As Sakshi Tanwar’s svelte figure sashays into the frame all eyes glue to the TV screen. *Yeh Serial aapke manoranjan ke liye hii nahin, yeh aapki zaroorat hai *" her voice strong and convincing ups my tentacles. No, she is not the heroine of the soap, just the promoter.
The Soap belongs to Shikha Gupta(Aishwarya Sakhuja). a bespectacled, serious minded girl of middle class background, happy and secure in her comfort cocoon - a loving mother (Rajluxmi Solanki), a doting father (Bhuvan Chopra), caring siblings and a fatherly, supportive boss (Rajesh Puri). What else does one need in life?
Shikha is a feminist. Her poems in Stree Chhaya, the magazine she works for, inspires her boss and readers alike. "Shikha Ke Man Ka Kona" is the column where she ventilates her innermost concerns for women and encourages them to fight back.
All is smooth sailing until one fine morning life takes an unexpected turn and Sameer Verma, a rich and seemingly the most eligible bachelor in town, gatecrashes into her life. For Shikha life is never the same again.
Sameer professes his love for Shikha. His parents are ready to fix the date of marriage as soon as possible. Shikha and her family members are left dumbfounded. They have never met the Verma clan before. But Sameer insists that he knows every minute detail about Shikha and her family. He has been chatting with her for the past one month on a matrimonial website. It is she who has invited him to come over for a cup of tea to get to know her parents and propose to her.
As Sameer logs on to the site to show her the records available online to prove his point, Shikha receives another jolt. She does not know who on earth has created her profile and uploaded her photo on the site. Neither does her family.
Hasty explanations follow and the Vermas leave forthwith embarrassed and apologetic. Next day, before Mr. Gupta can confront the site-owner, Shikha’s profile is already deleted from the site. The site-owner is as much in dark as Mr. Gupta.
The respectable Gupta family may have forgotten this incident as a cyber trespass by some unknown wicked prankster but strange things start happening with Shikha thereafter - a black SUV stalking her every move, blank calls, masqueraded bikers splurging her face blue with ink.! Shikha is understandably scared. So is her family.
Coincidentally enough, Sameer Verma is always around to save Shikha whenever she is in the midst of danger. Acquaintance follows friendship and friendship accompanies trust. Soon the day comes when the Guptas and the Vermas conclude that Shikha and Sameer are made for each other. The inevitable wedlock is pre-scripted in heaven.
Two and a half years and several doubt-raising anecdotes later, Shikha and Sameer embark on their honeymoon (which they had skipped post marriage) with their first-born, Manav. An idyllic locale completely isolated from the world, a beautiful cottage, frothing champagne and romantic candle light dinner followed by a gruesome attempt by Sameer to murder Shikha by pushing her down a steep cliff. Shocking? No, there’s still more to follow.
Shikha is saved but battered, bruised and scarred to the soul. Yet she bounces back to life with a single-minded vengeance - to get back to Sameer Verma and take back her son. But how will she be able to find Sameer when he has just vanished into thin air not leaving even a remote trail behind? Will Shikha be successful in her mission?
It is said that misfortune ushers in a savior too. Clueless and desperate Shikha gets sincere assistance of the honest and hardworking Inspector Chirag Nayak, who had always suspected Sameer of foul play. Losing way through a psychedelic maze of lies, betrayal, false trails and ramming into dead ends several times, Shikha does bump into Sameer at last.
But to her utter shock and dismay, the man she thought was her husband, Sameer Verma, is now known as Aditya Jagannath, the rich and ruthless son-in-law of the towering industrial magnet, Mahanto Jagannath (Anang Desai), and her Manav is now Arnab, the light of Jagannath Mahanto’s eyes, his only grandchild.
Shikha decides to take Sameer to Court. But no lawyer is courageous enough to fight a case against the powerful Jagannath family. For Shikha it is do or die. But how will she progress when Sameer has systematically destroyed all proofs of marriage and turned witnesses hostile?
Shikha, guided by an unshaken conviction in natural justice, moves on undaunted. But the biggest blow is yet to come. Chirag Nayak, Shikha’s moral support, meets with an untimely end. Shikha knows that the man behind the crime is none other than her husband and his equally villainous present wife, Madhurima Jagannath. Its a fight of will and wit. Will Shikha be able to ever prove Aditya aka Sameer guilty of attempted murder?
More than that will she be able to prove that she is speaking the truth - that she is the lawfully wedded wife of Sameer Verma and the child, growing up in Mahanto Mansion, is not Arnab but her own Manav?
Directed by Anil V. Kumar, Main Naa Bhuloongi (aired on Sony at 08.00 PM Monday to Friday) is till now a very captivating and consistent serial although it is not completely deprived of flaws. The story-line is strong and the cast is convincing.
Aishwarya Sakhuja in a de-glamorized role, as Shikha, looks different and delivers a dynamic performance. Vikas Manaktala, as Sameer Verma, is diabolically dashing and oozes loads of crooked charm in the beginning and is downright demonic, as Aditya Jagannath, in the latter part of the serial. With his insane good looks and suave screen presence, Vikas is way to go places. Nigar Khan as Madhurima is simply hateful.
Coming to the shortcomings.
The script wavers at times and compels the audience to speculate about the logicality of the narrative and intelligence quotient of the characters. It is really surprising that a concerned father (Mr. Gupta) not once feels the need of checking on the antecedents of the mysterious guy called Sameer Verma when he walks into their life unexpectedly and tries to make his presence felt whenever Shikha is in trouble.More so when Inspector Chirag Nayak lands up at Shikha’s wedding and confesses to him about his suspicion of Sameer though without requisite proof.
While Shikha is portrayed as a sensitive human being, at times her complete lack of awareness, is unmoving. How come a budding poet, who talks of women-empowerment, submissively accepts a life of bondage after marriage? She is made to live in the deserted quarters of the city, outskirts to be precise, and not allowed to go out or meet or even speak to the neighbors.
Neither Sameer ever brings in anybody home nor does the couple socialize? Shikha and her family have a very vague idea where Sameer works. There are n number of incidents in the serial which point a doubtful finger at Sameer. But not once does Shikha probe for answers or clarifications. Her rock-solid faith in Sameer appears unnatural.
Above all, it is really hard to digest that even the police, on Sameer’s trail, is not able to trace his lineage. After all he is one of the family members of a famous tycoon who has the habit of making head-lines?
Notwithstanding the pitfalls, the suspense maintained throughout the various episodes of the serial is engrossing. Though the theme and content of the soap, at times, demand a tighter pace of direction, yet the camera irritatingly prolongs on certain frames.
Many a times a vengeful Shikha threatening Sameer of poetic justice, by unmasking him before the world, is repetitive and a little over-the-top. Shikha’s single-minded focus on taking the ultimate revenge is believable whereas her dramatic assertion of a pre-determined victory in an unequal battle is not.
All said and done, for those prime-time idiot soap watchers (like me), this serial with a difference is highly recommended, at least till the time it follows a steady and coherent track.
Keep watching!