“How regressive” I thought, the moment I watched the very first promo of Balika Vadhu. A little girl being sent to her sasural at an age when she has no idea what it means. I wondered what the world had come
to, promoting such ideas. It was when I decided to watch the serial did the whole picture begin to fall into place.
The story is basically about a bright young girl, Anandi (Avika), being married to an equally young boy, Jagdish (Avinash Mukherjee), and being sent to live in her sasural with practical strangers. Anandi,
being a very friendly little girl, effortlessly makes friends with her new family. She faces many complexities too, trying to keep up with the demands of her sasuma’s mother-in-law, dadisa. Brain-washed by her family when she was younger, dadisapasses on the atrocious traditions taught to her. Anandi who is a book-worm, finds it hard to adjust to the new rules set by her dadisa. Little Anandi rightly questions social problems, but finds no answerers in her family.
Another highlight of the serial is the saas-bahu relationship, which is often mistaken to be awful. She finds in her saasuma an equivalent of her mother; someone who cares about her and loves her as her parents would. The new arrivals in the family fail to impress me. In fact I am often tempted to throw the remote at the "mouthshut" nai daiji! Now that she has started talking, it has become a bit more bearable. one can find no fault in the sasuma’s (Smitha Bansal) acting. Though she has very little to say (not unlike the nai daiji) atleast she displays some emotion! Avika Gor plays her part to impeccable perfection, portraying an innocent victim of the ruthless traditions of the north-west. It is no child’s play to act innocent, but Avika sure makes it seem like it is!
Her non-stop flow of questions never fails to win anyone’s heart, though sometimes she questions to the point of irritation as well. The grandmother of the groom is also played by a very talented woman who knows her strengths and weaknesses. I personally love the title song which reflects the exact feelings that are portrayed in the serial. Lyrics are excellent too.
All in all, it is a perfect example of an entertainer with values.