Half Marriage, the newest show produced by Kavita Barjatya Productions for &TV, comes with a new thought, yet in a setup that we have seen many times on TV!!
A rich girl, who has been born and brought up in an ambience where she lives a fairy tale life with all the luxuries, yet is devoid of love and affection. On the contrary, there is the boy who comes from a middle class family who is indebted to his relative for giving his family the shelter and food.
All this seems like ‘old wine’ put in a ‘new bottle’, but the question here is, will the newness in the show win the hearts of masses?
The story which is built on the concept of a marriage that happens owing to political pressure has in it that can create an interest amongst the audiences.
Well, the story opens up well with the girl Chandni (Priyanka Purohit) doing exactly what her mind says even when she is bestowed upon the best of options by her dad. This clearly shows that we have a spirited, strong girl who decides for herself and chooses her priorities in life.
The boy Arjun (Tarun Mahilani) is jobless in the initial episodes, but is strong-willed and truthful. He sees a dream of giving his parents a life of luxury. However, the big question for him is whether the society will bestow him with success, only on the pretext of his truthfulness.
The opening episodes were indeed engrossing with the ‘tashan’ between Chandni and Arjun being built step-wise. The scenes where the umbrella drama happens post which Arjun is forced to give his interview in a banian, courtesy Chandni’s mistake kept us hooked to the plot.
Further, the drama was enhanced with Arjun going to jail after clashing horns with the big man, Saahebji (Satyajit Sharma). Saahebji’s mastermind and the major confusion and misunderstanding that Chandni has about Arjun were handled well. And now with the track crucially placed with Chandni’s friend getting stuck in the mess, we would like to see how Arjun will handle this in order to put Chandni down yet again.
Amidst the ‘Tu Tu Main Main’ of Arjun and Chandni, the political mindset of Saahebji and his son have been revealed well. And we look forward to the point in the storyline wherein Saahebji will strike a deal of supremacy by getting Arjun and Chandni married to gain more power.
Talking about performances, Tarun Mahilani has been the one who has impressed us a lot. He might be a newcomer but he looks pretty confident about his acting skills. His smile mesmerized us, his anger shocked us and his cute boy-next-door scenes made us fall in love with him. The same can be said about Priyanka Purohit whose claim as an actor probably comes with this show. She’s beautiful, looks good as in her ‘princess’ life. She acts really well, scores equally well in her lively scenes as well as the emotional ones. Her interaction with her mother’s framed photo where she conveys to her about her being alone, even while protecting and siding her father and brother made us emotional.
Well, what can we say about Satyajit Sharma? He’s a class performer and after his stint in Balika Vadhu, here he is again claiming his authority as an actor. He plays his dual mindset very well. Before his daughter, he projects a calm persona, but when he is at his professional helm, he takes the cruelest decisions without having any humanitarian concern.
Resham Tipnis as the Mami gives us a smile whenever she is on screen. She looks gorgeous no doubt!! Her sarcastic dialogues said even with a smile on her face, cuts across the hearts clearly. Muni Jha gives her full support. Kanupriya Pandit who plays mother to Arjun shows great promise. The scenes between the mother and son come out really well.
Kavita Barjatya who comes from the thought process of Rajshri Productions has given the audience a mixed bag. While Chandni’s lifestyle gives us glimpses of the lavish lifestyle of heroines in the movies of Rajshri Productions, we see a cute and typical boy next door in Arjun. A perfect family setup with a good balance of good and bad has been laid out. Overall, the platform for a cute love story has been set up with both Arjun and Chandni continuing to be at loggerheads. The best part for the show is that this is not a typical love story. Here, the love story will be driven by the political backdrop and the struggle for political supremacy.
Coming to &TV, after the initial success of shows Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hai, Santoshi Maa and few others, the channel is looking for a show that will drive them ahead in terms of content and popularity.
However, the initial numbers of Half Marriage have not been good enough. But considering that the makers have a strong story ahead, we hope the show surges ahead and the actors with their good looks and performances keep the ship sailing…
IndianWikiMedia.com gives the effort 2 out of 5 stars.