Kundali Bhagya Review: Two New Sisters, Same Old Story
Show Title: Kundali Bhagya
Channel: Zee TV
Timings: Monday to Friday 9:30 pm
This ‘spin-off’ trend is really catching up in India as another show on television has got its spin-off. Kundali Bhagya is the spin-off of Zee TV’s hit drama, Kumkum Bhagya. The show deals with the lives of Pragya’s (female lead of Kumkum Bhagya) two sisters Preeta and Shrishti. I watched the first episode of this show and here is my first impression of it.
Kundali Bhagya (2017)
Episode 1
The show starts with Shrishti (Anjum Fakih) and Preeta (Shraddha Arya) running to catch a train. On noticing the crowd at the station, Preeta criticises Shrishti for loading Shekhar with all their luggage. Shrishti justifies that he is a well-built young guy and this is the right way to put his strength to some use and as far as the crowd is concerned she assures Preeta of taking care of it. Shrishti then jostles through the crowd asking them to make way for Shekhar who is in a hurry to catch up with his girlfriend who is leaving him forever. They then somehow make their way to the train and get to their seats where they find their seat to be occupied by a man. Shrishti asks the man to vacate her seat but he refuses to move claiming it to be his seat. Pointing out to Shekhar, Shrishti tells him that he is her boyfriend who can spin him on his fingers and throw him far away. Scared, the man quickly leaves the seat. As the two sisters take their seats, Shekhar teases Shrishti for finally admitting that he is her boyfriend and asks her to call him from Mumbai but Preeta interjects that Shrishti has no feelings for him and shall never call him because she has only been taking advantage of his helpful nature. Dejected, Shekhar stands looking morose as the train starts and the two girls wave him goodbye.
Preeta gazes out of the window and in a voice over we hear her say that people might think that they lead a good life and are now advancing further by relocating from a small town of Nashik to a big city like Mumbai. She says that nobody will guess that the two of them are uprooting their lives and going to a new city forever. She says that despite being in love with her town there is some reason that coerced her to leave her job as a physiotherapist and relocate to Mumbai.
In a flashback scene, an old man arrives at her hospital in a wheelchair and warns her from breaking his leg as she carefully examines him. The irate man then tells her that if she breaks his leg he will never permit his son to marry her and she pleads to not be mean to her. Cut to, the man is on his feet with the help of a walker and he looks content to be able to stand on his feet. Just then, Shrishti appears from nowhere and asks Preeta to join her for her fiancée Deepak’s birthday party. Shrishti drags Preeta out of the hospital as she instructs a ward boy to help the old man with the rest of his physiotherapy session.
When the two sisters arrive at Deepak’s birthday party, they see him dance with a girl. Shrishti feels annoyed at the girl and deliberately stomps her foot that sends the girl writhing in pain. Preeta quickly rushes to the girl and advices her to place her foot in warm water that will give her some relief. Preeta then wishes her fiancée Deepak and asks about his parents and he says that they have no work at his party as he has only invited his friends and bank colleagues. He then introduces Preeta to his friends as his childhood sweetheart and soon-to-be wife. Preeta looks at him in surprise wondering why he lied about them being together since childhood and he explains that he does not want to tell his friends that he is getting into an arranged marriage as they will mock him for it. He then adds that he anyway had a crush on her since school but she never paid him any attention which is why he had to convince his father to ask her hand in marriage for him after which she agreed. Preeta looks a little upset but then accepts it with a wry smile on her face.
Deepak then invites Preeta to see his house and takes her to his room where he tries to get close to her but she recoils each time he touches her. He then narrates stories of his friends going on trips with their girlfriends without even committing to them. He tries to convince her to at least kiss him but she does not relent. Nervous, she gives Shrishti missed calls which alerts her and she barges into the room only to find Deepak trying to kiss Preeta. She tells Deepak that her father wanted to wish him for his birthday which is why she came looking for him and Preeta heaves a sigh of relief as Deepak moves away from her to talk on the phone. Shrishti senses Preeta’s discomfort and says that their father must have called to ask them to return home so she suggests they leave immediately and Preeta happily agrees.
On their way back, Shrishti teases Preeta for trying to get cosy with Deepak before their marriage and Preeta defends that she did not do anything. Shrishti laughs at her naivety and says that had she been in her place, she would have kissed Deepak as it is always good to ‘check a car before buying it’. Preeta is worried that her reluctance to kiss him might have angered him and he might call off their engagement and Shrishti breaks into a tirade of how unsuitable he is for Preeta. Preeta justifies that a relationship does not sustain on good looks and that two people have to be compatible to have a successful marriage. She says that she wants a husband who treats her as his equal, unlike Shrishti who dreams of having a prince charming enter her life in a car and blow her off her feet. She says she wants a man who is simple and grounded like her.
Cut to, Preeta’s engagement day and Preeta is running around the house fretting about the arrangements. The two sisters continue to bounce around the house when their father stumbles his way into the house completely sloshed. Shrishti berates him for drinking even on his daughter’s engagement day. Preeta tries to pacify Shrishti who is fuming over their father’s irresponsible behaviour. Preeta then notices a black plastic bag in his hand and Shrishti runs to grab it from his hand but Preeta stops her from doing so. Shrishti demands to see what is in it but her father refuses to divulge anything. She assumes that it must be a bottle of alcohol and screams at him for acting selfishly. Just then, a girl comes running to inform them of the arrival of the groom’s family.
First Episode First Impression
Am I the only one who feels that actress Shraddha Arya looks a lot like Kirti Kulhari? I ALWAYS get confused between the two. I don’t know why. Look at the image below. Don’t they look alike?
Coming to the show, I surprisingly liked the first episode. Though every damn thing was predictable and overly clichéd I still liked the first episode only because I liked the two sisters. Shraddha and Anjum acted really well in the first episode and their synergies seemed to work well for the show. Though the episode was extremely PAKAO (boring) I still managed to watch it because Preeta and Shrishti were so cute as two sisters. Other than that nothing in the episode was striking or remotely interesting.
What looked nice?
The two sisters, Preeta and Shrishti had my attention. The two sister’s complement each other well. Shraddha Arya’s pleasant face and personality suit the role of a shy elder sister. Her restrained expressions and body language impressed me and I think she was aptly cast for the role. However, it was actress Anjum Fakih i.e. Preeta who was just too cool in the first episode. I have seen a lot of shows where the younger sister is funky and outgoing but most of the time actresses tend to overact but Anjum was spot on. She did look trying hard in some instances but otherwise, she was just awesome. I loved what she wore and how she carried herself. If I were to watch this show, it would be only to see how Anjum’s character develops.
What did not look nice?
I hate it when directors stick to the general image of a simple elder sister and a modern outgoing sister. In order to show that the elder sister is sweet and simple, they make her wear boring salwar kameez, even to a birthday party. I mean c’mon!! Who does that nowadays? I have no problem with Indian attire but at least give her some good clothes for the occasion. But no! Since she is the introverted, shy elder sister, she will have to wear dull clothes to convince the audience that she is a simple person. Similarly, the younger outgoing sister will wear ultra-sexy clothes to prove that she is younger and ‘modern’. I loathe the attires that 90% actresses wear in TV serials. Their clothes are either OTT or extremely boring.
The show’s story does not excite me a bit. It is the same formula you see in every damn show on television. A simple girl from a humble background rubs a rich spoilt brat the wrong way and he marries her only to teach her a lesson. If this show is not about that then good, it may be worth your time. If it is, then please put your time to some good use and stop wasting your time on this show.
If you are a fan of Kumkum Bhagya then you might want to watch this show as the two shows are connected with converging storylines. As for me, I will look for another drama on another channel as this one interests me not a bit.
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