Ekta Kapoor’s latest offering on Zee TV is again a family saga with a familiar storyline. I Kaur reports
It is very rare that a sitcom replaces a popular drama at prime time on a general entertainment channel. But with Ekta Kapoor anything is possible. Replacing her popular prime time show on Zee TV, Pavitra Rishta, Kapoor’s new sitcom Kumkum Bhagya, which is loosely based on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibilities, will air at prime time from April. Shabbir Ahluwalia, Sriti Jha and Mrunal Thakur will be playing lead roles in the serial and were recently here for the launch.
Though the name Kumkum reminded us of Kapoor’s 2002 drama with the same name, it is completely different from that plot. The title of this serial is metaphorical, said Jha while explaining the storyline. “The show is about a Punjabi family where women run a marriage hall called Kumkum Bhagya. There is a grandmother, mother of two girls — Pragya and Bulbul — and Amma, who has been working in the household for very long and is thus like a family. The mother wants her daughters get married to a boy from a nice, reputed family. Thus, the title is a metaphor as it is the name of the marriage hall and it also defines the situation of the family. But as luck would have it, Akki, a rockstar, comes into the picture and things go topsy-turvy,” explained the actress who previously played the role of Ganga in Balika Vadhu.
Jha plays the role of Pragya in the show. She said that the character is close to her real self. “Pragya is a professor and is independent. She wants to take care of her family so that she can support her mother’s business. She loves reading books and is practical. That is exactly how I am,” she shared.
Akki, played by Shabbir, is a rockstar who contests every definition of the man Pragya’s mother wants her to marry. He elaborated, “This is the first time I’m playing a rockstar. My character explores music not just for the love of it but for survival. He cares a lot about money. He has worked hard for it and doesn’t want to let it go.”
Mrunal plays Bulbul. She shared, “The character’s name itself brings a smile to anyone’s face. She’s full of life, happy-go-lucky and wants others to be happy. She is not the most practical person in life and lives in her own dreamland. She dreams of a boy like Akki for herself.”