'K3D', produced by Smita Thackeray under the banner Rahul Productions and directed by Sameer Kulkarni, that debuts on 21 May and will air on Fridays at 7.30 pm in place of Karishma Kaa Karishma, revolves around seven naughty yet endearing kids reared by a strict disciplinarian aided by her Man Friday who is determiined to see them grow as good, responsible citizens of tomorrow.

Cut to Episode one where the naughty pranksters (you feel like picking each one of them and giving them a hug, every kid looks choo chweet) want to burst crackers 'coz Indian cricketers have registered victory. "Aaj Saurav ne Sachin ko bahut mara," says the youngest of the lot. What she actually means is 'Aaj Saurav aur Sachin ne bahut mara"! There are many more rib-ticklers of such sort, like for once when she tells Stern Aunty "Eh motti, meri choti baandh," when she actually means, "Meri ek motti choti baandh"!

Stern Aunty is fast asleep and they manage to celebrate but not before one cracker explodes almost in the caretaker's (Stern Aunty's Man Friday) face. Caretaker swears revenge and threatens them that he'll 'kholl' their 'poll' but the pranksters have an ace up their sleeve. While he is headed for Uncle's (Savitri's dead husband) statue, they trip him over marbles... and he bangs against the statue breaking it from the neck. But soon, Aunty discovers the truth after the greedy builder Tarneja's entry. Unable to control her anger, she gives them a thorough run-down. Are the kids going to sit quietly? They join hands to hit back! And then there's the trustee's son who wants peace in the premises. Telling you what happens further would be giving everything away.

The plot may not be new but the presentation is. It is heartwarming to see that Star Plus has not added one more magic or fairytale show but rather moved away to evolve comedy from real-life situations, something that was distinctly missing from most of the kiddies' shows seen so far on Indian television. At last, someone has realised that presence of children should lead to laughable and unexpected situations like it does in real life, and not to flying arrows and magic pencils all the time. Plus, there are no claims of doing something 'hat ke'.

So far so good. Meticulously, the main characters of the serial have been introduced in the first episode and each has a unique characteristic. The production values are high. There are no painted faces, no bizarre gadgets, not a tinge of unrealistic elements and situations. For starters, it surely has the potential to hook the kids audience, not only kids but elders as well, as it deals with very realistic characters. That is why it manages to have the platform set for a wider audience. Seems that has been the plan but not revealed lest it backfires. Only the artistes' interests should not wane, for that's the most important criterion for a comedy to sustain.

Each kid has something to offer. Dodo and Bhaji, the bhai kinds are extremely lovable. You cannot take your eyes off Akkie, the stunt specialist and Pinchoo, the self-styled doctor. Dadi (the traditional girl) and Karishma (the hep sort) provide an interesting contrast. Top it all with Pinkie, the youngest prankster whose construction of sentences is all wrong; she is the icing on the cake.

Watch out for Ali Asgar (Poster) who fits in the role of a caretaker as a T. As the caretaker, he plays a film buff who hates to be referred as a servant, reports all the children's mischief to Savitri Aunty but yet has a heart of gold. Impossible if you cannot see shades of Calendar (Satish Kaushik in Mr India) in him. As and when his mannerisms do not evoke laughter, you need to look at his short pants.

Pallavi Joshi (Savitri Aunty, sorry, Stern Aunty) whose acting abilities have never been in doubt seems to have come alive after a not-so-exciting performance in Kkehna Hai Kucch Mujhko (SET) which has been quite linear and expected so far. Don't expect her to break into a jig like Shammi Kapoor or vanish into thin air like Anil Kapoor (remember, no magic here) but she is sweet in her own way. Watch out for her in the scenes where she talks to the photograph of her dead husband.

Vishal Singh as trustee's son (Anuj) is reminiscent of the days of Dekh Bhai Dekh. Wonder, why this lad never got his due on the tube. Who says that only talent pays and luck is the solace word of cowards?

Dilip Joshi (Tarneja) who eyes Savitri Aunty's property, sporting a Charlie Chaplin- like moustache, is strictly okay. He adds some value to the show, though better if he could be a little less loud in the coming episodes. He is better in Bhagwan Bachaye Inko, currently aired on Sahara, but being a stalwart of comedy, it should not be long before he ties his shoelaces.

Hmmm... K3D is a little loud in parts. But then, that's perhaps inevitable with seven children as an integral part of the script. May be a little soft background music and a few lesser dialogues in totality would make it a little subtle and classy. Remember Parichay (Jeetendra, Jaya Bhaudri)? A mixture of Brahmachari, Mr India and Parichay would be a treat.