Meet the real Indian nari

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Hai, finally! Thanks Godji that you have sent us some half-decent serials. Ab tak toh our TV people had been behaving as if the only dress known to Bharatiya nari is ghaghra-choli and the only language known to ladies is of tears and quivering lips.

But now, with Sony taking the lead, some real ladies have entered our lives. First was Priya in Bade Achche Lagte Hain, and now we have Mona, the shining, bright star of Kya Hua Tera Vaada (also Sony). Mona is married to Pradeep and the serial till now is about this cute, middle class couple and their happy grihasti of three interruptus children. Theirs is a 10-year-old marriage that’s going strong but is running more on compatibility and commitments than on passion. There is love, of course, but little time for romance. There are worries about EMIs, school fees, promotion, talk of the virtues of being a housewife, and warm food on the table.
Kya Hua Tera Vaada seems headed in the direction of Neena Gupta’s Saans: Working, married man finds excitement at work place. Cheats for a bit, then just gives up the pretence and shacks up with new love. Housewife turns into a superhero, juggling job, mean colleagues, children’s tiffin boxes, homework and growing up issues.
Predictable, but I am looking forward to watching Ms Mona Singh. Though I didn’t care much about her Jassi, I have always enjoyed watching her. She emits a happy, warm glow that is both compelling and infectious. And now, as she gets older, she’s also getting wiser, her acting skills sharper.
The other serial that I have been trying to catch these days is Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha (Colors). This show is about Medha Vyas, a young widow and mother of two sweet kids. Brave, upright and lonely, she has come to live with her in-laws in Indore after her engineer husband, Amar Vyas, committed suicide. He was accused of criminal negligence in the collapse of a bridge that killed 25 people.
Medha firmly believes in his innocence and bit by bit, with each moving outburst, reporter Manoj is falling in love. The serial has some silly sidetracks, but I like the chemistry between the plain, restrained Medha and untamed Manoj.