long haired stranger is still to open his cards.
So far so good because as we said anything that is not about two women warring with each other wearing saris and mile-long bindis is a welcome change! Can't wait for the aatankwadi ki prem katha to begin.
Verdict: Worth a dekko.
