"To cut the long story short..." is a new segment where Rangmunch.TV brings to you the who, what, how, where and why of your favorite shows, their characters and the story in a nutshell.
Drama on Star Plus @ 8.30 pm Monday to Friday
Lead Characters:
Arnav Singh Raizada (Barun Sobti):
Arnav Singh Raizada – the name itself makes you want to stop and take a second look at the person owning it. When you do that, what you see makes you gasp – sometimes due to the sheer intensity with which he conducts himself and at other times when we are allowed a peek into his softer side usually reserved for his dear sister Anjali. He is a quintessential M&B hero with a hard shell concealing softer innards.
Tall, dark (well not so dark) and handsome, he is a business scion who takes over the responsibility of his family at a very young age. Determined, smart, and savvy, he walks into a room and owns it. He wears his ‘I give a damn’ attitude on his sleeves at all times, making those around him tow his line without a second thought. Those who cross him had better beware, and it usually is Khushi who takes the brunt of his anger at full force.
Khushi Kumari Gupta (Sanaya Irani):
Our very own Jalebi bai, Khushi Kumari Gupta is a sweet, petite, small town girl from the capital of tahzeeb, Lucknow. She is a breath of fresh air, who wears a smile at all times unlike Arnav. Do not go by her softer exterior, she is internally as strong as steel, standing up for what she believes in with a force of will that is delightfully endearing and inspiring at the same time.
Her quirk is to eat a lot when she is depressed (don’t we all). The icing of it is that she starts to make jalebis and eats them herself to beat the blues. She is the quintessential M&B heroine – soft, beautiful, caring, and strong-willed – a perfect foil for Arnav.
Parallel Leads:
Anjali (Daljeet Bhanot):
Older sister of Arnav, she is the thread that binds the family together. Sugar sweet, beautiful, blindly devoted to her husband, Anjali is the heart of the show. Her relationship with Arnav pulls at our heartstrings in the loveliest of ways.
Shyam (Abhas Mehta):
Charming as hell, conniving to the core, he redefines love, lust and loyalty in this show. He is the lawyer husband of Anjali; he is not what he seems to be. His character is the most layered one in the show many of it yet to be revealed. He comes across as one who wants to keep the cake and eat it too. He has his heart (?) or rather his eyes set on Khushi while he belongs rightfully to Anjali. In a nutshell, he is the guy we love to hate.
Payal (Deepali Pansare):
Khushi’s older sister, she is as sweet as Anjali and equally dedicated to her sibling. She is an immense emotional support for Khushi, her love for her sister coming through loud and clear in every frame. We are at that stage in the story where Payal is in the process of opening up her heart to Akash.
Akash (Akshay Dogra):
Arnav’s cousin brother who works with him in handling his business. He is a good-natured gentleman who has his heart set on Khushi’s sister Payal. Akash comes across as a soft-hearted person.
Supporting Characters:
Naniji (veteran actor Jayshree T):
A headstrong yet kind and principled matriarch of the family, she is the maternal grandmother of Arnav and Anjali. She has a strong sense of right and wrong and is rarely shown to relent on her beliefs. She has an interesting relationship with her daughter-in-law, which makes for an entertaining watch.
Mamiji, Manorama (Utkarsha Naik):
Hello, Hi, bye-bye! She is the aunt of Arnav and Anjali. She is loud and brash spouting a hitherto unknown language of her own – Hinglish with a Lucknowi tang. She has the funniest lines in the show and is an important fixture in the Raizada household.
Buaji, Indira Gupta (Abha Parmar):
Khushi and Payal’s paternal aunt, she is a force to reckon with in the Gupta household. Hai re Nandakishore is her usual refrain. She is fiercely protective about her nieces. She develops a soft corner for Shyam and is instrumental in taking the story forward by inviting Shyam into her home, which suits his need to be near Khushi.
Lavanya Kashyap (Sana Khan):
Arnav’s live-in girlfriend who is trying desperately to fit into the Raizada household. She is opinionated, high-handed, and until now hated the sight of Khushi. She comes across as someone who does not care about our culture. What makes for funny viewing is her total lack of common sense. How and Why Arnav is attracted to her is a mystery we may never be able to solve.
Shashi Gupta (Sanjay Batra):
Kushi’s father, he is an honest man owning a sweet shop called Saatwik Mishtaan Bhandaar in a lower middle class neighborhood in Lucknow. He is married to Garima, who happens to be his second wife. Payal is his daughter from his first wife while Khushi was an orphan girl when they took her in as their second daughter. His love for both his daughters is clear to us right from the start.
Garima Gupta (Pyumori Mehta):
Garima is Khushi and Payal’s mother who loves her daughters beyond measure.
Recurring Characters:
Mamaji, Manohar (Rajesh Jais): Mamiji’s husband and Arnav’s maternal uncle, who has nothing much to do in the show except lend his physical presence from time to time. With mamiji around, its hardly surprising :-)
Jai Prakash: Omnipresent humble servant of the Raizada household, nothing gets moved from one place to another without him.
Lakshmi (the goat): Naniji’s soul rests in this goat. Dressed to befit a Raizada surname, Lakshmi is irreplaceable to the matriarch of the Raizada clan.
Devi Mayya (Goddess Durga): Khushi’s Devi Mayya is a constant source of omnipresence, inspiration and trust for her. The Goddess is portrayed as a symbol of faith, hope, and an invisible guiding force in the show.
The Plot so far in a nutshell:
Khushi and Arnav clash at every juncture increasing their animosity and mistrust for each other at every turn. But, there is a certain amount of pull towards each other that is yet to be explored completely in the show.
Shyam in the meanwhile gets so smitten by Khushi, he is plotting to include her in his life while still being married to Anjali. Khushi and her family are unaware of his intentions and his association with the Raizada family.
Circumstances force Khushi to take up the job of tutoring Lavanya about our culture and how to fit into the Raizada house.
Current Track:
Shyam is scheming to get Khushi to quit going to the Raizada house by trying to get her blamed of theft. Arnav is seen softening towards Khushi while she is riddled with guilt about scaring him by pouring a hot cup of coffee for no fault of his.
Forthcoming Track:
Khushi’s parents visit them from Lucknow. Buaji tells them about her wish to get Khushi married to Shyam.
Things to look forward to in the future story line:
* When and how will Arnav and Khushi realize their feelings for each other?
* Does Lavanya really have a change of heart towards Khushi as we saw a glimpse of it in yesterday’s episode?
* How and when will Shyam’s identity be revealed to Khushi’s family and their reaction to it.
* Will the all-knowing Naniji play cupid for our lead pair who is currently doing whatever they can to deny whats evident to us?
* While we are at it, let us dig up something hinted in one of the promotional promos – How is Khushi responsible for Arnav’s troubled past? We would like to know your thoughts on this interesting tidbit.
Dearest lot, do you have answers to these questions? Please feel free to comment and add your bit to this synopsis. We would also like to hear your thoughts and opinions about this show.
If you like this article, please let us know the name of the show you want covered in the next one. We will do our best.
Thanks for reading!
Neeraja Unni
Rangmunch.TV
