Ye Rishta: Character Development and Viewer Connection

Disclaimer: Before anyone jumps to conclusions, I want to clarify that I've been a silent viewer of the show since season 1 of Ye Rishta but lost interest after Naira's abrupt exit. I've also followed Harshad since his Kis Desh days and Jay from his SGP 1.0 days, so I'm not a fan, but I wanted to share my opinion as a legacy viewer.

In the first season of Ye Rishta, the audience could relate to the journey of Akshara, which was a full-circle transformation from a daughter to a wife, daughter-in-law, and mother. Her journey, supported by Naitik, was amazing. This journey also introduced Naira's character, allowing the audience to get to know her from childhood through her teen years, making the connection with her easier. The gradual transformation from enemies to friends to lovers to husband and wife was executed well with Kaira. Unfortunately, in Gen3, they introduced an Akshara but failed to capture the essence, and the rushed love story and endless misunderstandings between Abhimanyu and Akshara left a bitter note for the audience.

Akshara Goenka/Ex-Birla/Sharma never had any traits of the Sherni Naira as fans used to say and i dont think she ever knew her real mother's maayka considering how Goenka's replaced Naira with many others. She had no consistent character development, transitioning from a singer and music therapist to a lawyer who magically became a lawyer and her first case was to fight for her ex who got jailed in murder of her husband.

The audience connected with the characters and their development in the first and Second season, but the same didn't happen with Akshara 2.0 Sharma.

The positivity in Ye Rishta S3 in my opinion was during Kasauli track, with Abhinav bringing back positivity. At this point, they should have given Abhimanyu a dignified exit, as he was initially introduced as a male lead in Gen3 and its unfair to see him pining over his ex aka the mother of his child who happily moved on with her husband.

Akshara and Abhinav's journey could have had a journey paralleled to that of Akshara and Naitik.

Now, with fewer episodes left, the audience knows nothing about Abhira, except that she is the symbol of love between Akshara and Abhinav, and a promo which hints at a reprised version of previous GHUM.

How can the audience connect with a character that hasn't been introduced yet and is expected to carry forward the legacy of Akshara Singhania and Naira Goenka?

I've seen many posts comparing Jay and Harshad and blaming them, but are they really at fault? They are established actors who perform according to the script they receive.

The blame lies with the writers, creatives, and the channel, who make decisions driven by their own needs rather than the story's integrity.

I'm Happy that actors such as Harshad, Jay, Pranali, and Karishma are no longer entangled in this situation. I hope they find projects where they can truly shine.

I agree with most of your points. A very well written post

At this point, it looks like the only people who care about this show are some of the viewers like us who keep hoping against hope for past glory like initial few years of this show or occasional few episodes in between. Sadly, the makers or producers have not been on the same page.

Yes because S2 Naira’s huge part of journey was connected to S1 Naitik and Akshara. We had plenty of time to adjust to new leads and story progression to Akshara daughter Naira. Akshara also had many scenes with her daughter throughout the show and died much later when Naira was 22-23. However, S3, they died in their childhood (both Sirat and Naira) and they didn’t show us much of how they were in childhood. Not even a total of 1 month was spent on them growing up and having scnes.

s1 had so much revolving around both NakSh and Naira - Cape Town scnes and later when they came back to India

now S4, we had a little idea of Ruhi and Abhir character as we spent 6-8 months seeing them in their childhood but we will sort of know nothing of Abhira? How do we connect with her?

Originally posted by: Shinning_AD

Yes because S2 Naira’s huge part of journey was connected to S1 Naitik and Akshara. We had plenty of time to adjust to new leads and story progression to Akshara daughter Naira. Akshara also had many scenes with her daughter throughout the show and died much later when Naira was 22-23. However, S3, they died in their childhood (both Sirat and Naira) and they didn’t show us much of how they were in childhood. Not even a total of 1 month was spent on them growing up and having scnes.

s1 had so much revolving around both NakSh and Naira - Cape Town scnes and later when they came back to India

now S4, we had a little idea of Ruhi and Abhir character as we spent 6-8 months seeing them in their childhood but we will sort of know nothing of Abhira? How do we connect with her?

Indeed, the characters connect with audience matter. Now the audience may have some connection with Roohi, having seen her as a child. However, the real question is how they will come to know Abhira. Abhinav and Akshara's daughter, Abhira, remains a mystery, and it's uncertain if she will never have the chance to see her parent's love, especially her father. Abhir's fate is uncertain, and she may miss out on the sibling bonds we witnessed in previous seasons, such as Naksh-Naira and Kairav-Akshara.

Manish's attempt to be a father figure to Akshara 2.0 fell short, so it's doubtful he can fill the same role for Abhira. The underlying issue with Akshara 2.0 is the absence of parental love and warmth.

Fans may not have been a priority for DKP, but it seems that even the characters they created no longer hold significance. The way they handled S3, seemingly driven by an actor's fanbase rather than storytelling, and their return to a cut-and-paste of GHUM S1 is concerning.

Originally posted by: ambika02

I agree with most of your points. A very well written post

At this point, it looks like the only people who care about this show are some of the viewers like us who keep hoping against hope for past glory like initial few years of this show or occasional few episodes in between. Sadly, the makers or producers have not been on the same page.

Fans' opinions held no significance for DKP, which is why they intentionally created division between Abhi-ra and AkshNav supporters by naming Abhinav's daughter Abhira. They had numerous alternative names to choose from if their intention was to create a fusion of Abhinav and Akshara's names.

This decision seems to be primarily about profit for the producers and the channel, or it may indicate a lack of alignment between them for this generation characters. It reflects a regressive mindset, and it's high time for change, especially given that it's 2023, and we've witnessed other countries adopt a more progressive approach to storytelling on television.

The way abhi has turned into dooormatmanyu yeah I agree during kasauli or maybe before that mandir bashing he could have died. Or even during his suicide attempt it was clear ak didn't care about him like that back then. No wonder her sudden care affection for him seems so hollow.

Makers could have made nav a lot better. There is a clear social difference between ak and him and no matter how much ak tried to hide behind her forced poverty it would have remained. They could have shown husband wife working together to get a better standard of living. More abhir ak bonding scenes. Nav transition from driver to owning successful business and ak finally having a consistent degree not jumping from jam to homestay to lawyer whatever the hell she was doing. Makers could neither do justice to navra nor abhi....ra. people sees clips of abhi telling at her on wd and funnily those all things came true now.

Makers had erased naira for sirat and funnily ak didn't care about sirat too beyond "I was responsible for her death" and her aru aru jaap. Gen 3 fl had no meaningful relationship with any character, a flop as daughter wife mother sister. Just a bad omen wherever she goes death follows. And now her daughter will take legacy forward, who's husband was there for 8 months and after his death makers turned him to someone who took loans to fund his wifes diamond jewelry 🤣🤣

Originally posted by: Phir_Mohabbat

The way abhi has turned into dooormatmanyu yeah I agree during kasauli or maybe before that mandir bashing he could have died. Or even during his suicide attempt it was clear ak didn't care about him like that back then. No wonder her sudden care affection for him seems so hollow.

Makers could have made nav a lot better. There is a clear social difference between ak and him and no matter how much ak tried to hide behind her forced poverty it would have remained. They could have shown husband wife working together to get a better standard of living. More abhir ak bonding scenes. Nav transition from driver to owning successful business and ak finally having a consistent degree not jumping from jam to homestay to lawyer whatever the hell she was doing. Makers could neither do justice to navra nor abhi....ra. people sees clips of abhi telling at her on wd and funnily those all things came true now.

Makers had erased naira for sirat and funnily ak didn't care about sirat too beyond "I was responsible for her death" and her aru aru jaap. Gen 3 fl had no meaningful relationship with any character, a flop as daughter wife mother sister. Just a bad omen wherever she goes death follows. And now her daughter will take legacy forward, who's husband was there for 8 months and after his death makers turned him to someone who took loans to fund his wifes diamond jewelry 🤣🤣

Originally posted by: Shinning_AD

I just assumed writers wanted to show Abhimanyu-Akshara and hence didn’t wanna show too much on Abhinav-AK but Idk now seems like makers themselves don’t care and know what pairing they seem to want

Ak called abhi names, sent him to jail, humiliated him, brainwashed his kid against him to the point abhi wanted to die, she took him to resort and in a twisted way had sx in the same resort with her husband. If this is the ship maker is favouring idk what to assume lmao

Originally posted by: Phir_Mohabbat

The way abhi has turned into dooormatmanyu yeah I agree during kasauli or maybe before that mandir bashing he could have died. Or even during his suicide attempt it was clear ak didn't care about him like that back then. No wonder her sudden care affection for him seems so hollow.

Makers could have made nav a lot better. There is a clear social difference between ak and him and no matter how much ak tried to hide behind her forced poverty it would have remained. They could have shown husband wife working together to get a better standard of living. More abhir ak bonding scenes. Nav transition from driver to owning successful business and ak finally having a consistent degree not jumping from jam to homestay to lawyer whatever the hell she was doing. Makers could neither do justice to navra nor abhi....ra. people sees clips of abhi telling at her on wd and funnily those all things came true now.

Makers had erased naira for sirat and funnily ak didn't care about sirat too beyond "I was responsible for her death" and her aru aru jaap. Gen 3 fl had no meaningful relationship with any character, a flop as daughter wife mother sister. Just a bad omen wherever she goes death follows. And now her daughter will take legacy forward, who's husband was there for 8 months and after his death makers turned him to someone who took loans to fund his wifes diamond jewelry 🤣🤣

I believe Abhimanyu's demise was unnecessary. Instead, he could have chosen to leave the country after the temple confrontation scene or the custody drama. The storyline could have included a touching sequence where Abhimanyu departs, ultimately reuniting Akshara and Abhinav. He could have continued parenting Abhir from a distance if that's what the makers intended.

Akshara 2.0 has a significant legacy from Naira's family, so after the WD fiasco they could have shifted the story showing her live with the Singhania family, alongside her maternal uncle and aunt, rather than seeking assistance from a stranger she met on a bus. Anyways when the audience had accepted Abhinav, and then the narrative could have shifted towards exploring numerous job opportunities for him, such as becoming an Uber or Ola driver, offering the potential for substantial earnings. Additionally, their jam-making business could have thrived with promotion on social media. They started homestay business with only guest and thats about it. Akshara became lawyer overnight. She could have seen earn money posting singing videos on youtube or insta too.

The makers had ample opportunities to address social differences, the impact of social media, or shed light on the multitude of employment opportunities prevalent today. It remains a mystery why they didn't explore these possibilities.

Originally posted by: Summer_Rain

I believe Abhimanyu's demise was unnecessary. Instead, he could have chosen to leave the country after the temple confrontation scene or the custody drama. The storyline could have included a touching sequence where Abhimanyu departs, ultimately reuniting Akshara and Abhinav. He could have continued parenting Abhir from a distance if that's what the makers intended.

Akshara 2.0 has a significant legacy from Naira's family, so after the WD fiasco they could have shifted the story showing her live with the Singhania family, alongside her maternal uncle and aunt, rather than seeking assistance from a stranger she met on a bus. Anyways when the audience had accepted Abhinav, and then the narrative could have shifted towards exploring numerous job opportunities for him, such as becoming an Uber or Ola driver, offering the potential for substantial earnings. Additionally, their jam-making business could have thrived with promotion on social media. They started homestay business with only guest and thats about it. Akshara became lawyer overnight. She could have seen earn money posting singing videos on youtube or insta too.

The makers had ample opportunities to address social differences, the impact of social media, or shed light on the multitude of employment opportunities prevalent today. It remains a mystery why they didn't explore these possibilities.

If ak went to singhaniyas nav would have never entered the picture, I am sorry the makers really tried to pass a legit billionaire kid who lived her entire life as princess, wore designer lehenga for wedding and was coated in diamond jewellery going for a driver whom any girl will look from 1km distance. The makers were somehow obsessed with showing their 2rs faltu parallel hence they introduced nav who has none in life apart from ak and her kid contrasting ak who had entire clan/birlas. They never showed properly why she didn't go to goenkas or how come goenkas are happy letting their kid live with a stranger in 1rk apartment without marriage, in her risky pregnancy state where she can die during childbirth and the man has no resources to get her to best hospital. Ak was so ignorant of her own kid cause who does that? They didn't handle the noble professions like doctor lawyer or music therapy you are expecting youtuber channel from them lol.

They could have explored individual relationship a lot too rather than going beyond their comfort zone like class difference etc. Ex nav knew nothing about aks heritage despite living with her for 7 years, how realistic is that? Is that supposed to be ideal marriage where people ask each other nothing? Or it's just an idea where husband shuts up and supports everything wife does is supposed to the best mariage, cause by that logic abhi is doing the same so I guess he's best husband/fiance now.🤣