Yet another daily soap based on 'human relationships' with dollops of family values debuted on Sahara Manoranjan on 26 May. Aiming to carve a niche amidst the new star spangled shows on the channel, Kise Apna Kahein is essentially a love triangle. While the thrust of the show is family drama, it aims to explore some hitherto less exploited social culture as well.
With the advent of the saas-bahu sagas, extramarital affairs, thus far strictly hush-hush affairs, have become the main topic of teatime chat. Kise Apna Kahein is one such love saga that has the protagonist torn between two men.

Coming from yesteryear's star couple Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar's Sharp Focus production house, the daily soap claims to offer some meaningful entertainment with a difference. To begin with however, the serial, a maiden venture of the production house, isn't really based on a novel subject.

The story, set in contemporary times, begins with the protagonist Noor, a rich, educated girl, on the threshold of matrimony. The introductory episode shows 'Dadi', played by veteran actor Sashikala, offering her morning prayers and indulging in some 'nok-jhok' with her son. After a light discussion about the apple of her eye, Noor's future, she makes a move to wake up the sleeping beauty. Interestingly Noor, played by Meenakshi Gupta, wakes up looking incredibly fresh and all ready to start off a tete-a-tete with her granny. After some small talk, granny informs her that she will be going on a hunt for a suitable bridegroom for Noor.

Cut to the next scene, Jiten Lalwani who plays Daanish tries too hard to get out of the meeting with the wannabe bride's family members but succumbs to his elder sister aka Apa's emotional bribe. So far so good, but turns out that both Daanish and his elder sister Tasleem have a few skeletons in their cupboard. During the interaction with Noor's family, things go awry. And Dadi, despite protests from her son Ahmed -played by seasoned actor Bharat Kapoor, takes a liking for Daanish's neighbour Arshad played by Harsh Khurana and chooses him to be her grandson-in-law instead.

According to the projected plotline, the story begins when Arshad marries Noor, albiet for all the wrong reasons. The protagonist, after getting married, finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage. Her husband is only concerned with the wealth she is going to inherit. After the usual pain and humiliation, she finds herself drawn to Daanish, who despite the crusty demeanour is essentially a good soul and misunderstood by Noor's family unlike Arshad who is just money crazy.

In the first episode, Amaanat fame director Inderjit has managed to successfully establish the story. The show does not fall into the ludicrous casting trap by portraying 20-somethings as grandmothers. It however does have a 'Bollywood' hangover. Madhavi Chopra who essays the role of Daanish's younger sister Ariba seems too old for the bubbly character that she is portraying, while the supposedly young Noor appears to be on the wrong side of 20. Even the 'jaan' bit and the 'shairi' looks forced. Meanwhile, Pooja Madan as the elder sister is convincing. Thankfully, the characters portrayed are suitably dressed and the set doesn't go over the top either.

Another instance of a Bollywood hangover is the theme song, composed by Lalit Sen and sung by Alka Yagnik. Both the tune and the lyrics have a familiar ring. While the initial episode did not have any additional songs, the show will also feature some situational songs sung by Roop Kumar Rathore and others.

The show, in a bid to be innovative, sports a sepia tone look, something not very agreeable at first sight. Looking at the big names that it is attached with, one certainly expects much in terms of story and histrionics. With the director's track record, the character portrayals shouldn't be a difficult task but he should avoid getting into the cliched sob stories.

All said and done, KAK should click as it takes off from the same premise as Sony's hit Heena did. A similar ambience, an almost identical storyline and a not too stringent religious overtone - it has the right mix to woo in certain sections of non metro viewers (which exist in large numbers) while also not turning off other sections. Considering that no other channel has thought of extending the Heena franchinse further (Heena continues to rule Sony's top shows in the ratings game), KAK should do the trick for Sahara.

Unfortunately, unlike its other star bonanzas the channel has not really promoted the show as well as it should have. With some help from the ad and promo department, the show, if it sustains the emotional angle, should be an interesting watch.
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