From twists in the tale to best jodis to fresh faces to comebacks to biggest controversies, 2016 was a year that saw all this and much more. SUNDAY PIONEER tells you more about the year that was on the small screen
Kahaani mein twist
Be it memory loss, month-long pregnancy, plastic surgery after the accident, death of lead actors or no ageing effect and lookalike children — when it came to leaps, makers experimented with a lot of twists in their daily soaps to spice up the drama. Here are a few shows with the biggest twists this year.
Memory loss: In Kumkum Bhagya, Abhi managed to save Pragya from the accident planned by Alia and Tanu to kill her. But he lost his memory in the process and didn’t remember his wife. Pragya, in order to not stress him out, pretends to be a stranger to him and becomes his secretary. She impresses him with her honesty and a good heart. Tanu tries to trick Abhi into marrying him before he can remember his past and marriage to Pragya. But Pragya’s constant presence creates hurdles in her plans. And the story continues... with the show in its 739th episode as on December 21, 2016.
Moving on: In Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani, the lead actors Drashti Dhami who played Gayatri, and Siddhant Karnick as Ranaji, bid adieu the show as it took a seven-year leap. Their track ended with a dramatic climax with death of Ranaji by a warrior named Kaal played by Chetan Hansraj. Soon thereafter, Gayatri delivers Ranaji’s child only to succumb to death in a heroic Jhansi ki Rani style combat with Kaal. Grapevine had it that the reason why Drashti bowed out of the show was because she was apprehensive about ageing on the show and the low TRPs. Post-leap, Sartaj Gill and Eisha Singh stepped in as the new leads.
One of the iconic jodis on TV, Hina Khan and Karan Mehra, who played Akshara and Naitik in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, also quit the show. The reasonIJ The shift in focus from the Akshara-Naitik to their children’s story. His character (Naithik) is now played by Vishal Singh. After the exit from Yeh Rishta..., Mehra joined Bigg Boss 10 and Khan made a dramatic exit with a in a car accident.
Of Reincarnation: In Ekta Kapoor’s Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki, the sparkling chemistry between Ssharad Malhotra and Kratika Sengar’s (Rishi and Tanu) made this show a super-hit. But the downfall started with the death of Tanu and her reincarnation post 20-year-leap which was played by a new lead Shivani Tomar opposite Ssharad. The new pairing failed to create the same magic and on audience demand, the makers had to bring Kratika back to the show with a twist where Tanuja aka Shivani met with an accident and undergo a plastic surgery. Could not have had a more kahaani main twist.
Supernatural twist: Speaking of twists, Parag Tyagi, who was playing Brahmarakshas, was shocked to know that his track was coming to an end and he will be killed. Kishwer Merchantt now plays the new Brahmarakshas who is a half-human and half-beast creature that can inhabit any gender.
judwas story: Saath Nibhana Saathiya saw the death of lead actor Ahem played by Mohd Nazim but on popular demand, the channel had to get him back on the show. This time as his step-brother Jaggi.
Carbon copy: Jamai Raja saw a generation leap where key characters Sid, Roshni and Durga Devi die. Ravi Dubey, who was playing Sid, continued to be on the show and now plays Sid’s son Satya with new set of actors – Shiny Doshi as the leading lady Mahi. Mouli Ganguly entered as the lead antagonist.
Naagin on Colors closed with Shivanya (Mouni Roy) giving birth to a baby daughter who looks exactly like Shivanya in the sequel. Thus Mouni end up doing a double role in Naagin 2 — of grown up Shivangi and her mother Shivanya. The story in the sequel revolved around Shivangi unravelling the mystery surrounding her mother.
Controversies galore
The Bhabhiji spat
Actress Shilpa Shinde, who played Angoori on Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai, quit the show alleging that the makers “mentally tortured” her by making her work despite her poor health, which prompted the production house to send a legal notice accusing her of breach of contact. She went on the blame the makers to for forcing her to sign a contract that would bar her from doing other shows. There were favouritism and Saumya Tandon was given a lot of preference over her, was Shinde’s accusations.
The production house, on the contrary, said that Shinde was planning to take up another show — The Kapil Sharma Show — that would lead to the breach of her contractual obligations.
They sent across a legal notice to her and said they increased her fees “twice” till date, and claimed this was not the first time they were putting up with her “unprofessional attitude”.
The spat escalated and Cine and Television Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) had to issue a letter from the federation asking Shinde to give an explanation and there has to be a monetary compensation as the channel and the producers have incurred a loss. later, Shubhangi Atre was roped in to play Angoori bhabhi on this show.
The suicide
The suicide of the 24-year-old Pratyusha Banerjee shocked the industry. She was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her home. Where her parents accused her boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh for instigating her suicide, Rahul blamed her parents saying that it were them who mentally tortured the actress. It was also reported that Banerjee was pregnant and had gone for a medical termination of pregnancy before she committed suicide. Though the case is still pending in the court, it once again highlighted the insecurities people have in the showbiz.
Kapil Sharma show
Kapil Sharma’s last episode of Comedy Nights With Kapil (CNWK) was scrapped by Colors channel at the last moment and was replaced by another episode of Comedy Nights Bachao (CNB) starring the Mastizaade team of Milap Zaveri, Sunny leone, Vir Das, and Suresh Menon. The producers of CNWK were not kept in the loop about the developments. Some cited money issues and/or rivalry with CNB. But Kapil was back with a bang on another channel — Sony.
No pak content
“After the Uri-Attack, the decision to discontinue Pakistani content on Zindagi was the biggest controversy of 2016. It was a conscious step taken to respect the sentiments of the viewers and state that our country comes first above all else,” Sunil Buch, chief business officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises limited, said.