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Kumkum Bhagya clinched the iconic title a long time ago, and the show will be celebrating 11 years this year. The show recently began its new chapter, which sees the fourth generation of the show. The show now tells the story of Prarthana, who is Pragya’s great-granddaughter, Prachi’s granddaughter, and Purvi’s daughter.
Let’s see if this new chapter can revive the fan-favourite show that once was the heartbeat of every Indian household worldwide.
We meet Prarthana, who is being raised by her adoptive parents, Kishan and Seema. Kishan is a priest, and the couple have a biological daughter Gayatri. Prarthana left her education early so the family could ensure Gayatri’s full education. Gayatri loves her sister and acknowledges the lengths she goes to help her fulfil her dreams and the family’s. Prarthana does some household chores at the home of the rich and influential Zaveri family. And this is where the story deepens.
The Zaveri household runs under the iron fist of Smita, the eldest daughter-in-law of the family. Despite her mother-in-law being present in the house, Smita has somehow become the matriarch and as the saying goes, “not even a leaf can move without her permission.” Beneath her powerful grip on the family is her deep love for her son Raunak, who returned from London. Smita is determined to have Raunak marry Payal, the daughter of their business competitor. The Zaveri family consists of Smita’s husband Kanti, Kanti’s brother Devang, and his sister, Kinjal. Their respective spouses are also present and are bothered by not being free to make their own decisions with Smita’s presence. The struggle for freedom is visibly suffocating, as seen in their children, with Kinjal’s son Harsh being the first to bear the brunt of Smita.
Now, let’s talk about what works. From the first episode of the new generation, there was a sense of freshness in the backdrop. It’s the first time that a Gujarati family is the main family of the show, and Prarthana was seamlessly added to her new family too. The Zaveri family appears large and a little overwhelming at first, but each character is presented well, and it seems all of them will be adding to the story. The inner conflicts within the house are also interesting and relevant to Indian families.
Prarthana and Raunak started as friends, which is different from the usual hate-to-love story, and that’s good. There is scope for good chemistry, and it’s up to the story to allow them to showcase it. Smita is a strong and well-layered character, and it’s not her intention to be evil. Her perspective of what is right for the family differs from theirs. This is good as the ‘Bhagyas’ have been known for villains that became unbearable after a point, so being well-layered could even make Smita an endearing character in future.
It is nice to have Gurdip Punjj back on our screens. And it is clear that whatever the role, she can shine and is one of the actors who is a real gem on our screens. Pranali Rathod has been excellent as Prarthana, and we cannot wait to see her grow as her character’s graph moves up. Akshay Bindra makes a sincere debut as Raunak, and we love that it wasn’t an over-the-top entry. Raunak has been taking good stands, and we hope he remains a male character with substance, which will also allow Akshay to grow and excel. Not just him but all the kids of the Zaveri family have a story to tell, and we cannot wait for it to unfold. Vedaant Saluja has viewers rooting for him and his engineering dreams as Harsh. Abhay Bhadoriya, as Tanuj is adorable and we love how natural he is at comedy. Mohit Jaswani, Isha Pandhe, Ahnaf Khatri and Hanisha Gehlot have immense potential as Arjun, Sneha, Kirtan and Sejal when their stories unfold.
Vijhay Badlaani is also back on our screens as Kanti. This character appears cool and easy-going, unlike his portrayal of the antagonist Janardhan in Pandya Store, which fans remember quite well. Hina Dani as Baa is the sweetest, and her and Prarthana’s duo is our first ‘ship’ of the new generation! Bhavwini Gandhi and Nitin Vakharia are also fabulous as Devang and Shubhvi. Parri Galaa stands out so far. Her character of Kinjal may be the character who lays the seed of the revolution set to hit the Zaveri household.
With a fantastic cast and feel-good story, we are left with only one concern. The third-angle! Smita’s insistence for Payal to marry Raunak may just be an injection of Payal’s never-ending terror on Prarthana. One of the issues the ‘Bhagyas’ have is just this. In fact, in every generation of Kumkum Bhagya, this third angle has been there, and it was only exciting in the first two generations. The audience can only tolerate a certain extent of the same idea. We hope Payal is not going to be another Monisha or Malishka from the Bhagya universe. This very idea has killed a lot of shows which had great potential.
For now, we’re focusing on the positives and we love the new energy on the show, and the characters are already making their way to our hearts. We feel that Kumkum Bhagya Gen 4 deserves your watch for its freshness, sweet characters, and take on family dynamics and aspirations.
Kumkum Bhagya airs on Zee TV and streams on Zee5 globally.
