Yeh Rishta takes on Balika Vadhu
Looks like Star Plus cannot resist taking digs at the Colors serial Balika Vadhu, which has the highest TRPs right now. So, while the daadisa in Balika played to perfection by Surekha Sikra is old-fashioned, obstinate and rooted in superstitions, the daadi in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, played by Vinita Malik is progressive and believes in moving with the times. So while daadisa expects even her 12-year-old granddaughter-in-law to cover her head and follow tradition, daadi is more liberal and insists on treating her granddaughter-in-law as a daughter.
Perhaps, that could well be why Yeh Rishta is gradually climbing up the popularity charts. While the plot is set in a traditional Marwari family based in Udaipur, the characters learn to make peace with the times and break away from tradition, allowing their daughter Akshara to take a call on a proposal she has received.
Meanwhile, Balika is getting terribly depressing with the young widow Suguna, played by Vibha Anand, being confined to a dark room outside the main house. Her constant tears, daadisa's insistence that her widowed granddaughter kill all desires and learn to live an austere life is perhaps the channel's way of driving home the message of how early marriages can lead to tragic circumstances. However, one does feel that they are going a bit overboard, what with the young widow undergoing guilt pangs at the prospect of eating a jalebi.
Dehleej, which has been on air for a few weeks on NDTV Imagine now is rather out-dated. The bahu of a prominent business family, who steps out to work after her husband's factory is gutted in a fire, is subjected to the most clichd advances; like an older colleague trying to stroke the lady's hand suggestively in full public view. One would like to believe that a man who plans to make advances is not going to do so openly and secondly, the message being driven home is that women who step out of their Dehleej to work will be subjected to such advances all the time.
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